I took a three-day online course on illustrating a Hellebore in coloured pencil, hosted by Cambridge Botanic Gardens, and led by Janie Pirie. Janie’s worked example can be seen on instagram.

All necessary materials, including a tracing outline, were sent by post. Over three mornings (10:00–13:00), we followed Janie’s excellent demonstrations, learning step by step how to approach the drawing.

This was my first art course with Cambridge Botanic Gardens, and I highly recommend it. It was also my first structured art course since school (other than watching Bob Ross videos).

Top: A scanned copy of my hellebore drawing. The drawing shows two hellebore flowers and one bud, with a stem and several small leaves (possibly 10).

Bottom: A montage of four photographs showing drawing progress. Top Left: the centre of the left-hand flower, top right: a single flower (completed by the end of day 1); bottom left: two flowers (completed by the end of day two); and bottom right: the finished drawing (completed by the end of day three).