Drawing Botanicals with Whitney River

Four Consecutive Thursdays, January 18 – February 8, 3-5 p.m.

This class will give students an opportunity to explore different drawing materials while honing their observational skills. Each session focuses on rendering plants in a different drawing medium: pencil, charcoal, monochromatic watercolor, and pen. Students will begin with drawing inspiration from an in depth look at the Farnsworth’s current exhibit of Andrew Wyeth’s botanical drawings and paintings, before going to the studio to experiment and play. The class emphasizes exploration, and students will complete the class with several finished pieces.

Whitney River has been teaching drawing to students of all ages for three decades. Her paintings and drawings capture her love of the natural world through close observation and careful rendering, and she enjoys sharing this passion with her students. She is a full time artist, teacher, and mother, and finds endless inspiration exploring the Maine beaches and forests.

Whitney River’s poetic drawings and paintings invite the viewer to share her appreciation for the intricate details found in nature. Through close observation and realistic rendering of organic forms, River creates meditative compositions that evoke the human experience. Since graduating from Yale University in 1995, she has shown extensively throughout New England, and her drawings and paintings are represented in many private and corporate collections.

The Materials List for this program may be downloaded here.

Cost: $225; $210 for Farnsworth members