On Friday July 14, North Branch Land Trust will host a “Botanical Drawing Basics” at the Back Mountain Bloomer’s Pollinator Garden at the Dallas Township Municipal Building, 105 Lt. Michael Cleary Drive, Dallas, Luzerne County starting at 1:00 p.m.

Botanical illustration, the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plants, has been a vital skill in artistic and ecological studies. Historically, identification guides for flora, fauna, and fungi used these complex illustrations almost exclusively, with many pre-industrial codices being individually hand inked.

Until the invention of the camera and high-quality printing, using illustrations was a matter of practicality; fine details could be engraved and printed in mass scale for both the expert and lay person.

But now just about all of us are walking about with a highly qualified camera in our pocket that can be used to identify the picture of a plant through an app, follow that app to a shop that sells you seeds which links you to a care guide for making sure that you can replicate a little piece of nature on your windowsill.

And even print identification guides seem unnecessary when our smartphones can tell us about almost any flower from Boston to Borneo.

What use do we still have for botanical illustrations?

Chase Taylor, visual arts major says, “Those who appreciate nature, in turn, appreciate art. Botanical illustration is both observation of the artistic capabilities of the natural world and an opportunity to highlight the visual aspect of our ecosystems in a way that photography simply does not”.

Taylor will be guiding the Botanical Drawing Basics event with North Branch Land Trust. Her goal is help folks faithfully express what they see regardless of artistic capability.

These illustrations are also important in the sciences as well, especially when one is just learning to identify.

Karley Stasko, Director of Marketing & Development said “I didn’t know much about how to identify when I first started working at North Branch. I used the apps to know what I was looking at in the moment, but it didn’t teach me the features that I should be looking for to identify it in the future.”

Botanical illustrations, while not necessarily photo-realistic, can exaggerate the most important features used to identify a plant, fungi or whatever else might be growing in your garden or meadow.

These illustrations may also break down a plant into its constituent parts: the leaf, individual petal shapes, where stems connect the pieces, the depth or breadth of the root system, and even cross sections.

Such elements are vital for identification and not always evident in even the best photographs.

There are plenty of reasons to carry around a pencil and notebook for botanical sketching, even if you’re not an artist.

Dead battery, low storage, bad lighting, and many other minor hiccups can prevent you from taking a picture of that interesting tree or wildflower you see on your hike.

And if you are not on your own property, you certainly cannot grab a sample for later identification. But if you can draw what the leaves, bark, buds, or other identifying markers look like, you’ll not only be able to look it up later, but you will also have the beginnings of your very own identification guide of the plants you love the most.

“Botanical Drawing Basics” is free for members of North Branch Land Trust. Non-Members may make a small contribution to participate.

Registration required, space is limited. Visit the North Branch Land Trust Events webpage for more information and reservations.

North Branch Land Trust is a non-profit land conservation organization focused primarily on permanently protecting important natural lands in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

For more information on land conservation, programs, upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the North Branch Land Trust website, following them on Facebook and Twitter.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates (bottom of page).

[Posted: July 7, 2023]

7/10/2023