The Joy of Botanical Drawing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing and Painting Flowers, Leaves, Fruit, and More by Wendy Hollender 
Illustration How -To

A gorgeous, easy-to-follow, and inspiring guide to stunningly realistic botanical drawing that covers everything you need to draw our natural world.

Achieve amazingly realistic and vibrant botanical illustrations, from flowers so dazzling you feel as if you might be able to smell them, to tomatoes that look as if they’ve just been picked from the garden. Wendy Hollender is known for her vivid, detailed, and inspiring illustrations and in The Joy of Botanical Drawing, she helps you take your art to the next level by sharing her perfected techniques through short lessons that start simple, then build on the basics with easy-to-use and clear step-by-step illustrations. Using colored pencils and watercolor pencils, Hollender shows you how to accomplish scientifically accurate botanical portraits of a spiraling pine cone, a spiky chestnut, a fuchsia-tined radish, a graceful morning glory, and many more.

From colorful leaves to delicate petals to textured bark and slender stems, The Joy of Botanical Drawing will give you the skills to complete lifelike drawings while also enjoying nature and the mindfulness of a regular drawing practice.



5 out of 5 fairies

The Joy of Botanical Drawing is the perfect blend of how to draw and relaxing meditative practice. My only experience with drawing is from an introductory art class in high school, so my knowledge is close to zero. But with this book I have a better idea of how to approach everything, and the recommendations for different supplies was wonderful. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, and I look forward to practicing (I know with practice I’ll get better). Perfect if you want to learn to draw or want to find a creative meditative outlet.


Where to buy: Amazon, Random House
Add to your TBR list: Goodreads
About the Author: Wendy Hollender is a botanical artist, author, and instructor. Hollender’s illustrations have been published in The New York Times, “O,” The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple and The Observer (UK). Her work has been exhibited in natural history museums and botanical institutes,  including a solo exhibit at the US Botanic Garden.  She is the author of three books on Botanical Drawing and co-published and illustrated Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook by Dina Falconi.

She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1976 and began a career in botanical illustration after completing a certificate at the New York Botanical Garden in 1998.

Wendy is an instructor of Botanical Art and Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden and leads workshops in exotic locations such as Hawaii, many nature preserves, botanical gardens, arts centers and colleges around the country.