Painting at the Botanical Garden
Over the last few years, I’ve packed up my backpack with supplies and made my way to the city botanical garden to paint. Sometimes alone and often with others. It’s one of my favorite ways to welcome the change of seasons, particularly this time of year when the flowers are blooming in full force.
What I love about painting in the botanical garden is noticing the layers of all the textures and shapes of foliage. Flowers spring from wide-leaf bushes in front of rocks in front of palm trees. There are so many greens upon greens. And the variety of bark on trees and shapes of leaves reaching out around me. Often, I focus on the shapes and the textures. But I also practice mixing greens and practice demonstrating the light and shadows among the branches and grasses, and leaves.
I visit for a few hours with a watercolor class, loosely drawing from the surroundings. And alone, I focus for 1-2 hours. This spring, I’m finding some dates on my calendar to take my lunch and spend most of the day. I’ll not only pack a lunch, I’ll bring more than watercolors. A folding stool to sit on so I’m not bound to the benches to set up. Color pencils, pastels, and gouache will probably be added. It’s a lot to fill the backpack, but part of the adventure is public transport on a local bus and hiking through the bustling streets to get to the botanical garden.
There’s always an art display right inside, stray cats that nap among the trees who are fed by local volunteers, and the curious looks of children on field trips. Usually, early it is quiet with birds making the most noise, and I can hear traffic outside the walls. The shade is cool and inviting. I’m not the only person who returns again and again. I’ve seen mothers with strollers enjoying the calm, readers in solitude under the trees, tourists wildly snapping photographs, and lovers picnicking at midday.
The botanical garden is an oasis of serenity in a busy city. I seek the shade in summer with bright flowers flourishing. This time of year in Spring I experiment with all the colors and textures of the blossoms and leaves. In winter, the trees, palms, and cacti call me to bring out my pens to work with line and form. I share some but not all of my sketchbook paintings from these visits, but a lot are just private explorations in which I learn and grow with the practice. It is wonderful to take a break from my studio painting at home. It breaks up the routine, reminds me to use a journal and not perform, but to study instead, really look and feel the place.
I plan to go more this year because each time I do, I can shed the “performance, successful, perfection” part of my brain and engage the creative side of my mind to see and express what I feel. It’s a process of letting go and then really seeing. It’s my own personal field trip. The great thing is that one can paint a landscape or choose close-up images of flowers or leaves or objects each time, too. The opportunities for finding subjects are boundless. You just have to return and look again, and again, and again. Pick up the paintbrush and paint. I’ll keep posting new pictures throughout the month on Instagram to share with you!