We are delighted to share the beautiful work of Lynne Scoresby, who is studying our Botanical Coloured Pencil Diploma Course with tutor Grainne.
For this assignment, Lynne chose to work with a sunflower, Helianthus annuus, a wonderful subject that offered her the opportunity to explore three very different approaches to the same flower, each producing a distinctly different result and each teaching something new along the way.
The first piece, pen and ink only, is immediately striking. Lynne has used a combination of contour lines, stippling and scribbling to capture the different textures of the sunflower, the long, flowing petals rendered in confident contour lines that describe their shape and structure beautifully. The result has real impact and a bold graphic quality that suits the sunflower’s strong, confident character perfectly.
The second piece combines ink with coloured pencil, and here the warm golden yellows and amber tones of the petals glow against the ink linework, with the centre deepening to rich purplish browns that give the flower real drama. The leaves and stem are handled in deeper, cooler greens that anchor the composition and let the flower head take centre stage. It is a vibrant and characterful piece.
The third piece, coloured pencil with ink outline only, is perhaps the most delicate of the three. Working with Faber-Castell and Prismacolour pencils, Lynne has built up the petals in layered yellows and ochres, with the disc florets rendered in warm sepia tones. The leaves show a thoughtful approach to colour mixing, beginning with warm grey before greens and touches of yellow and brown are added on top. Lynne notes that she even attempted embossing for the fine surface hairs, a lovely detail that speaks to how carefully she is observing her subject.
Lynne writes with wonderful honesty and curiosity about each piece, questioning the choices she made, celebrating what worked and thinking carefully about what she would do differently. That kind of reflective, enquiring approach is exactly what botanical illustration rewards, and it shows in the quality and thoughtfulness of everything she has produced here. We look forward to seeing what fruit and vegetables bring in the next assignment!
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