Please join next Monday, August 17th at 8pm ET for a free sketchbook artist talk with Lara Gastinger
Lara Call Gastinger will introduce the transformative practice of the perpetual journal featured in her new book A Perpetual Journal Practice. This is a forgiving, incremental approach to connecting with the natural world through drawing that builds year after year. Over many consecutive years, a perpetual journal becomes a rich record of nature discoveries, seasonal changes, and artistic growth—all achieved by adding small sketches at a reasonable pace that fits into even the busiest life. She will explain how pages are set up and discuss techniques that she uses to create her nature observations and how this has influenced her botanical art.
Lara is an artist and botanical illustrator from Charlottesville, Virginia, and was the chief illustrator of Flora of Virginia, a botanical reference. She has an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in plant ecology from Virginia Tech. She has been awarded two gold medals (2007, 2018) at the Royal Horticultural Society Botanical Art Show in London and her work is in the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation. Her art appears in Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America and the American Society of Botanical Artists’ Botanical Art Techniques. She teaches online and in person (occasionally as a lecturer at UVA) and has traveled to Japan, Romania, and France to lead workshops. Gastinger is renowned on Instagram for teaching her perpetual journal process.