Botanical Drawing With Coloured Pencils

In this mindful, in-person botanical drawing class, you’ll learn how to draw a flower or leaf directly from life using graphite and coloured pencils. You’ll be guided step by step to build a beautiful drawing that captures the delicate wonders of spring.

We’ll begin by learning how to draw tonally using graphite, focusing on light, shadow, and form. From there, you’ll be introduced to a range of coloured pencil techniques, including underpainting, layering, and burnishing, to create rich, vibrant colours.

We’ll spend the day exploring one flower in depth, discovering its shapes, textures, and tiny details. You’ll learn how mark-making can be used to describe the minuscule.

This is a focused, skill building class, designed to leave you feeling inspired and newly excited by how much beauty a single flower can hold. 

Coloured pencils are a wonderfully versatile medium - and perfect for taking with you on holiday or using at home.

Who is it for?

Suitable for all abilities - beginners welcome. The day includes plenty of demonstrations, individual guidance, and feedback throughout.

About your teacher:

Susannah Pal is a painter and teacher with a love of slow, observational drawing. She is passionate about helping students build confidence with drawing from life and discovering the joy of looking.

Susannah runs www.nowdraw.co.uk Instagram @now_draw_

Testimonial from a past student:

‘‘Susannah teaches and demonstrates her practice and techniques without trying to stifle your own drawing style. She is very hands on and works with you closely throughout the workshop, encouraging you and offering suggestions for improvement. I learnt from her in abundance!’’ - Barbara Bennett

Please bring:

• One or two flowers that you feel inspired by

• A jar or container (to keep your flower fresh all day)

Materials you’ll need:

• A good quality smooth drawing paper. At least 190 gsm. A4 or A3 size. E.g. Hot pressed SMOOTH watercolour paper

• A range of coloured pencils. (I recommend Faber-Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil Set of 12 for a good basic range*)

• A good eraser – (recommended- Faber Castell Dust Free)

• A few soft Graphite pencils (HB – 8B) 

• Tissue, cotton wool or chamois cloth for blending 

• A pencil sharpener

• Putty eraser or blue-tack

Optional materials

• Colour Wheel Company : Grey Scale and Value Finder

• Electric eraser- more useful than you think!

• A eraser pen e.g. Tombow MONO Zero Eraser Fine

• To achieve darker tones Mars Lumograph Black pencil and Faber-Castell Pitt Graphite Matt Pencil to achieve darker tones

Useful Polychromos coloured pencils for Botanical drawing- you may wish to look at and choose depending on what colours you wish to use.