Wendy at her Farm in Accord, NY
Wendy Hollender
WENDY HOLLENDER is a botanical artist, illustrator, author, and instructor. Hollender’s illustrations have been published in The New York Times, “O,” The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Good Housekeeping, Sunset Magazine, he Observer (UK) as well as a large advertising campaign for the National Peanut Board. Her work was included in the 13th International Exhibition at Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, and in exhibitions at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and the Smithsonian National Museum for Natural History. The US Botanic Garden had a show of Wendy's work on roots called Illustrating Hidden Treasures in the fall of 2015.She is the author of THE JOY OF BOTANICAL DRAWING: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing and Painting Flowers, Leaves, Fruit, and More, BOTANICAL DRAWING IN COLOR: A Basic Guide To Mastering Realistic Form And Naturalistic Color, THE PRACTICE OF BOTANICAL DRAWING, and BOTANICAL DRAWING, A BEGINNER'S GUIDE. She collaborated on a book written by Dina Falconi and illustrated by Wendy called Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook which has won two gold medals to date.
Wendy is an instructor of Botanical Art and Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden and leads workshops at her farm in Accord, NY, as well as in exotic locations such as Hawaii, Greece, Trinidad, and many nature preserves, botanical gardens, arts centers and colleges around the country. She recently started a highly successful online botanical drawing program: www.drawbotanical.com. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society and the National Tropical Botanical Garden Florilegium Project.
In 1976 Wendy graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and became a home furnishing textile designer. She began a career in botanical illustration after completing a certificate at the New York Botanical Garden in 1998. In 2009 she moved from Manhattan to a farm in the Hudson Valley so she could live among the plants she documents in her work.
Wendy working on an illustration for the National Peanut Board that appeared in posters in the New York Subway System.
Wendy with one of the peanuts poster in the Subways of New York City.
More about Wendy's books
The Joy of Botanical Drawing: A Step-by-Step Guide to Drawing and Painting Flowers, Leaves, Fruit, and More Paperback published by Random House in April, 2020.
A gorgeous, easy-to-follow, and inspiring guide to stunningly realistic botanical drawing that covers everything you need to draw our natural world.
Achieve amazingly realistic and vibrant botanical illustrations, from flowers so dazzling you feel as if you might be able to smell them, to tomatoes that look as if they've just been picked from the garden. Wendy Hollender is known for her vivid, detailed, and inspiring illustrations and in The Joy of Botanical Drawing, she helps you take your art to the next level by sharing her perfected techniques through short lessons that start simple, then build on the basics with easy-to-use and clear step-by-step illustrations. Using colored pencils and watercolor pencils, Hollender shows you how to accomplish scientifically accurate botanical portraits of a spiraling pine cone, a spiky chestnut, a fuchsia-tined radish, a graceful morning glory, and many more.
From colorful leaves to delicate petals to textured bark and slender stems, The Joy of Botanical Drawing will give you the skills to complete lifelike drawings while also enjoying nature and the mindfulness of a regular drawing practice.
Dina Falconi the author, and Wendy Hollender the botanical illustrator, started collaborating on Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook in the spring of 2009. Together they created Botanical Arts Press, LLC to handle all aspects of publishing Foraging & Feasting and its related products. They launched a highly successful campaign to raise funds to publish the book on Kickstarter in March of 2013 where they were able to pre-sell close to 3000 copies prior to the books publication in July 2013! The book was the most successful cookbook ever on Kickstarter and has won two gold medals. Within one year of publication it has sold 8000 copies without any large channels of distribution.
Random House published her full-length book called "Botanical Drawing in Color, A Basic Guide to Mastering Realistic Form and Naturalistic Color in July 2010. It is used as a teaching guide by many botanical art instructors. Wendy self-published her own book which features a unique workbook format, Botanical Drawing: A Beginner’s Guide in 2008 which continues tosell steadily at the New York Botanical Garden, Amazon.comand on the artist’s website.
The Story of Hollengold Farm
After living 30 years in Manhattan, Wendy relocated to Accord, NY in 2009. The property has been developed into a small permaculture organic vegetable farm. Workshops are held in botanical drawing as well as permaculture and growing. Students study and draw the living plants and get to eat the fresh wild and cultivated food prepared on the farm.
222 Lower Whitfield Road
Accord, NY 12404
917-607-7366