Botanical Art: Graphite Pencil Drawing
2026-03-27 10:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Mobile Botanical Gardens’ Larkins Classroom, 5151 Museum Dr, Mobile, AL, 36608, United States
The Art of Botanical Art: Graphite Pencil Drawing
10 AM – 1 PM on Fridays Beginning on 02/27/26
(See full Schedule Below)
Derek Norman – Instructor: Artist, Author & Educator
$125 for Not-Yet Members
$100 for Members (difference refunded after purchase)
Register Here!
If you have long held the desire to learn how to draw then this class is for you. And also, for those who simply wish to take their drawing skills to a higher level such as the intermediate and advanced student.
Students will progress, from learning appropriate graphite/pencil use and handling technique to developing a keen sound sense of observation. The fundamentals of drawing technique will be taught by a step-by-step process of analytical drawing exercises. Including the study of negative and positive compositions, convex and concave shapes and a range of botanical perspectives. As the class progresses each student will engage in drawing plant specimens as they learn to recognize and create form by understanding the importance of structure, surface texture and light as “value”.
Create a little magic! One step at a time – as you relish and rediscover the joy of drawing in pencil. You’ll see your flower drawings slowly emerge and come to life with shape, form, depth and dimension.
The Art of a Sound Drawing Technique – How to surprise yourself and amaze your friends!
Class Schedule:

February 27
March 6
March 13
March 27

Instructor: Derek Norman
Members $125 / Not-Yet-Members $150
(Discover the benefits of membership and Join Now)!

Register and Pay Here!

Sketch Club in the Gardens
2026-03-27 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-03 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-10 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-17 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-04-24 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-01 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-08 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-05-15 14:00 - 16:00 and 21 more dates | Mobile Botanical Gardens, 5151 MUSEUM DR, MOBILE, AL, 36608, United States
What: A casual sketch club experience with oversight from Derek Norman, botanical arts instructor
When: Friday afternoons, 2-4pm*
Where: The Larkins Classroom OR at Magnolia Hill Studio
Cost: FREE for MBG Members, regular admission for nonmembers. (Benefits of membership) (Join Now!)
*The sketch club generally meets on Friday afternoons, subject to availability of space. Contact the office at 251.342.0555 to verify hours of activity on specific dates.

-=-The drawings and paintings shown here are by recent members of the Gardens Sketch Club and botanical art students of the MBG. They serve as examples of what can be achieved by those with none or very little previous experience drawing and painting.
We invite you to visit the Garden’s Sketch Club and to enjoy the therapeutic rewards of learning to draw and drawing to learn! Learn how art can transform and enrich your life plus enhance your physical and mental well-being.
We meet each Friday afternoon in an open studio where we usually work, study, draw and paint. We exchange information relevant to the business of botanical art, art in general and to the consideration of individual botanical art concerns.
Join the MBG Sketch Club. – a whole new world of infinite possibilities! -=-
-Derek Norman, Educator, Designer, Artist, Author, Curator & sometime Writer. 5th October 2024
Join Derek and several of his Botanical Arts students for an enjoyable afternoon of sketching the collections of MBG.
