Learning about the butterfly effect
In September we held our first on-line workshop ‘Drawing Skippers and Other Butterflies’, skippers being a reference to our own Altona Skipper butterfly.
The workshop was presented by Chris Rockley, a professional artist in the field of Natural History. We had two live sessions separated by a week for everyone to try their hand at illustrating butterflies.
Carol Challis - Graphite on paper
In the first live session Chris introduced us to the process of creating an accurate illustration of a butterfly. She discussed the value of direct observation in nature, or drawing from captive and preserved specimens. And when neither can be achieved, such as now during lockdown, Chris showed us how to use our own photographs or images from the internet as reference points. We looked at other source material such as books, museum collections and even butterfly farms where you can buy actual specimens. We were introduced to examples of butterfly illustrations by Australian and international artists such as Charles McCubbin, Harriet and Helena Scott, Maria Sibylla Merian and Arthur Bartholomew. We looked at a range of butterflies and discussed how to illustrate either single specimens or compositions involving some aspect of the butterfly’s life cycle.
Elise Roberts - Water colour and stencil
Chris then took us through a step by step process of creating an accurate illustration through observation measurement and deconstruction. This was supported with comprehensive notes and links that we could download for future reference.
The week between live sessions gave us the opportunity to put to work what we had learnt and then the final live session gave us the opportunity to show our work and seek feedback.
Jill Pope - 3D Embroidery
As you can see from some of the wonderful art work provided by the participants, not everyone stuck to the brief. However, I think we all benefitted from learning about the process of Natural History illustration and adapting that knowledge to our art.
Nick Olliff - Digital print
This was somewhat of a learning experience for both Chris and the HBWC and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you for everyone who has given feedback and provided examples of your work. Thanks to Chris Rockley for the workshop and providing feedback to the participants. And finally, thank you to HBCC for providing funds towards support of these workshops.
By Nick Olliff