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- Elizabeth Blackwell was a Scottish botanical illustrator born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1707 and was tutored in the arts and learned to draw.
- She married at the age of 28 to Alexander Blackwell. Her husband was later imprisoned for practicing as a doctor without formal training. With her husband in prison and a child to support Elizabeth had to find a way to support her family. She embarked on a project to produce a new illustrated guide to the many plants that had been recently discovered in North and South America.
- From 1737 – 1739 she produced 4 images a week and continued on until she had illustrated 500 plants. The income generated from the sale helped free her husband and to support her and their child. Elizabeth Blackwell made a significant contribution to medical knowledge and to the art of botanical illustration. She died in 1758 at age 51.
- Art example, plate 42 from A Curious Herbal – Daisy.
For this project you will need:
- Watercolour paper
- masking tape
- pencil, eraser
- Yellow, white, dark green, light green oil pastels
- watercolour brush
- green and blue watercolour
- paper towel
Begin with a pencil sketch. Start by drawing 3 oval shapes close to the top of the page. The oval at the bottom can be a little wider than the rest as it’s a lower down on the page. To draw a daisy “bud” draw an ice cream cone shape. Next, add petals around each daisy – but not all around – start at one side and stop at the other side. Do not put any petals on the top of the oval. Draw in stems and leaves. The leaves of a daisy are more jagged-edged so sketch a scribbly line for the shapes of the leaves.
Now it’s time for the watercolour. Using Horizontal brush strokes start by painting a line at the bottom with the green watercolour. Rinse out your brush and pat it dry, then dip into the blue watercolour. Start at the top of the page and work your way down using horizontal brush strokes. Paint right over top of the oil pastels. The oil will “resist” the watercolour.
While the watercolour is still wet, you can dab away the excess beading with a paper towel.
Great job! When you are finished, remove all the paint supplies from your work area and carefully peel away the masking tape so you have a border around your artwork and it looks framed.
Hang it on the wall for everyone to enjoy!
I hope you do create some daisies of your own! You can make pink, purple or any other colour of daisies you like. If you make a painting, send us a picture at artinactiontoronto@gmail.com. Follow along on our sparking creativity every day in May on Facebook and Instagram.