Field Trip to Denver Botanical Garden and the Museum of Nature and Science

The action-packed week at the Boulder Annual GNSI Conference in July somewhat addled my brain – in a wonderful way, of course! I had forgotten one of the reasons I signed up for this field trip. Imagine my visual delight when our Friday field trip group walked into the Denver Botanical Gardens and I saw the Dale Chihuly artwork exhibit nestled in the plantings.

>2014 GNSI Conference field trip to DBG Greenhouse

2013 GNSI CONFERENCE

"What is Scratchboard? How do they get so much detail? I've never heard of carbon dust, but I really like it! I would never have the patience to do this. It is just like a photograph, only better! Just keep looking, you will find more animals and different plants! How do they get that texture?"

>Image: Rock Crab by S. Landry

Dorothia Rohner attended the 2012 conference technique showcase where she captured some photos of a new offering this year - the Field Sketching Kit Show and Tell.

If you have a Mac, a tablet for drawing, and want to have some fun, take a look at Sketchbook Copic Edition. The normal Sketchbook Pro is $29, but the Copic edition is free (but limited to Copic media) in the Mac App Store. If you were in Savannah, Terryl Whitlatch shared her techniques using these makers. If you are intrigued by this tool and adapting it to your needs, give it a try.

>Diploblubb by Terryl Whitlatch

>2012 Conference In Review

The 2012 Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Conference kicked off with a keynote lecture delivered by Dr. Jodie Holt. She is a professor in plant physiology specializing in invasive plants at University of California, Riverside. Jodie presented an interesting look at how people see or don't see, the importance that the plants have in the world. Outreach to the public through her research and her graduate students only gets you so far.

>Dr. Jodie Holt at 2012 GNSI Conference in Savannah, GA

>2011 GNSI annual conference logo by Dave Ehlert