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    About

    ornithological illustration of Bullfinch completed, alongside bullfinch specimens and paintbox
    Lizzie harper botanical illustrator and natural history illustrator

    “ I love my job. I love being surrounded by gorgeous countryside and wild flowers. Each day brings a new species to draw and learn about ”

    Lizzie Harper

    Lizzie Harper is a free-lance natural history and botanical illustrator with a keen love of nature.

    Her scientific training as a zoologist helps complement her illustrations.

    Please get in touch to Commission Work

    She works in watercolour, pencil, and pen.  With over 25 years experience as a free-lance illustrator, she has a broad range of clients.

    Clients

    Publishers, environmental charities, postage stamp designers, packaging firms, design companies, and private individuals have all commissioned her illustrations.

     

    “ Lizzie was great to work with! She was enthusiastic and efficient with excellent attention to detail. ”

    Fabulous Magazine

     

    Job Showcase

    Recent books illustrated include “A Life on Our Planet” by David Attenborough, “The Hidden Universe” by Alex Antonelli, and “30 Animals that made us Smarter” by Patrick Ayree.

    Her tree illustrations feature in “The Treeline” by Ben Rawlence and “The Living Wisdom of Trees” by Fred Hageneder

    She’s illustrated The Hedgerow Handbook,  The Garden Forager, The Tree Forager, and Foraging with Kids by Adele Nozedar.

    Her work is in HarperCollins Flower Guide by Streeter, and The Bumper Book of Nature by Stephen Moss.

    Her illustrations appear in National geographic and BBC Countryfile Magazine.

    Lizzie’s work pops up on information boards and nature reserves around the country.

    For more information on her work, visit her

    Job Showcase

    “ I've used Lizzie's wildlife illustrations in my work for many years. The quality of her illustrations is always superb. ”

    Anglezarke Dixon Associates

    Shop

    Here`s a speeded up film of me adding a top layer of watercolour to a pen and ink illustration of Downy Birch Betula pubescens

    It`s a swift way to add colour to a monochrome image, and requires far less work with the brush as all the tonal variety is provided by the pen and ink stippling.

    Adding the watercolour took about 2 hrs, here it`s condensed into 1.5minutes.

    #sciart #botanicalillustration #drawnbyhand #betula #burch #nature #trees #environment #naturalhistoryillustration #naturalscienceillustration
    ...

    Finished this Common toad Bufo bufo today for an interpretation board.

    It`s interesting doing amphibians as I can`t build up colour with fur, feathers, or butterfly scales. So lots of warts have to serve the same purpose.

    I did think how much I`d like to watch @stoneridgeartstudios painting the same beast, and really wanted @paulmillerwildlifeart to suddenly materialize and do the eye, but it worked out OK.

    Female toads are larger than the majes, and in March you might see big pools of them all spawning. Unlike frogs, toadspawn is laid in long threads rather than clumps. Toads are less relent on water than ftogs, but being amphibians they do need to stay a little moist.

    I`ve seen Common toads in my garden a couple of times and have a lot of love for them. I know we shouldnt be anthropomorphic, but any creature that always looks like its sulking is a winner in my book.

    Tomorrow I need to do a Red-tailed bumblebee then a Smooth newt. No warts on THAT amphibian, it`ll be a challenge!

    #toad #bufobufo #amphibians #UK amphibians ##naturalhistoryillustration ##naturalscienceillustration #animal art #wildlifeart #sciart #nature
    ...

    Work in progress - an illustration of Cornflowers for a seed packet design. Only the leaves and stems left to do now.

    Cornflower blue used to be a colour that defeated me, but a few years back I found Cobalt Blue plus Opera Rose works really well.

    I loved doing the Red-tailed bumblebee and rhink the orange against the blue is a great design decision by the client, Roselyn Seeds.

    #botanicalillustration #centaurea
    #cornflower #packaging #packaging design #commercialillustration #sciart #nature #meadow #wildflowers ##naturalhistoryillustration #botanicalart #Roselyn
    ...

    Time lapse film of a pencil illustration of a Pear tree.

    Illustration completed for labelling for @cabalvafarm, for their lovely sparkling Perry which is currently in development.

    #timelapse #graphite #pencil #illustration #packaging #pencilillustration ##botanicalillustration #botanicalart
    ...

    Exhibitions

    Original framed watercolour for sale

    Lizzie has recently shown in Exhibitions at the following venues:

    Herford Art Week 2019

    Association of British Botanical Artists show 2018

    Shepherd’s Parlour, Hay on Wye 2018

    Booth’s Bookshop, Hay on Wye 2018

    Hereford Art Week  2017

    Obsidian Gallery, Oxfordshire 2017

    Hunt Institute of Botanical Studies, Pittsburgh 2015

    Copyright Spot Farms 2018
    View of a head water stream with dipper, wagtail, waterfall and damselflies then view of a river with a heron fishing from a shingle bank, sand marten flying low, and dragonfly and beetles at home amongst driftwood; the river meanders on to a wetland meadow delta with grazing herds and established aquatic plant communities flanking the river waters, animals include red underwing moth, warbler, common frog, wild flowers, and dragonfly species,
    River landscape natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper
    Wetland landscape with curlew and pearl bordered fritillary in the foreground on emergent vegetation, behind a flooded area of meadow tails into distant hills, cows and swans graze fields and yellow flag, blackberry and alder fill the foreground.
    Wetland landscape natural history illustration by Lizzie Harper

    Teaching Workshops

    Chrysanthemum flower Pom-pom, a single flower with golden petal colour.

    For details of upcoming courses read more...

    “ Lizzie was a wonderful tutor. Dynamic, encouraging, and friendly. ”

    Student from Cambridge University Botanical Gardens course

    Frequently Asked Questions

    rowan berry, fruit

    Questions about inspiration, how Lizzie started out, and illustrations vs photographs often come up.

    Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (and answers)

     

    Lizzie loves nothing more than spending a day immersed in the beautiful landscape round her home in Wales; where she investigates slugs and mosses, and does sketchbook studies of the wild flowers she finds.

    She works from her garden studio in Hay on Wye where she lives very happily with a long-suffering husband and two lively children.

    Lizzie Harper