Includes bibliographical references (page 398) and index.

Foreword / by Diane Bouchier, Founder, American Society of Botanical Artists -- Introduction -- Getting started. Caring for cut flowers ; Wild plants in the field ; Working in a back country location ; Setting up a studio ; Basic botany for botanical artists -- Drawing botanical subjects in black and white. Graphite skills ; Pen and ink -- Botanical subjects in color. Colored pencil ; Watercolor on paper ; Watercolor on vellum -- Specialized techniques and composition -- Composition.

Getting started. Caring for cut flowers ; Wild plants in the field ; Working in a backcountry location ; Setting up a studio ; Basic botany for botanical artists - Part 1. Drawing botanical subject in black and white. Graphite skills. Applied tutorials : Shaded flowers ; Leaves ; Fruits, vegetables, and branches ; Drawing spiral and diagonal patterns - Advanced tutorials : Drawing an inflorescence with many flowers in graphite ; Illustrating a plant portrait from roots to tips - Pen and ink. Applied tutorial : Drawing a thistle head in seed - Advanced tutorials : Depicting cactus spines ; Making a scientific ink dissection drawing with technical pens ; Scientific botanical illustrations in pen, brush, and ink - Part 2. Botanical subjects in color, Colored pencils. Applied tutorials : Three flower types in colored pencil ; Depicting leaf texture with colored pencil ; Fruit and vegetables in colored pencil - Advanced tutorials : Grisaille techniques on rose hips with colored pencil and watercolor pencils ; Kiwi vine n colored pencil and graphite ; A crabapple branch in colored pencil on film - Watercolor on paper - Properties of watercolor paints - Palette philosophies - Transferring a drawing onto paper or vellum before painting begins - Watercolor wash and wet techniques - Applied tutorials : Drybrush layering, glazing, and detailing ; Flowers ; Leaves ; Stems, twigs, and roots ; Painting a leaf in sepiatone - Advanced tutorials : Painting a slipper orchid using wet techniques and masking fluid ; Painting gloss, bloom, and reflected light in grapes ; Drybrush watercolor and color mixing ; Creating an in-situ painting ; Painting a magnolia with watercolor washes ; Drybrush tomato with masking fluid - Watercolor on vellum. Applied tutorials : Drybrush lines, washes, and crosshatching on Kelmscott vellum ; Painting a dried leaf on vellum ; Painting bloom on fruit - Advanced tutorials : Achieving deep, rich color in watercolor in Kelmscott vellum ; Using opaque watercolors on dark vellum ; Painting a flowering cherry tree bough - Specialized techniques and composition. Field sketchbook and journal ; Egg tempera, gouache, and casein: a comparison ; Etching techniques ; Painting a branch with lichens in gouache and watercolor ; Gouache on paper: spruce needles and cones ; Metalpoint ; Painting in acrylics ; Painting on Oils - Composition. Composition in practice ; Elements and principles of composition in botanical art ; Different approaches to botanical composition.