Artiste Botanique
Here in the UK, the weather just hit the point where I can sit outside for a while without freezing to death, just in time for the Easter week-end. With the current crisis making the world much quieter, it was perfect out there. Blue sky, clean air, flowers, the birds and me. And Penelope rabbit… Continue reading Garden sketching kit – with a blackbird for company
Here is the first video in my 2020 tulip phase. I go through one of these every year. Unfortunately this year my tulip craving will be hard to feed. The much anticipated crops of 'Black Parrot', 'Burgundy' and 'Apricot Beauty' I planted in my garden were all eaten by something unknown and mysterious, while West… Continue reading Anatomy of a tulip – Video
By now you have probably noticed that I am obsessed with the rose 'Souvenir du Docteur Jamain'. I wrote a masterclass for Artists & Illustrators magazine, which is published in the forthcoming issue. I also filmed the whole process, from the drawing stage to the tone study and painting the colours wet-in-wet. I broke it… Continue reading New video tutorial: watercolour dark rose + magazine article
There is something quite magical and romantic about a dip pen with a beautifully marbled handle and a gorgeous nib. The feel you have as you dip the pen and make a mark on the paper with the liquid ink cannot be matched by a felt tip pen. For this ginkgo leaf I have chosen… Continue reading Ginkgo leaf part 2: Ink
I have been painting a lot of Ginkgo biloba leaves, some from my own tree in the garden, others from the beautiful pair of trees outside the orangery in West Dean Gardens. There is something fascinating about a prehistoric tree. You can just imagine it surrounded by Diplodocus and Stegosaurus in the fading Jurassic light,… Continue reading Ginkgo leaf part 1: drawing
Sandrine Maugy 