How to Draw Plants: The Techniques of Botanical Illustration
by: Keith West

Softcover. Portland OR, Timber Press, reprint, 1998, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 152 pages, illustrated mostly in b&w, some color. The author gives detailed advice on working in pencil, pen, scraper board, watercolor and gouache, and acrylics; on building up a drawing or painting by stages; on taking measurements and understanding plant structure; on collecting, handling and preserving plant material; and on the use of the hand lens and dissecting microscope. The accurate observation and the techniques that he advocates are equally applicable to the disciplined requirements of providing plates for the scientific press and to illustrations for more popular work or to drawing for pleasure. Essential botanical terms and information are fully explained and illustrated, and there is a glossary. Clean copy.