Recently I’ve decided to learn more about the species in the area where I live. I’ve been doing some researching using guide books and websites, observing the plants, taking photographs, and asking friends and experts in order to identify the local species. It occurred to me that perhaps other people might like to do the same thing.
So I’ve put together this video (hopefully there will be more) where I take a closer look at a particular plant, and then paint it. I’m painting in a sketchbook style, so this is suitable for complete beginners. It is about observing the details of the plant, and drawing them, and I will be painting them. The paintings are not intended to be framed works of art, I’m painting them in a sketchbook that I can refer to later if I wish, but it is all about the process and educating ourselves. So in this first video I’m looking at the Eucalyptus polyanthemos, or Redbox, an Australian native tree. If you have some of these near you, then great. But if you don’t, hopefully you can still learn something which you can apply to other species. This should be a low pressure, fun experience.
So grab a pencil and paper, some paints if you have them, and have a go. And if you’re out walking this weekend, see how many Redbox trees you can find.  Link to the video is here