Five Days Drawing and Painting the Autumn Harvest

Monday-Friday, September 22-26
10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

The leaves are turning, the air is crisp, and pumpkins and gourds abound! Take advantage of nature’s bounty within Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ spectacular Dahlia and Iris garden. Spend one, two, three, four, or all five days surrounded by stunning dahlias in full bloom and learn how to draw and paint the fall harvest. All levels are welcome. Class appropriate to teens 14+.

Day 1: Fall Foliage in Blazing Color

Immerse yourself in fall foliage. Using the spectacular leaves found on the grounds of the Gardens’, create blazing seasonal watercolor, colored pencil and/or watercolor pencil drawings.

• Start the day by creating leaf rubbings to capture the intricate venation of an assortment of leaves
• Transfer your drawings to paper and learn to color mix using granulating pigments in watercolor and textures with colored pencil
• Create refined details by impressing and lifting veins
• Apply additional washes of color to glaze over and create a finished glowing fall leaf!

Day 2 & 3: Pumpkins and Gourds

Fall is an excellent time to learn how to create the lumpy bumpy textures found in the Cucurbitaceae family, known as gourds. Learn all about different gourds, their shapes, and growth cycles. It is recommended, but not required, to take these two days together.

Day 2: Pumpkins and Gourds in Graphite

• Rough gestural sketching
• Tracing paper overlay to refine the drawing and add details
• Create armature drawing and contour of complex textures
• “Quick & dirty” tonal drawing to create light on form

Day 3: Pumpkins and Gourds in Color

• Discussion of papers and color medium choices 
• Transfer methods 
• Dissection of color and creating swatches 
• Extending color range 
• Initial application of color
• Add layers and details 

Day 4 & 5: Dahlia Details

One of the greatest joys of fall is the emergence of the stunning dahlia. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has a particularly beautiful collection with a variety of shapes and colors.

Day 4: Dahlia Details in Graphite 

• Rough gestural sketching. Drawing the components of the plant; bud, flower, stem, and leaf
• Tracing paper overlay to refine the drawing and add details
• Create a composition of the components
• “Quick & dirty” tonal drawing to create light on form

Day 5: Dahlia Details in Color

• Discussion of papers and color medium choices
• Transfer methods using a lightbox and transfer paper
• Dissection of color and creating swatches
• Extending color range
• Initial application of color
• Add layers and details 

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Supply List

Graphite Materials List:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19hJ1raO4d2WFpYcPTxFcyuv3rI78Khp2/view?usp=sharing

Multi-Media Materials List:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nrrfzoJEiH_LU2F2qZKb2W3sHaGWhR5E/view?usp=sharing
It is not necessary to have everything on the list. You may choose your medium.

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Artist Biography:

Mindy Lighthipe

Artist Mindy Lighthipe is passionate about getting out into the natural world and discovering beauty in every rock, stream, and forest. With this passion, she carefully studies her subjects in their environment.

Mindy uses a variety of techniques and media to create her bold imagery. She paints in watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and pan pastels. It is not uncommon for her to break traditional and classic rules by combining techniques to create her unique and breathtaking style.

Mindy graduated magna cum laude from Kean University with a BFA in studio arts and an MA in art education. She received her 210-hour certification in botanical illustration from the New York Botanical Gardens. After graduating, she went on to teach more than twenty different classes in their botanical art program and developed a 250-hour certificate in natural science illustration.

Mindy has been exhibiting her art since 1998 in juried and solo exhibitions. In 2009, she received a Silver Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society in London. In 2010, she had a solo exhibition at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Mindy currently teaches scientific illustration at the University of Florida. To learn more, visit www.mindylighthipe.com.