Book Review: Botanical Sketchbook

Botanical Sketchbook by Mary Ann Scott with Margaret Stevens

Title: Botanical Sketchbook

An In-depth Book Review of this book was first published here on 15h April 2010.
The complete text has now been moved to my new website
- see Book Review: Botanical Sketchbook on Botanical Art and Artists 

Synopsis: This book will provide inspiration to all those who aspire to become botanical artists. It is a record of one woman's development into a successful botanical artist. As part of the Distance Learning Diploma Course run by the Society of Botanical Artists, students are required to keep a sketchbook. The one kept by Mary Ann Scott was exceptional and prompted the idea for this book. Her book covers the exercises, colour charts and basic preparatory work for each assignment, plus the three works for her final portfolio.

Summary review: This book provides a masterclass for all aspiring botanical artists and is highly recommended. It will become an essential buy for all students of the Society of Botanical Artist's Diploma in Botanical illustration. It's also a recommended buy for all other aspiring botanical art students and artists and many of their tutors. It provides an excellent benchmark for the standard of botanical illustration and painting which can be achieved by an exceptional student. It also tells the story of how such excellence can be developed - through much practice and intelligent use of the botanical sketchbook. Read an interview with the author of Botanical Sketchbook - A Making A Mark Interview with Mary Ann Scott

Book Review: Botany for the Artist

Title: Botany for the Artist: An Inspirational Guide to Drawing Plants

An In-depth Book Review of this book was first published here on 13th April 2010. 
The complete text has now been moved to my new website 
- see Book Review: Botany for the Artist on Botanical Art and Artists

Synopsis: The emphasis of this book is on understanding the botany of plants and their different parts - roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, cones and seeds - and how to draw the botanical aspects of plants. Its focus is on finding ways to unpick and illustrate the functionality of the plant - how it's constructed and how it works.

Summary review: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I value the fact this book is written by an artist, writer and lecturer who is an expert in drawing and communicating rather than a botanical artist. It means she brings a fresh and expert eye to the challenge of how to draw plants from a botanical perspective and an excellent approach to communicating the key messages. The quality of the text and illustrations is first class and the whole book provides a fresh perspective on botany for the artist while losing none of the fundamental and enduring truths of what's required of botanical illustration.

Author / (Publisher) Sarah Simblet / Dorling Kindersley
Technical data: Publication Date: February 2010
Hardcover (with dust jacket) - 256 pages; Full retail price £25

The buying habits of fine artists - in the UK

How does your buying behaviour compare to fine artists in UK? Did you know that nearly 75% of artists responding to this poll buy online on a regular basis?

I've been running a poll on my information site Art Supplies in the UK - Resources for Artists since November 2007. The above chart shows you how people buy art materials in the UK. (Click the pic to see a bigger version or visit my information site)

Based on 86 responses - and in order of magnitude - the results are as follows (percentages are rounded):

• 31% buy most of their art supplied online - spreading their custom around and doing business with reliable suppliers who offer great deals
• another 31% have no particular preference and buy online and from their local art shop - choosing whoever can serve them better for their particular requirements
• 26% are happy to do all their business with just one supplier
  
• 16% have a great local art shop and are happy to do all their shopping there because it has a great range and good stock levels. Great art shops don't do one or the other - they do both!
• just over 10% of fine artists are happy to deal with just one online supplier - who fulfills all their needs in a timely way
  
• The UK fine artist appears to have little love for B&M art shops which don't offer a good service. Only 10% choose to do all their shopping in the high street despite the fact that some local art shops do not provide a great service.
  
• 7% are prepared to shop locally even though the range of goods on offer may be limited and occasional stock-outs.
  
• over 3% of people are averse to shopping on the internet and continue to shop locally despite major problems with what's available
  

The bottom line

When compared to the fine artists in the USA (see The buying habits of fine artists - in the USA), my own conclusions from the above is that

• UK artists are slightly more likely to buy online than artists in the USA. 73.3% compared to 70% of USA artosts buy online
  
• UK artists are discriminating and tend to spend their money with suppliers who deliver a good service. Although artists are happy to buy online, excellent local art shops still have an edge over excellent online suppliers if these are available to artists. I know I always oprefer to handle art supplies if at all possible and am prepared to pay the cost for doing that. However once I know my product well I may well order it online if supplies are available and the delivery service is good. My choice was the buy online and from my local art shop - however I always promote good local art shops.
  
• UK artists use websites to shop around between different online suppliers. The message for online suppliers has to be that paying attention to the design and accessibility of their website could well prove to be a cost-effective measure. Anything which makes the information that artists want to know more accessible is likely to get returning buyers. Speaking personally, the websites I tend to look at are the ones which I know have got a good structure which is easy to navigate and good quality information about what is on offer.
  

If you'd like to take a poll just click this link to go straight to the poll

If you've got any comments - either as a retailer or an artist - do please leave a comment below (and please say which you are).

and finally......

If you'd like to see the inside of some excellent and traditional art shops in London and Paris try a virtual visit to see the slideshows on my information site My Favourite Art Shops - Resources for Artists which has just been awarded a purple star for excellence by Squidoo

My Favourite Art Shops - Resources for Artists
As more and more sales move online, it's crucial that all artists continue to patronise and support our favourite 'bricks and mortar' art shops in our towns and cities. These are where we can find the specialist art materials which can be impossible to find online. This site contains:
(1) reviews of favourite art shops
(2) photographs of what they look inside
(3) details of how to find them.

