Step by step botanical illustration of a Marigold

[@foxgloved1]

I'd much rather watch a full length feature film of watching you make beautiful flowers then anything Hollywood puts out any day

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

That's so sweet of you. But I don't think the moguls down in Hollywood have anything to worry about quite yet.... So glad you like the films, thank you

[@liannedrysdale6552]

Amen!

[@adriannabcustomfurniture]

I love your long form videos. I miss them 😩 haha! Going back and watching all your older videos since I have a bit of time to relax. Optical witchcraft 😂 I'm going steal that! Haha!

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Hey Adrianna, there's going to be another long form one coming out on Friday, so get a pansy or a viola and your paints ready! Optical witchcraft. Didn't even know I'd said theat. I might say it again some time, it has a certain ring to it! Thanks so much for your comment and your loyalty to my films, it's appreciated. x

[@CatherineMyers-x2t]

Thank you so much Lizzie for putting out another video on KZbin of you teaching water colour. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. I’ve been waiting for another and was so excited when I saw this one come up. Enjoy the blackbirds in your garden. Thanks again I really appreciate it as I know you must be very busy.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

My total pleasure. Thankyou. And yes, I'll keep bonding with my blackbird...abd hope the cat leaves him.in peace!

[@joannebredin371]

I love the length of your videos,,, love to see the process, love to hear you discuss the techniques, hearing about the birds outside your window, and love to hear your ramblings. Your longer videos are fab !

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thanks so much! I do make myself laugh though, sentencing my poor viewers to literally a couple of hours of watching paint dry. But luckily people seem to lie them, so I'll keep on making them!

[@gardengirl6636]

Lizzie, it is an absolute pleasure watching you paint! Thank you for being so generous with your time. I look forward to your next video and to purchasing your book. Take care and stay warm.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you so much! And thanks for such a lovely comment. It's warmed up over here now - back to drizzle and flat grey skies....Still, it's definitely less nippy!

[@irishcottagerenovation9900]

Just getting back into painting after a long time and have gone through many videos but your patience and time spent showing techniques,colour and the full process is brilliant. I love botanical art so this channel is a winner, thank you.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Glad to help, and what a lovely message. Thanks, and enjoy your art and all the endless array of plants, just waiting to be painted!

[@jgriffiths9120]

Lizzie. I could watch you all day everyday. You are just amazing in what you do & the way you teach us. You make me want to get out my paints & paint flowers. Also love hearing the birds in the background. Perfect. Thank you.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Wow, thank you! Inspiring someone else to draw or paint is the ultimate accolade. Thankyou for such kind words!

[@sharonreynolds4207]

This was a wonderful demonstration. I have taken classes from other instructors and learned MORE by watching and listening to you. PLEASE keep posting these. SOOOO helpful! ❤

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

I'm so pleased you enjoy the films. I will keep tyring to make volume to post them, people are so generous with their comments❤

[@roxanablanton3820]

Oh, my, goodness!! What a wonderful demonstration!! Your comments are delightful and full of information. Several times I had to chuckle 😅 out loud. Lizzie, you are a delight and your tiny strokes, as you paint and explain, are just what I needed on this cold and gray afternoon in south Texas. Thank you for sharing. Are your books sold on Amazon? Hugs to you.❤

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

You are so welcome! I'm really glad it lightened your afternoon. So the book I'm writing isnt going to be published until 2025, they're starting the editing process this coming summer. Once it's published (and I reckon they will publish now, as it's all been paid for!) then I hope it'll be available everywhere. it's certainly planned to hit an international audience. And not to worry, knowing me Ill be wittering on about it once publication date approaches! Thanks for your comment and your interest, Roxana. x

[@nancyjohnson7193]

Always a privilege to see and hear you at work. Thanks for sharing all the interesting tidbits as you go.💛🧡

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thanks so much, Nancy. I'm really glad you appreciated it.

