ASBA 2025 - Donnett Vanek - Beyond Sketching: Elevate Your Drawing Skills with Graphite Techniques for the Botanical Artist

Beyond Sketching: Elevate Your Drawing Skills with Graphite Techniques for the Botanical Artist with Donnett Vanek

Thursday, October 16, 2025
1:30pm – 4:30pm

Contemporary Botanical Artist, Donnett Vanek is passionate about drawing. Drawing is often an afterthought, used only for sketches to work out ideas for compositions of painted renderings. Take your sketches to the next level, join Donnett as she discusses and demonstrates how a drawing can be more than just a sketch. The workshop will cover composition, perspective for botanical artists, and graphite techniques that the artist uses in her work. Participants will have the opportunity to try all techniques demonstrated by the artist.

Supplies:

• Pad of tracing paper 9"x 12"
• Hot pressed paper Brand that the artist uses: Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor paper blocks. Participants will be starting a final rendering on hot pressed paper. Note: Please choose the size block you would like to work on, 9"x12" or smaller. An alternate choice would be a hot pressed watercolor pad.
• Pencils/graphite What the artist uses: Donnett uses 2mm graphite leads in the following hardness: HB, 2H, 4H and if she can find it 6H There are many brands. Two brands that the artist uses are Staedtler 2mm leads and Faber-Castell 2mm drawing leads. Most online art supply stores carry 2mm leads. Note: Please bring your favorite leads/drawing pencils to work in. The techniques demonstrated can be done with any drawing pencil. The above leads are suggestions if you would like to try working with 2mm leads.
• If working in 2mm leads you will need a 2mm lead holder.
• If using 2mm leads you will need a Lead Pointer to sharpen your 2mm leads.
• Erasers Donnett uses kneaded erasers and Staedtler Mars Plastic Erasers or Faber- Castell Dust-Free Vinyl Eraser
• Staedtler Mars Sandpaper Lead Pointer