Margaret Saul
Teaching & Botanical Art Classes
shared her creative ideas, knowledge and innovative
techniques with beginners, experienced artists and
teachers since beginning teaching in 1988. Margaret’s
teaching reflects a philosophy that all who wish it
can learn to see and appreciate the wonders of
nature through the eyes of the artist, and in so
doing, learn to successfully draw and paint plants.
This is achieved either through group or individual
tuition that includes practical demonstrations.
Beginners: Margaret takes great delight introducing
the basics of how to create successful observational
drawings and color studies of various plant
elements. Instruction sees the student able to
observe and enjoy those elements of color and
design found in nature and to attain the basic skills
that see them able to create drawings and
watercolor studies.
Experienced artists: Learn an approach to botanical
art that promotes further creative input with new
concepts using fine watercolor and dry color pencil
- a unique Saul technique.
1. Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art & Illustration
If you live in Washington DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia, you can participate in the comprehensive Botanical Art Courses, Certificate and Workshop programs conducted by this school, directed by Margaret Saul. A School Handbook,class schedule and registration form can be downloaded for full details. Note that these botanical art classes are conducted in newly refurbished classrooms at the McCrillis Gardens, Bethesda annex of Brookside Gardens, not at the main Brookside Gardens site in Wheaton.
The Fall/Winter 2006 program is now available by clicking here. Registration commences August 15th 2006.
2. Participate in a Workshop or Master Class run by Margaret Saul
Margaret regularly conducts Botanical Art Workshops and Master Classes for Botanical Art Societies and other organizations. Recent workshops include Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Art Institute, Denver Botanic Gardens, Minnesota School of Botanical Art and the Creative Arts Center, Chatham.
Examples of the types of workshops and master classes are described below
Introductory Botanical Art Workshops for Beginners and Experienced Artists
3-Day Workshops. A three-day introductory botanical art course provides instruction in the Saul approach to this art through “Botanical Drawing Basics” and “Botanical Watercolor Sketching”. At completion students will have pencil sketches of various plant structures colored with a combination of watercolor and color pencil – application that can be used for your personal enjoyment e.g., of recording plants from your garden or making personal note cards.
5-Day Workshops. A five-day workshop offers further instruction in the skills that lead to the more detailed applications required to create a small botanical study piece.
Botanical Art Master Classes for Experienced Botanical Artists
Ideally, participants in this botanical art course will have previously attain a certain level of skill in this art prior to the class and also have some introductory level knowledge of the concepts and techniques used in Margaret’s approach. This assures students can fully participate and gain satisfaction from this level of instruction. Equipment for such classes should include desk lighting.
3-Day Master Class. Includes a general overview of the Saul approach to this art with the focus on successful botanical drawing and the techniques used for watercolor and dry color pencil application. Participants are required to bring their preliminary sketches of a particular subject – the size and type of subject is usually selected specifically for the master class. Students will complete a small botanical study that incorporates the techniques used by Margaret for her botanical portraits.
5-Day Master Class. Provides comprehensive instruction of the concepts and applications used in Margaret’s “Four-stage Creative Process” for botanical art that includes collection, structural and tonal composition, transferring tonal composition into color using the Saul palette and final detailing techniques. Students work from preliminary drawings prepared prior to the class or use drawings from previous work and bring their own fresh plant material to class where possible. The subject matter for this intensive course requires discussion with the representative of the organization requesting such classes.
Further Information:
For a schedule of Margaret’s teaching fees, for details of upcoming botanical art workshops and master classes, to discuss a proposal to organize your own workshop or master class or for more details of the courses offered by the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical Art & Illustration, please contact Margaret through this web site by clicking here.