The buying habits of fine artists - in the USA

How does your buying behaviour compare to fine artists in USA? Did you know that

• 99% of fine artists are willing to buy art supplies online
  
• 70% actually do buy online on a regular basis.

I've been running a poll on my information site Art Supplies in the USA - Resources for Artists since November 2007. The above chart shows you how people buy art materials in the USA. (Click the pic to see a bigger version or visit my information site)

Based on 78 responses - and in order of magnitude - the results are as follows (percentages are rounded):

• one third of fine artists (33%) prefer to go with whichever art materials supplier serves them best - they're neither wedded to their online supplier or their local art materials store. This figure is very similar to that experienced in the UK and suggests that around a third of the market is always going to be looking across the whole art economy of B&M and online art stores for their supplies and deals. These are the people who are going to be sensitive to aspects of online supply such as: ease of finding a product on the website; product pricing and delivery time and charges levied. In relation to the B&M supplier the issues are likely to revolve around whether items required are stocked, price points and urgency of need. In relation to both sets of suppliers artists may bring their custom for a sale but the really critical question is whether they come back and become a regular customer on a routine basis.
  
• 24% prefer to shop online and are price and customer service sensitive. They always spread their custom around a range of online suppliers of art materials. Essentially they give their custom to whoever gives them the best overall deal. However all suppliers should note that this level is lower than that experienced in the UK.
  
• Artists in the USA are much more tolerant of a poor customer service compared to the UK. 15% buy at the local art shop despite some problems in supply eg even if it has a limited range and occasional stockouts. This is significantly different to behaviour in the UK. I began to wonder whether distance between art shops might have anything to do with this. Some people will not buy online whatever and consequently will buy from a local store even if it's not providing the greatest service....
• ....however in the USA this only 1% buy at their local art shop because they don't like internet shopping. That says an awful lot about how online shopping for art supplies is now completely rooted in the American mindset as a normal fact of life. It's a message that all B&M retailers need to take to heart - and their business plans.
  
• By way of contrast some 14% are very happy to buy at their local art store BECAUSE it has a great range and good stock levels. This level is pretty much the same as experienced in the UK. Local art stores providing an excellent service can only be certain of capturing most of the purchases of around 15% of the the buying power of fine artists who live locally
  
• 11% buy all their art supplies from one online supplier who serves all their needs. This is the customer who is like gold dust to online suppliers - a dedicated buyer who keeps coming back!

The bottom line

My own conclusions from the above is that

• USA artists are more likely to support their local store and less likely to move all their purchasing online based on a parallel but identical poll in relation to UK suppliers
• neither online supplier nor B&M retailer can be certain of the custom they will continue to attract. Consequently both sets of suppliers of art materials need to be working hard all the time to provide the best service and the best prices they can possibly offer. Artists continue to support their local art shops but 99% are also very willing to buy online if what they want is available at a reasonable price and can deliver when they need it - even if they don't do so right now
  

The latter conclusion is good news for all fine artists because the good suppliers are going to be working very hard to give you the best deal in terms of product, price and overall service.

If you'd like to take a poll just click this link to go straight to the poll

If you've got any comments - either as a retailer or an artist - do please leave a comment below.

Tomorrow I'll reveal the buying habits of fine artists in the UK!

My Favourite Art Shops - Resources for Artists
As more and more sales move online, it's crucial that all artists continue to patronise and support our favourite 'bricks and mortar' art shops in our towns and cities. These are where we can find the specialist art materials which can be impossible to find online. This site contains:
(1) reviews of favourite art shops
(2) photographs of what they look inside
(3) details of how to find them.

Updating Coloured Pencils

I've been updating my information site Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists and creating separate modules for all the different manufacturers.

I cannot tell you how tired I got of manufacturers whose websites don't have absolutely basic information for a commercial website - like a page title and a page description set up within the code for the site. How on earth they ever get found on the internet is beyond me - because this is the MOST important information on any web page.

The only manufacturer which distinguished itself was Caran d'Ache which had paid attention to the detail that matters on websites.

Others didn't even have separate pages for the individual product brand names. Websites aren't expensive so this approach to marketing leaves me speechless - so I'm not telling who - but you'll be able to guess when you start to look at the new modules (on for each manufacturer)! ;)

Other information missing includes:

• colour charts (Derwent gets full marks here for having a link on the individual page for each brand- and it gives their lightfastness assessments)
• lightfastness ratings - there's a lot of silence on this point! I wonder why...........
  

The update was prompted by somebody telling me recently that Sanford had eliminated its lightfast range - and lo and behold I find a new website (with a new website address for the product information - which leaves me wondering how many other people have links pointing to a webpage which doesn't exist!) and absolutely no information about where the the 'new' lightfast pencils are or the lightfastness of any the Sanford pencil products. I think the poll on my website might provide part of the explanation.....

It also appears as if the USA is now not getting all the brands of European pencils which are available. They've not been discontinued - you've just not got them!

Prismacolor Digital Color Coordinator

I am however very impressed with the Prismacolor Digital Color Coordinator which is a really useful innovation on their new website. All you have to do is choose a colour or enter a colour value to view the closest-matching Prismacolor products. If you choose a colour it gives you the CMYK and RGB profiles.

Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Find out about coloured pencils. This leading resource has information for everybody from experienced artists to beginners wanting to learn all they can. Topics include

• tips and techniques for working with coloured pencils,
• information about coloured pencil brands and associated products (CHECK OUT the poll - find out which make of artist grade coloured pencils is the favourite.)
• coloured pencil societies,
• coloured pencil artists and
• forums where you can discuss coloured pencil matters with artists working in coloured pencils