Endangered Plants Index Degree Project

In a previous tutorial with Anne-Marie, I was told about Tracedown – which is a form of carbon paper for artists. I have to admit that I was sceptical about it – partly from my own sense of internal ‘snobbery’, I suppose. But I laid that to one side and tried it, and it has hugely sped up the drawing process for me.

There is a definite process to drawing using Tracedown, starting with the printing of the image I want to draw. As I want the drawings to be life-sized, I have had to first edit them in photoshop, so that they print such. Because the plants I am currently focussing on are Herbarium specimens, they (very usefully) all have a ruler photographed next to them, which provides me with an accurate measurement I can then use to scale the image up. So far, I have only drawn plants which I am able to print out at 100% scale on A4 paper (as this is the size of the printer I have at home, and I haven’t had a chance to print the A3 versions yet), however, the process works exactly the same on A4 as it does on A3. The image below shows the first stage of the actual tracing – I use masking tape to lightly attach the paper to the board, then place the Tracedown on top of that, and lightly secure that with masking tape also. Finally, I lay the image I want to trace on top of that, and secure that to the Tracedown, so that it wouldn’t move whilst I was tracing it.

In order to trace the image, I used a biro, as this was hard enough to provide clean lines, while also allowing me to see where I have traced and where I haven’t. The good thing about using Tracedown, is that it is “wax free”, which means that you are able to erase any places where you have made a mistake, or you have leant on the paper and smudge marks have appeared, just as you would with normal graphite. This also means that, should it still be visible after the drawing is complete, the tracing can be erased, leaving only the inked lines. Below is an image of what the final result of using Tracedown is:

Overall, I am extremely pleased with how the Tracedown works for me and the series – it has sped up my drawing exponentially, and has vastly increased my chances of completing around forty drawings by the time hand in comes around in June. The level of accuracy isn’t perhaps quite what it was when I was drawing by hand, as the lines can be fainter, as well as slightly ‘fatter’. The paper can still move whilst drawing, which leads to some slightly misplaced elements. However, even when I was drawing by hand, I made many mistakes and the drawing wasn’t 100% true to the actual image of the plant. When using Tracedown, I am able to achieve accurate scale and generally accurate placement as well, which means that generally, I think the drawings look more true to the image than before.

Towards the end of March, I was lucky enough to have a tutorial with a visiting Royal Academy MA Student, Anna. As the most recent body of work that Anna is producing is based around the climate crisis, I felt that having a tutorial with Anna would be most beneficial for me; she would be able to provide me with particularly relevant and targeted feedback and artist references.

During the tutorial, the feedback and thoughts they gave me gave me plenty to reflect on, especially the question:

“what is the artistic role of my drawings? What do they do, that botanical illustration doesn’t do?”

I have to admit that initially, I found this question difficult to grapple with, as my project has always been very clear in my head and had a very clear goal. However, when posed to me this way, I was forced to reassess the role of my project. Was it just repeating things that were already out there?

The answer I have come up with is this: by creating the Endangered Plant Index, I am collating information into one, accessible place, that can be accessed by a large number of people, without the requirement for them to have to be botanists or highly interested in botany to discover it. By creating the illustrations, I am collating the plants on the list in one style, which makes the information that I am collating and sharing even more accessible, as, due to the nature of herbarium specimens, they aren’t always the easiest to engage with. My aim through drawing these plants, is to engage the audience and create public interest, which I hope will go on to spark public engagement and interest in the plight of plants in the climate crisis.

In addition to this, Anna also gave me several references – some of which I had heard of, others which I hadn’t:

• Albrecht Dürer
• Timothy Morton
• Donna Harroway
• Nathaniel Dorsky
• Derek Jarman

Over the next few weeks, I will continue to explore these artists and their works, and the ways in which they relate to my practice and project – especially (in light of planning the Degree Show) in terms of the ways they hang and display their works.

Recently, I had tutorials with both Jane and Anne-Marie, both of which offered different and useful insights on my work, and how I can develop it further. These are the notes that I made:

Tutorial with Jane:

• Riso-printing (a technique I want to use in our print portfolio project) is often used in politics for posters etc. This might be something I consider when making the prints, and how that will affect how the prints are read.
• Try and speed up the drawing process where possible, in order to draw as many of the plants on my list as possible.
• Research the Radical Nature exhibition for more land art and environmental artists and works.
• Look at the Land and Environmental Art book for more artist references and ideas on installation, thinking ahead to the degree show.
• Maybe consider presenting the list on the wall next to the illustrations (added just now – but projected over the top?)

Although quite a short tutorial, it was useful for further referencing, as well as discussing the practicalities of the degree show, which we’re now starting to think about.

