Botanical Watercolor Painting with Roberta Rosenthal | Oct. 2025
Thursday mornings, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
October 9, 16, 23
$130, $115 members
Working from live specimens and photos we will create a background behind accurate botanical subjects. Draw and paint using watercolor pencils and tube, or block watercolor. Create an atmosphere of time and place. Learn to blend pencils and watercolor layers.
For intermediate and advanced students.
MATERIALS LIST
- Caran D’ache Supracolor II Aquarelle Soft set of 12 or 24 or more; additional colors: bluish pale and white
- Graphite Pencil HB lead technical pencil is best with fillable leads but a wood pencil is fine. Sharpener for pencil.
- Kneaded eraser
- Magic white rub eraser
- Block of 11 x 14 or 12 x 16 Arches hot press for botanical subjects using watercolor pencils. If using individual sheets, then a foam core board and artist’s watercolor tape all around for the paper to remain flat. Or a block of Arches cold press.
- Water-brush to blend colors or a good quality kolinsky sable pointed watercolor brush
- A set of brushes: could include pointed short handle watercolor synthetic sable or real hair # 1, 2, 4, 6 and a flat 1” brush.
• Best quality round watercolor Raphael Kolinski sable 8404 or equivalent. Size #1 and #2 and #4. - Tube Watercolor Brands include Sennelier, Schminke, Holbein, or M. Graham:
yellow lemon, cadmium yellow deep or Indian yellow, Burnt Sienna, Winsor red, Vermillion, Permanent rose or Quinacridone rose, Quinacridone Violet or Magenta, French ultramarine (deep), Cobalt blue, Cerulean blue or Cinerous Blue, Hookers Green or Sap green, Payne’s gray - Gouache: M. Graham Titanium white gouache and a set of Caran D’Ache tube gouache paints. Set of 12 colors.
Optional – I also like Winsor Newton gouache Rose Tyrian color for flowers.
Paper for watercolor with backgrounds:
- Arches cold press 12”x 16” block or sheets for color pencil and watercolor combined.
- Tracing paper my favorite is Borden Riley sheer trace parchment #90 or other brand
- Saral transfer paper
Other:
- Fine water mister
- Water dropper bottle
- Paper towels, scissors, and a non-serrated butter knife
- Porcelain Palette for watercolors with separate areas. Plastic is okay but stains.
For over 40 years Roberta shared her expertise with hundreds of students as an instructor in both Botanical Art and Business Practices for Artists at the famed New York Botanical Garden and more recently locally at Wallkill River Center for the Arts School and Gallery, Desmond Campus of Mount Saint Mary College, Wurtsboro Art Alliance, Catskill Art Society, Ellenville Museum Library and Pine Bush Library. Her art is exhibited internationally, collected by individuals and corporations. Roberta continues to travel finding unusual botanical specimens to paint or landscapes that she captures in plein air or sketches for future studio work. Her current home studio, Squirrel’s Nest, is located on top of Shawanga Mountain in Sullivan County, New York with a view of the Hudson Valley.