[@creativecolours2022]

Hi Lizzie. Marialena's here. Well my first impression is how nice your haircut matches with the faux fur jacket! Very modern! Regarding the mixes. The cerulean is not my go to colour for mixing because cerulean blue tends to separate in all of its mixes with other colours and it is extremely granulating. The brushes that you tested with the blond synthetic hair keep a nice point but I have the notion that you need to try a smaller one. Not because the no 4 is not pointy but because it holds more water. The angular brush is great for lifting colour in straight lines as f.e veins on leafs and such things. If you lose a vein on a leaf or flower one pass with the angular brush and a quick dumping with a paper towel will bring it back. They are also great for defusing colour on wet on wet washes, as f.e on large leafs. Angular brushes are my new favorite. The cat tongue brush is great for applying washes. It is actually better than the rounds because you can apply the wash with just one pass depending the angle of the brush ( how you hold it or better say turn it) and don't leave any patches of colour on the paper. Make your life even easier and use a flat brush for mixing colours. Less scrubbing on the pans and faster mixing. The paper looks fine to me. I don't know why you say that you found it a bit more absorbent, it didn't look like that and it gave you a fantastic final result. The colours ended up look very bright and it kept the lines nicely. It is very difficult to find sketchbooks with such good quality of paper ( unless you bind your own sketchbooks with the paper of your choice) so I would say that this is a good sketchbook. ( price??) Your Marigold Calendula illustration turned out looking great and that was a very informative and complete video! Great tutorial! Thank you! xxx :)

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Youre right about the cerulean, so sometimes I use W&N intense blue instead. But the chalky-ness of the Cerulean can be helpful and often it doesn't matter too much if it separates out. Thanks SO much for the info on those brushes! Who knew? Certainly not me. And you do know who gets the credit for me starting to use brushes for mixing, don't you? Maybe I will test the flat one for that. And thanks for the email too, that's all really interesting and Ill follow up on your suggestions. Ive never loved Botanical ultra smooth, its a Bockingford, and I know I'm picky, but all Bockingfords are slightly softer than my Stonehenge aqua and Fluid 100. Complaining about ti certtainly has an air of "first world problems" to it, I'm spoilt for choice which what I can source here, but in a fantasy world RK Burt would use Stonehenge aqua instead. But youre right, the paper was far from being awful. Cost of the sketchbook, good question. Not cheap. 25 A5 sheets (thick enough to work both sides) and priced, depending on your supplier, between £13 and £16. Thanks for being nice about the illustrations, and my hair! Its all going grey suddenly and very fast, so who knows what I'll have done with it by the time I make my next film! Thanks lovely Marialena X Lizzie

[@creativecolours2022]

​@@LizzieHarperillustrator Oh.... I didn't know that the botanical ultra smooth is a Bockingford. I've never managed to make Bockingford work for me and I have a load of it. It simply doesn't work, and the funny thing is that many botanical illustrators recommend it as a very decent paper and alternative to the all cotton ones. It seems though that the ultra smooth is somewhat different. I'll keep a note to test it. The sketchbook is not particularly expensive either if you consider that it costs the same price with the Stillman and Birn A6 ones! Sketchbooks generally speaking are expensive. It is better to bind our own sketchbooks with the paper of our choice. Your hair look great either way because they are plenty and shiny and there is nothing wrong with grey hair girls! Com' on!! Grey is just another colour if you think about it! That said of course by someone who is currently in the transition. Half of my hair are grey and the rest red brown but I'keep on going. At the end of the day and by the time that I don't mind having two coloured hair it is no one else's business! I don't understand why we ( women) feel obliged to dye our hair when men don't even have to think about it. And you know what I've realized recently? That men are indifferent in this matter. lol They don't seem to notice or care. It was mostly women that asked about why I stopped dyeing my hair and not men.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

@@creativecolours2022 I'll send you a sheet of the Botanical ultra smooth, see what you think. I wonder if youll be as dubious as me. I'm sure I have it somewhere, but email me your address. And I guess I'd not really looked at sketchbook prices recently, youre probably right about them not being that pricey. Grey hair can look lovely, totally agree. But Im in a half way house where it all looks a bit flat. If it was ALL grey, great. Or ALL brown, fine. But this in between bit? Not so much. Also, I was a bottle blonde from the age of 16 to 47, so I'm not even that used to having brownish hair! Anyway, we'll see. And I am so with you on the looking nice for ourselves not for any one else, let along oblivious men! x PS In further chats with artify. thankyou

[@creativecolours2022]

