Story posted: Friday, 29. July 2016 by Lizzie Harper
As well as being a natural history illustrator and botanical artist, I’m also a parent and sometimes get asked to go into our local Hay-on-Wye Primary School and draw with the children. Recently I go to help year 1 (5 – 6year olds) draw “mini-beasts”.
I’ve got a whole lot of insect specimens that I’ve gathered over the years, including loads encased in Perspex. These are brilliant for kids as they can examine them closely, but do no damage.
I’m happy for them to use other specimens too – there’s nothing like drawing from life to ignite a child’s imagination and make them work really hard.
I like to encourage them to use graphite and coloured pencil, as lots of the observed details gets lost once you introduce paint or felt tip.
Some children chose to use oil pastels, and I think these worked well – I do understand that asking someone to illustrate an iridescent green beetle in grey pencil can be frustrating!
I was really impressed by these children, their concentration spans were excellent, and some got thoroughly lost in the details of the insect legs and markings, which was marvellous.
I very much hope that me going in with bugs and drawing materials helps then not only develop a passion for all things entomological, but also a love of drawing from life, and for looking carefully at the amazing natural world around them.
On another topic entirely, I'm afraid I've had to turn off the "comments" button on my blogs due to spamming. If you would like to give any comments or feedback, please do so on my Facebook page or Twitter account or email me at lizzieharper@tinyworld.co.uk. Many many thanks; and apologies.
Category: Scientific Illustrator out and about | Comments: 0 | Viewed: 927