Transilvania Masterclass October 2024
Transilvania School of Botanic Art & Illustration at Copșa Mare, Sibiu, Romania
I had a wonderful time teaching a masterclass in the art studio of James & Rachel de Candole's home in October 2024. Based in the village of Copșa Mare, Southern Transylvania, Copșa Mare is an area of outstanding natural beauty (AOB). You really do step back in time in this tranquil and incredible place. We studied interesting autumn subjects during the masterclass. My students excelled, I'm so proud of their achievements! There are some photos below of our time together at Copșa Mare.
The area around Copșa Mare
The area of Copşa Mare boasts the most incredible scenery and walks. A beautifully rustic land where time stops!
Copşa Mare is an area of species rich grasslands, deep valleys and high forested ridges full of beech, oak and hornbeam. It is rich in flora and fauna, the perfect place for botanical artists to teach and study!
It is an exceptional place to stay. Food is grown and prepared by James and Rachel. They serve good regional wines, and have comfortable rooms to stay in.
James and Rachel de Candole - owners of the school
After 26 years in Bohemia, Rachel & James de Candole settled in Copşa Mare with their children and animals in 2015.
"We wanted to live in a quiet place, in hilly, open country good for riding. We have our own horses of various breeds and ages which we school classically."
Established by Rachel & James de Candole in 2018, the Transylvania School of Botanic Art & Illustration in Romania is a private, residential school dedicated to the observation, illustration and conservation of the grassland flora.
Mihaela the resident botanist
The resident botanist Mihaela Sava is creating a grassland herbarium for the school. She leads an international team of illustrators producing a field guide. I will be one of these illustrators in 2025.
For more information please go to: https://www.podart.space/herbarium
The Transilvania Florilegium books
We were privileged to view some paintings from these books as well as see herbarium pieces prepared by Mihaela. I will be making drawings from some of these herbarium sheets along with plant specimens in June 2025, alongside friend and fellow botanical illustrator, Sally Pond.
James & Rachel de Candole own set number 19/150 of The Transylvania Florilegium books. The two‐volume edition commissioned by HRH The Prince of Wales (HRH King Charles) features the work of some of the finest contemporary botanical artists. It holds a collection of watercolours that were chosen to record the flora of southern Transylvania.
For more details go to this link: https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/news/volume-1-of-the-transylvania-florilegium-published
Our botanical studies in the studio
Our week will included walks through the grasslands. We collected dried subjects to paint. Yuliia and Merike cut pieces of the most amazing teasel stems which boasted interestingly curled leaves.
Each day, we worked to create the finest detailed paintings. Paintings were done of teasel, rose hips and dried eryngium. I worked on a small twisted leaf found on the studio treasure table. Yuliia showed us her silver point drawings which were exquisite. Apart from watercolour, I demonstrated pen and ink with wash. The ladies worked very hard during the five days. I am very proud of their results!
Nature loving Romania!
The area we stayed in was farmed in a traditional way. It was so wonderful to see the way these hard working people live. The land is well cared for and nature is used to its full potential without damaging the land. The people eat and drink what they can grow and own their own farm animals. Everything is home-made, even the drinks and lemonades served with meals. It was a real eye opener to experience how un-materialistic they are compared to us. And, they want for nothing!
The cute farm houses are designed simply with two storage areas for food, drink and preserves. The roof and cellar are used to cure meats, store pickle, preserves, cheeses, home-made wine and other product that has been grown. The middle floor is for living. Each one has a large area of land at the back for growing foods and keeping animals. A simply wonderful lifestyle!
Hunting for wildflowers and dried material to paint
Here we are hunting in the fields to find wild plants and dried seed heads. We found quite a few wildflower species even at this late time of the year. The Carpathian Mountain views were stunning indeed.
Demonstrating an acorn and rosehip
On a few occasions, through the five days, I demonstrated different techniques to students. This photo shows me demonstrating an acorn for Jo and a rose hip for Joyce. Our studio companion below, Dizzy!
My wonderful students!
It was a pleasure to meet and work with these five ladies. Merike, I had taught online before and it was so good to meet her in person. Merike gifted me a beautiful book of Estonian wildflowers. Yuliia was one of the Ukranian scholars awarded this workshop holiday as a prize. Her work is exquisite. She brought James & Rachel and myself some catalogues from their recent exhibition and a set of Rosa watercolour paints as gifts. I felt very spolied! Rosmarie, another talented lady who learned a great deal during her time with me. Jo travelled with me (I couldn't have done it without her!), a very talented artist in different media. Joyce, I had met before as she had come to learn some botany with me at my home studio, another very talented artist. I miss you all and hope our paths cross again in the future!