@@LizzieHarperillustrator Ok.. I'll sent you my address. Look the in between stages don't look that good indeed. Especially if you have longer hair as I do. But my thought was that if I don't make this transition now that my hair still grow really fast it would be even harder to do it later on. Because as we grow older hair tend to get thinner and grow slower. I have completely straight hair and most of the time at very very long lengths down to my waste or even longer. Now I retain them at the bra length and after a year of growing them natural I have around 25 cm grey with some longer strands at the back because the hair at the back of our head grow faster than the hair in the front. My intention after growing my hair natural at the regular ( for me ) long length is to highlight the highlights with some silver touches here and there. I mean to neat or/and accentuate my natural colour in a way that it will not need that much maintenance as dyeing the whole length every two weeks. But if you feel self conscious and you hesitate, I tell you and trust me on that, that people won't bother you with strange questions or glances. They don't care, or if they do they won't tell you and you don't have to care of what they are thinking of course. It is no one else's business what you'll do on your own head. You'll do it for your own wellness to stop exposing your self to the dyes' harmful chemicals. It is contradicting after all to claim that we care about the environment and the nature and what we eat and then put all that chemicals on our heads in order to satisfy other peoples' expectations of how we are supposed to look like. That is IMHO the worst kind of social oppression. I mean other peoples' expectations about our own appearance, on our heads with the excuse that we won't look in our first youth. Like it is possible to look like a teenager after some age unless you start pulling and lifting and botox your face.... I declared that I want to grow older in decency and with grace and be my self. And I write this in public not only for you but for every other woman that is considering to grow her hair natural. Be yourselfs girls. Enough is enough with the unattainable beauty standards.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

@@creativecolours2022 I'm lucky in that I've never really cared much what anyone thinks of the way I dress and appear - it got me bullied at school but over the years it's given me so much freedom to wear outrageous clothes, lots of sequins, to dress like a drag queen when I go out for a drink on a Tuesday evening etc. I think that's down to my mum who dressed totally differently from everyone else in our village and never gave a damn. The hair really isn't top of my list of priorities. I just want something low maintainence that I don't mind looking at in the mirror first thing. Hence vague musings about colour. Love your idea about silver highlights. I keep mine short so it doesn't get in the way when I work; same logic to hardly ever painting my nails. I love the way it looks but the polish rubs off on the paper, so no can do. Saying that, I agree entirely with the comments about subjecting oneself and actually getting surgery etc to feel comfortable in front of society's gaze. It's absurd and distressing, and also impossible. Once you're over the age of 30 you aren't going to look like a 20 year old anymore, and shouldn't be expected to. I have a teenage daughter so we are BIG on chatting about society's expectations / the male gaze / the sisterhood turning on itself / smashing the patriarchy etc. The ecological sides of dyeing your hair is another one that you're right, Id have to think about if I do decide to mess with my hair. We'll see. But for now, I need to crack on with some painting! Tons of love, as always x Lizzie

[@ChrisRodgers33]

Had a chuckle about leaving best bits to last. When I was a child the family used to have great debates about the merits or otherwise of leaving best till last. I sided with Dad (and you), best to end, with mother and brother in opposition. 🤣🤣 This is a brilliant video. Watercolour painting has always defeated me, but now I am inspired to have a go at one of my houseplants.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Hi Chris, so glad to hear you saved the best til last AND even have a go at illustrating one of your houseplants. What an excellent result! Yours Lizzie

[@bebopkirby]

As a old technical illustrator , and sometime botanical illustrator dabbler, l enjoy watching your process through a painting. Kind of like watching the better illustrators l use to work with, could never match their skills, but still always appreciated their amazing work.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

That's really interesting. Sometimes I wish I worked alongside other botanical illustrators rather than alone, there is so much I could learn from them. Thanks for the comment

[@stephanie.kilgast]

Thank you for dissecting the flower and showing us, of course I believed you right away (and how fascinating!) but actually seeing the tiny florets was magical. Very inspiring too! I have to mull this over.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Ah Stephanie, Now my mind can't help but wonder where these florets will pop up in your work. Honestly, they're everywhere. The common daisy, dandelions.... Get a hand lens and be amazed. I love the little disk florets, they're like tiny golden goblets. Mull away, I'm so glad to have shown you something new, that's lush. x

[@karolfrench5816]

Terrific amazing brilliant teacher. Very informative encouraging inspiring and delightful to watch. THANKYOU

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

You are so welcome! Im really pleased you enjoyed and learnt from it.

