Painting with nature: Exploring native Irish grasslands through botanical art
Saturday, 21st June 2025
This workshop aims to equip anyone with a limited knowledge of Irish flora, with the tools to understand grasslands and how to manage them for the benefit of people and nature, through close looking, discussion, sketching and painting. Topics include: the ecology and nature-friendly management of Irish grassland habitats and the plants in them; an introduction to plant and flower structure and how plants are classified and named; and botanical art and its place in nature conservation. This will be a hands-on and interactive course using the wide variety of plant species found in the limestone grasslands around the castle. We will explore the meadow while making notes and sketches of the features of different plants and discussing meadow management. This is followed by an in-depth look at your chosen plant and guided practical on the basics of depicting your plant in botanical art using pencils and watercolour paints.
Saturday, 21st June 2025
This workshop aims to equip anyone with a limited knowledge of Irish flora, with the tools to understand grasslands and how to manage them for the benefit of people and nature, through close looking, discussion, sketching and painting. Topics include: the ecology and nature-friendly management of Irish grassland habitats and the plants in them; an introduction to plant and flower structure and how plants are classified and named; and botanical art and its place in nature conservation. This will be a hands-on and interactive course using the wide variety of plant species found in the limestone grasslands around the castle. We will explore the meadow while making notes and sketches of the features of different plants and discussing meadow management. This is followed by an in-depth look at your chosen plant and guided practical on the basics of depicting your plant in botanical art using pencils and watercolour paints.
Saturday, 21st June 2025
This workshop aims to equip anyone with a limited knowledge of Irish flora, with the tools to understand grasslands and how to manage them for the benefit of people and nature, through close looking, discussion, sketching and painting. Topics include: the ecology and nature-friendly management of Irish grassland habitats and the plants in them; an introduction to plant and flower structure and how plants are classified and named; and botanical art and its place in nature conservation. This will be a hands-on and interactive course using the wide variety of plant species found in the limestone grasslands around the castle. We will explore the meadow while making notes and sketches of the features of different plants and discussing meadow management. This is followed by an in-depth look at your chosen plant and guided practical on the basics of depicting your plant in botanical art using pencils and watercolour paints.
Who this workshop is for: Anyone who has a limited knowledge of native plants, especially in grasslands, who wishes to learn some basic plant identification and explore the options for nature-friendly management of grassland habitats; artists who are starting out on their botanical art journey and want to know more about native plants.
Who this workshop is not for: Experienced botanists/ecologists with an in-depth knowledge of Irish plants or experienced botanical artists.
The workshop starts at 9:30am and concludes at 5pm.
Morning tea / coffee, lunch & all materials provided.
Places are limited. Booking is essential.
To ensure an interactive, learning environment and to tailor the course for those attending, a maximum of 8 attendees will be permitted at each workshop.
If you are interested in this workshop but the date doesn’t suit, please contact us and we will notify you about future workshops.