KARA HAMMOND: OPEN STUDIO

With the goal of creating accurate, yet vibrant depictions of living plants.

Approaches to botanical drawing we will explore:

Gesture – searching for the life force inherent in the subject. A quick study in which the artist looks to record what the subject is doing, to capture the essence, the verb within. Without this, the drawing will remain lifeless, inert.

Structure – searching for the basic shapes of the different elements of the subject, determining the arrangement of shapes, as well as its overall form and direction.

Layout – determining the composition of the drawing. May use a viewfinder to decide arrangement of spaces around the subject.

Observation –looking carefully, to learn how the plant is put together, to bring it to life on paper through two methods: Contour – slow, deeply observed lines which connect edges of surfaces. Looking for details which will help define the particular characteristics of the subject. Value – using cross hatching or stippling to enhance the sense of volume and form to a two-dimensional drawing.

Value – using cross hatching or stippling to enhance the sense of volume and form to a two-dimensional drawing.

Some Botanical Art Web Sources:                                   

botanicalartandandartists.com

asba-art.org

mymodernmet.com/history-of-botanical-illustration

kew.org/read-and-watch/what-is-botanic-art

kew.org/read-and-watch/what-is-botanic-art

Some famous botanical artists through history:

Maria Sibylla Merian, German (1647 – 1717)

Pierre-Joseph Redouté, French (1766 – 1854)

Marianne North, English, (1830 – 1890)

Ernst Haeckel, German (1834 – 1919)

Currently in production: Coco in the Garden

A wordless story of the explorations of a small cat in a big world.

Each book contains 23 distinct original lino-cut prints.

A short book about a little cat in the great outdoors.

In this non-verbal sequential narrative, a small black cat explores the wide world of the back yard, following her instincts, and anything that moves.

Each page is a hand-printed linocut image on handmade Japanese paper.

Also coming soon to Art-O-Mat.

http://www.artomat.org

which include my work, old and new. In Hillsborough, NC, and New York City.

Making inks from various natural and found substances, attempting to forge a deeper connection to place and material.

A cup of tea, a way of centering to regroup one’s thoughts, honoring contemplation in the creative process; a process of discovery in which each successive change leads down an unseen path until the endgame is clear. Every drawing is a new adventure.

Recent larger scale drawing, all handmade inks, layered over several days.

Saturday Evenings from 7 pm – 10 pm, through the end of August, my studio door will be open to the public for visiting, drawing, and conversations about art with me and downtown artist, ArtDezo, aka Donell Williams. Masks required for the unvaccinated, recommended for the rest of us. The fans will be running. Stop by and say hello!

And the latest hands, more handmade inks along with traditional watercolor on a variety of papers.

It’s been a great year, having a billboard image to reach the thousands of people passing each day with a positive message. Sadly all good things must end, and so this will be coming down soon. But many thanks to:

@artpopstreetgallery @artscouncilwsfc @lamaradvertisingcompany @adamsoutddoor @associatedposters