Tutorial with Anne-Marie:

This was my second tutorial with Anne-Marie, and again, a very useful one. These are the notes that I made throughout:

• Find ways to make my drawings quicker – I have proven I can draw freehand and measure, but the more effective exhibit would be to have a much larger number of works to show.
• Use Tracedown – a form of artists carbon paper (I have now invested in some and will try it for my next drawing).
• For display, make sure that I use washi-tape for the pins to go through. MT Washi-tape is the best, as it is strongest and not too sticky.
• Select pins that look archival (copper or brass coloured), in order to reinforce the idea of this being an archive of endangered plants.
• Maybe think about how I represent the rewilding element in the degree show too – could I bring a ‘rewilded section’ into the studio?

This tutorial really spurred me on to try and speed up my process and to lay aside my internal prejudices of using the tracedown paper – as although the works are impressive and effective, they will be more so with a larger number of works to show.

The above image shows the completed drawing of the third endangered plant from my list: Acer pentaphyllum. As this was another plant which only had a herbarium specimen photo for me to reference, I did the drawing using the pen and ink method, this time using the new Rotring technical drawing pens that I got for Christmas, and the pencil and ruler that came with them.

When drawing the pencil outline, I was more selective than when I drew the Catacol Whitebeam, as there were many repeated elements, such as the seeds and additional leaves that weren’t necessary to include multiple times, when I had already drawn them once. The two images below show the reference photograph (which also has the measurement annotations that I made on it), along with an in process pencil outline, thus showing the (minimal) differences between the main structures of the two. Although in many ways, what I am doing cannot be compared with the work of other botanical illustrators such as Lucy Smith and Hazel Wilks, I was pleased with the fact that I was ‘editing’ the image before illustrating, because it is similar to the process that botanical illustrators and botanists go through when creating an illustration:

“the illustrator should come away with a good idea of everything that needs to be included in the illustration, although this may change once the illustrator’s own investigations begin.” Smith, L. (2021)

The drawing out process took a long time, for a number of reasons, but the main one being that I stopped part way through in order to work on my dissertation. However, once the dissertation was completed and handed in, I refocused my attentions on the drawing, completing it and beginning to work on adding the ink. This was almost like a completely new process, as the technical drawing pens behaved very differently to the dip pens – being much more controllable and accurate for a start. I decided to use the mid size (0.35) pen to draw the main outlines in, whilst after some trial and error, deciding to use the smallest sized pen (0.25) to draw the finest details and to create the shading and structure on the illustration. This provided some definition between the outlines and the details, which is present in ‘professional’ illustrations, as well as providing an element of clarity to the illustration, aiding its legibility.

These photos show the process of drawing:

Overall, this is probably the drawing that I am most pleased with. It is certainly the most accurate and least mistake ridden of the pieces (I don’t have any ink splats this time, due to the new pens) I have made so far, and it was also the one that I felt most confident on in terms of mark making (one. I got back into it again). I feel that I am starting to find my way with the pen and ink illustrations, and they are the ones that I actually prefer drawing most of all, for the accuracy and clarity of line and the legibility that they hold for the viewer. However, I think the pencil drawings are often more engaging for the viewer – although the level of detail in the pen and ink drawings also draws the viewers in (to examine the drawing in greater detail).

Update: 08/06/22: Although I was proud of my work for Interim at the time, looking back now that I have installed in my space for degree show, I can see how far I have progressed. I can also see how much more professional and impactful having a larger number of drawings, in addition to a more considered installation, with different a wall colour and more considered and accurate layout makes the work. Looking back, there is so much more I could have done for Interim, and that I am really glad that I have made the effort to do for the Degree Show.

The above image is of the two illustrations I exhibited in Interim. Although it may not be obvious from the outset, I didn’t exhibit the drawings themselves here, rather I exhibited digital prints of them instead. Doing this allowed me to make sure that the originals (as they form part of an ongoing collection/series) remained unspoiled by the viewers – as I displayed them mounted directly to the boards, without any form of protection.

However, displaying the prints created their own issues – the first one being that I had to carefully edit each image in order to make sure that it portrays the work in the most accurate and clear way possible – I didn’t want the meaning and message of the work to be lost in the digital reproduction. This involved editing, trial printing, re-editing and  trial printing the works before being happy enough with the outcome, as the works did alter in looks when they were put through the printer. After achieving a print which was as close to the original as I was able to accomplish, I was then faced with the new challenge of the works themselves being curved. As the printer used one large roll of paper to print from, the prints naturally curved, which meant that the method of hanging that I wanted to use originally (tape and nails, in order to further evoke the idea of the archive) was unusable, due to the fact that the prints reverted back to their curved state, ripping through the tape which held them to the board. I therefore had to quickly change tactics, and instead use command strips, which were strong and secure enough to hold the prints flat against the wall. This was undoubtedly effective and the right move to make for this exhibition where I used the digital prints, but for the degree show, I know that I would much rather use the tape and pins method, as it does evoke the idea of the archive, as well as creating a bit more of an edge to the method of display – almost like framing them.

Having reflected on the exhibition, it appears that there is much that I wasn’t happy with, and that I will change for the Degree Show. Although this might be the case, I am none-the-less proud of what I achieved in this exhibition – I believe it had the power and impact that I wanted it to have, as well as being an achievement for me – to have my work up in such a public place, to be admired and thought about by the general public.