[@redfo3009]

Please keep doing the long form so I can paint along with you!! 😊

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

I will do! I have to juggle them alongside work commitments, but I will keep making them as and when it's possible. Thanks so much for your support!

[@kimhurley7019]

I am THRILLED to see a new vidoe from you, Lizzie. You are so brilliant. I know you must be incredibly busy, but I long to see more of you in action!!!

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Bless you Kim, Ill do my best to keep 'em coming. Although Im still amazed that people literally sit and watch paint dry as I work! So glad to be so generously received, thank you. x

[@zhongyangliu8896]

Thank you Lizzie, your video helped me solving the muddy problem while my painting!

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Wonderful! Muddiness gets us all at some point or another. My stuff often gets muddy if I dont let it fry fully between layers or if I rush. Glad the film helped.

[@zhongyangliu8896]

@@LizzieHarperillustrator Really appreciated,both the art and the artist! ❣️ Thank you! :D

[@teresamitchell-banks2286]

Thank you for yet another video. Can’t wait for your book🇨🇦

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

You are so welcome!

[@gillianmcmurray]

Thanks Lizzie. That was a beautiful film to watch on a cold winter evening. The Princeton Velvetouch is my current favourite brush too 😊

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Oh I love the idea of brightening a Texan evening. I'm glad you like the Velvetouch too, I feel like I'm in great company! Thanks.

[@janehodgett959]

Thank you soo much Lizzie 🙏🏻👌🤩✨🌼

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

My absolute pleasure

[@azbz1z2z75]

So excited to watch a new video. I am mesmerized to watch you draw and paint. You are amazing. Thank you.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

That is so sweet of you, and I love that you enjoy my films. Thankyou

[@pattypenich3246]

You are a delight!.I enjoy watching your videos and have learned so much from watching you. Thank you for allowing is to paint along. I will be doing just that after I finish watching this video! I so look forward to purchasing your book when it is published.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

My total pleasure. Thankyou

[@Ktpstudio]

You are truly a delight to watch. I look forward to watching more from you. You’re absolutely a breath of fresh air

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you so miuch!

[@janeelphinstone5964]

Such a wonderful botanical watercolour ..grateful to you Lizzie for this video

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

So sweet of you yo leave a message. Thankyou

[@dmat7148]

Great tip on using old brush for mixing and interesting to watch the mix approaches for the right shade of green. I just found your videos and subscribed…thanks and hope you create many more! (Edited to say: I love the long form video and it is very relaxing for viewers to watch…much better than Barbie movie lol)

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Aww thanks. I like doing the longer videos too, although sometimes I feel like I might run out of things to day! thanks for the comment. x

[@СветланаЕрмолаева-б5щ]

Лиззи, как я рада новой встрече! Вы, как солнышко зимой, появляетесь здесь не часто. Новый урок буду рисовать с Вами ❤ Спасибо, Лиззи!

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Большое спасибо! Мне бы хотелось иметь немного больше времени, чтобы снять больше фильмов. Но так приятно слышать, что ты будешь рисовать вместе со мной. И еще такой солнечный цветок! Спасибо большое за Ваш комментарий. И извините, это бессмысленно, это Google Translate, поэтому мы никогда не узнаем, насколько он хорош!

[@peterlittle6651]

How good to see my favourite artist back on here. Well done Lizzie lots of best wishes from Here. Regards Peter.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Aww Peter, thank you. Such a loyal follower! Thanks.

[@CarlosHernandez-le6ds]

Estimada Lizzie, reciba un gran saludo desde México, me gusto muchísimo su vídeo, siempre estoy pendiente de estos, la forma en que explica paso a paso y como lo va realizando es excelente, me gusta ver sus vídeos en una TV de pantalla grande para poder apreciar como realiza los detalles. Felicidades porque es usted una gran artista...(ojala y no tarde tanto en subir el siguiente vídeo)....un gran abrazo.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

¡Muchas gracias! ¡Aunque tengo un poco de miedo de que al ver la película en una pantalla grande se muestren todos mis errores! Pero gracias. Y la carga va mucho más rápido desde que actualicé nuestra banda ancha....uf

[@Viridianbloom]

