An Introduction to Botanical Art, Aesthetically Pleasing & Scientifically Accurate

Gilly Shaeffer
Sep 3
4 min read

Updated: Sep 4

by Gilly Shaeffer. Originally written for Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) Newsletter, May 2025. Reprinted with permission.

I was first introduced to botanical art in the 1990s when I signed up for a "floral illustration" class offered through Otis College of Art and Design. The class was held at The Huntington in San Marino, CA, a magnificent estate, library, and world class garden east of downtown Los Angeles. During the class, I was introduced to the "Best of

Colored Pencil" book by the Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA), published in 1994. The work in this book made a lasting impression on me.

My approach and interest in doing botanical art is from an artistic perspective. However, I developed an appreciation and scientific understanding of plants to enable me to be as accurate as possible when painting them. While we don’t have to be scientists or botanists to do a successful botanical piece, we do have to be observant and precise.

Botanical Art Through the Ages

Renderings of botanical subjects date back to ancient times with identifiable plants appearing on Egyptian tombs, Greek vases, and Roman mosaics. In medieval times, collections of plant drawings appeared that were called herbariums.

Throughout time, great artists have contributed to the rich history of botanical art, but there is no botanical artist who is more admired and better known than Pierre-Joseph

Redoute. In the 1700s he is credited with painting the flowers in the gardens of Marie Antoinette and Josephine Bonaparte. His work is still highly respected and an inspiration for today’s botanical artists.

Botanical Artwork Categories

Scientific Illustration is a detailed and accurate visual representation of scientific subjects. Its primary purpose is to communicate information clearly and precisely, often

to be included in scientific texts. This type of illustration focuses on accuracy, often using precise measurements and details to ensure that the drawing is a true representation of the subject, whether it is a plant, animal, parts of the human body, geological formation, or other subject in the natural world.

Botanical Illustration is a subset of scientific illustration, specifically focusing on plants. It aims to provide a scientifically accurate drawing of a plant’s form, structure, details, and information about its growth cycle. Botanical illustrations are often used in scientific journals, botanical reference books, and herbarium sheets. They typically include elements such as the plant’s habits, including flowers leaves, seeds, and other significant parts, often with labels and measurements. Botanical illustration requires a more scientific approach with accuracy of color, form, and size being of paramount importance.

Botanical Art prioritizes aesthetic qualities alongside accuracy in the representation of plants. Unlike botanical illustration, which is strictly scientific, botanical art blends scientific precision with artistic expression. The goal is to create visually pleasing artwork that still maintains a high level of detail and accuracy, but the focus is also on the composition, color, and overall beauty of the piece.

Getting Started

Surfaces: Most botanical art pieces are done on white or off-white paper that is very smooth, such as hot press 140 lb. to 300 lb. watercolor paper, calfskin vellum, or Strathmore Vellum Bristol (series 300 to 500).

Backgrounds: The background can enhance the focus of the artwork, but it should not be so predominant that it takes the viewers’ attention away from the main plant focus. Sometimes an artist will include a background, called “in situ” (meaning “in place”). This shows where the plant would naturally be growing. This “in situ” could include natural geographical forms and other plants that you would find around the main plant in nature. It could also include pollinators, insects, nests and anything that you would find in the natural setting which is near the plant itself.

Research: Collect as much information about your plant as is possible. The goal is to give the viewer a realistic and detailed rendition. This is not essential, but if possible as a point of interest, include in your composition the different stages of development that the plant goes through—show buds, full blossoms and even dried leaves and flowers.

Show your plant subject from different angles. Depict the blossoms from three main

positions—front, 3/4 view, and back.

*Color studies, sketchbook pages, and notes for Camellia painting, © Gilly Shaeffer.*

Resources: Work from live specimens whenever possible and make use of other sources.

If you can’t work from life, use a smart phone with a zoom feature to get closeup images and document the plant.
Get a botanical illustration of your plant from a reliable online library such as a university herbarium.
Use a microscope or magnifying glass to see fine details or to dissect the plant for more information.
Assemble pressed leaves, line drawings, color samples, value studies, and notes about the plant.

*Artichoke reference materials, including pressed leaf, graphite study, watercolor studies, and notes. © Gilly Shaeffer.*

Graphite Value Studies

I like to do a graphite value study of the final composition. This is the last step before beginning my painting. This shaded graphite study helps me to get my lights and darks in the correct places and to make all parts look very three-dimensional.

*Camellia graphite value study, © Gilly Shaeffer.*

Create Your Composition

When I feel comfortable with my graphite value study done on tracing paper, I transfer the final outline drawing on to the watercolor paper and I am ready to bring the plant to life as a painting.

Thoughts to keep in mind when doing a botanical piece

Successful botanical art is both aesthetically pleasing and botanically accurate. There is no room to make up an imaginary version of how the plant grows or how it looks or how it functions. The artist has the opportunity to make certain artistic choices about what goes on the paper, but all choices must be influenced by the goal to inform the viewer about how the plant grows, its structure and parts. In summation, the botanical artist provides the viewer with real information about the plant, as well as a pleasing visual experience.