Liz Pepperell — Botanical Illustrator, Watercolour & Ink

When you look at Liz Pepperell’s portfolio, it’s no surprise to discover that one of her favourite pastimes is visiting gardens. Two of her favourites are Nymans in West Sussex and Knightshayes Court in Devon, but she’s yet to decide which one’s best in the Midlands, where she new lives. Chatsworth is up there, she says. On top of loving the plants and flowers she paints, Liz enjoys renovating old houses – especially if she finds things under the floorboards like broken pots, buttons, parts of old pipes, marbles and mouse nests. She even found a beehive, once. Until recently, she kept a small flock of sheep and while they can be chaotic as a herd, she misses the quiet dignity of them as individual animals. One of her favourite artists is Stanley Spencer, and she has a print of his painting of rock roses on her wall. Her very first job was vegetable illustrations for Carters Seeds.

Training

Liz studied Illustration and received a BA from Maidstone College of Art.

Approach

First Liz sketches loose ideas in pencil and ink on tracing paper, scrubbing out and redrawing as she goes. She develops the image, working from life whenever possible. Over the years she’s found that she needs fewer colours in her palette but does a lot of mixing of paints to get the shades she requires.

Style

Using watercolours, pencil and ink, Liz works in a style that is traditional in the world of botanical and natural history illustration. Her images have a look that is personal to her – as individual as handwriting, she says.