Thank very much for this video! I learned a lot! I just recently got back into painting after 40 year year break. I loved listening to you. I will be watching the video many times as I attempt this. I have no cadmium yellows at all (shameful,lol) all I have was lemon hue, hansa yellow medium and new gambage, Thank you again

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Hiya. Don't worry about the colours. Hansa is a good bright page yellow isn't it? Maybe give it a go using the colours you already have? I don't like being too prescriptive, other hues are prob just as good! That's so good yo hear you're painting again after 40 years, you go! And enjoy it. X

[@Viridianbloom]

Oh don’t stop being descriptive, was most helpful the way you showed 3 different ways of making the same color. I am using the colors I have , my fault purchasing pretty colors rather than practical pretty colors. I’m also wondering why water colors are so much money. Are they making them when the sun and moon are aligned and hand crushing ingredients with a Diamond and gold mortar and pestle? 😮

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

@@Viridianbloom I buy colours cause they are like sweeties! I totally get theat. I love the idea of the moonlit ceremonial making of watercolours, that def made me giggle. I think the pigments are super expensive, some of them. But weight by weight, I thin colours like Ultramarine etc are more expensive than gold! 😆

[@peggyjanovick]

Lizzie, I can't wait for your book! I'm very new to watercolors, and your videos are a great guide in so many ways. It is always a pleasure to see you 😊 love your comment about being an accessory to m#$%r of a bird by your cat. lol😂🤣🫣🤣

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you so much! And yes, I think the book is due out in 2025. Oh my, the times I have to stage an intervention with my flipping cat! Its mostly squirrels he gets but I get VERY angry when he goes for anything. And yes, the birds is so cruel, "come here little cold bird and have some sustaining food!" "MEEOW". Game over. Snowy always looks so guilty too! What a beast.

[@brendadiepeveen5291]

Thank you, that was fun and very informative.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

I'm so glad, Brenda! And thanks for the comment. x

[@MsRain49]

Gorgeous! ❤

[@bigonegeorgegrace]

Watching you work always fills me with peaceful joy. Thank you

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

I'm so glad, and what a beautiful sentiment! This flower wasn't too tricky but I rather wish that everyday I paint filled me with peaceful joy too. There are times when the air is blue with swearing!

[@bigonegeorgegrace]

Bay ha I want to see that video! 🙄

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Oooh I'm not sure youtube would like it too much! 😅 I had a bad one recently struggling with an eye of a Red Deer thar I'd painted too big. Ugh.

[@morandi9inna9marius]

It's so beautiful! I'm mesmerized😍

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you, that's such a pretty thing to say.

[@yulendys]

Lovely work and video. Thanks ❤

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Many thanks!

[@mariah2056]

Stunning. Thank you.

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thanks for leaving such a nice comment, Mariah

[@peggyjanovick]

Lizzie, I love your channel and your technique to watercoloring. I'm very new to this medium, and I was wondering if you would create a video of the Poinsettia. I don't know where to even start. Show us, oh teacher 😊

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Hiya Peggy Poinsettia, eh? Well, it'd have to be a xmas film as most of the year we dont see them here. But its a great idea. The trick with the poinsettia is to realise that the big coloured bits arent petals at all, if I remember rightly theyre the sepals (or bracts), the leafy bits below the flower itself. And I think the little bits at the centre are a mix of tiny flowers and nectaries. Here's a little film to pique your intesest: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gIfGdaSDorOdgtUfeature=shared. So yes, Ill try to remember to tackle a poinsettia. Great idea. X

[@terrirocheleau2504]

Beautiful ❤

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you! 😊

[@deniseoxland151]

Beautiful ❤

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

Thank you! 😊

[@deniseoxland151]

@@LizzieHarperillustrator I tried to paint in watercolour for many years, even going to classes but was never happy with the results. I changed to coloured pencils and had some success with, I even sold one drawing ! But watercolour is what I want to do. Getting someone to explain techniques is so difficult, I have many books, some useless and they cost a lot of money. What I wanted was to see someone go through the process in detail. You have done that for me. So much so that I’m going to give it another try. Thank you so much ❤️

[@LizzieHarperillustrator]

I know what you mean about all the "how to" books. I'm a little nervous about my own...but my main thing is ensuring it feels encouraging. Its all about yhe process. Which is why you coming back to paint is so exciting!

[@deniseoxland151]

@@LizzieHarperillustrator thank you