Shirley Spencer - Naturalist/Artist

I spent yesterday morning in the beautiful foothills of Prather at a botanical drawing workshop. Shirley Spencer, a Naturalist in Yosemite National Park, shared her knowledge of drawing botanicals and using watercolors.

Our setting was the Intermountain Nursery, a wonderful place in itself, specializing in drought-tolerant plants and trees. We worked outside with a wonderful view of the moody skies and rolling green foothills, and I thoroughly enjoyed the class, experimenting with masking fluid and watercolors, a medium I have never spent time with.

Shirley has a book coming out this summer featuring her watercolors and drawings called Flowering Shrubs of Yosemite and the Sierra Nevada , and you can pre-order it on Amazon. It would make a lovely gift and I look forward to her book signing this summer.