About this course
Over six sittings we build a complete herbarium study in gouache. You'll press and mount three field specimens, block the plate in dilute wash, work the leaf structure wet-into-wet, mix a repeatable green from only four pigments, letter the specimen label by hand, and finish with a varnish pass that keeps the paper matte.
Download plate templatesRequirements
- A free or supported Fernbrook membership — join the school
- Cold-press paper at 300gsm, plus a size 4 round and a flat wash brush
- Three pressed specimens, dried at least a fortnight
Course outline
Painting a herbarium study
- Part 1: Setting up the plate and the palette 1:24
- Part 2: Pressing and mounting three specimens 9:07
- Part 3: Blocking the wash and reserving highlights 3:52
- Part 4: Mixing four pigments into a repeatable green 12:41
- Part 5: Venation, edges and the wet-into-wet pass 7:18
- Part 6: Hand-lettering the label & the matte finish 4:36
