This is Beatrix Potter. She was an animal lover, watercolor artist and land conservationist. She lived in England around the turn of the 20th Century (1866-1943)
Beatrix Potter
She is best known for writing and illustrating 23 Children’s Stories including the Tale of Peter Rabbit.
In order to draw and paint her characters so realistically, Beatrix Potter studied and sketched animals around her home in England. As a child, she always had pets and was very fond of all creatures, including mice and squirrels!
Beatrix Potter was a very smart author. Not only did she create wonderful stories that kids loved, she also created the first “merchandise” or stuffed character from the story so her readers could really hold Peter Rabbit.
Beatrix loved nature. She painted very detailed and accurate watercolor paintings of plants, mushrooms and animals that allow scientists to study them in detail.
Today, we will be creating our own watercolor characters, just like Beatrix. Using reference images, (Beatrix used real animals and objects, so you can do that at home!) we will draw and paint plants or animals in detail.
Here are some examples of student paintings.