Margaret Saylor
Margaret Saylor
Classes & Workshops
Small-group classes in botanical drawing and painting, offered online and at regional art centers and gardens. The focus is on close observation, sound technique, and building studio habits that last.
Upcoming sessions are listed below by venue; follow each link to register directly with the host organization.
LONGWOOD GARDENS • KENNETT SQUARE, PA
Open Studio
4 Mondays, November 2, 9, 16, & 23, 2026 · 1 PM–4:00 PM · On site
Bring works in progress or begin new botanical pieces in a guided studio environment. Three hours, entirely yours — advance a piece already underway, try a technique you've been meaning to, whatever the work in front of you calls for. Margaret circulates throughout for one-on-one feedback. Plant material supplied fresh from Longwood's gardens.
FLEISHER ART MEMORIAL • PHILADELPHIA, PA
Botanical Art
9 Thursdays, January 7 - March 4, 2027 · 6:30 PM–8:30 PM · Online
Botanical art starts with looking — really looking — before a single mark is made. This course is a strong first step into the practice — in the tradition of the botanical illustrators who first put pen to specimen centuries ago, but a contemporary version of that discipline: the same rigor of observation, without the stiffness of scientific illustration. We begin in graphite, working out form, edge, and light before color enters the picture, then move into dry brush watercolor as the term progresses. Each session includes a demonstration, time for questions, and hands-on studio time to work directly from your own specimens. By the end of the course you'll have a way of seeing a plant, and a way of rendering it, that's entirely your own. Great for all levels of experience!
LONGWOOD GARDENS • KENNETT SQUARE, PA
Portraits of the Winter Garden: Master Class
Saturday and Sunday, January 16 & 17, 2027 · 9 AM-4:00 PM · On site
Winter hands you the plant’s skeleton. With the leaves and flowers gone, the drawing comes down to line, gesture, and the particular way each plant falls apart. Over two days you’ll approach a dead branch or a collapsed seedhead the way a portrait painter approaches a face: as a character with a history, worth looking at closely. Day 1 is observation and graphite, building tonal range from bark, seed pods, and hollow stems. Day 2 develops a finished study in graphite or watercolor. Intermediate to advanced.
WAYNE ART CENTER • WAYNE, PA
The First Green: Spring Among the Leaf Litter
Sunday, February 28, 2027 · 10 AM-3:00 PM · On site
Late winter looks like nothing is happening until you get down close. Under the brown leaves, the first snowdrops are already pushing through. In this full-day workshop we draw that moment: the layers of litter, the edges and shadows, and the small bit of new growth coming up through it. We start in graphite, then add light watercolor on the new growth only, so the color sits where the life is. You finish with a sketchbook page of your own. Offered during the exhibition Rooted: Plants in Place. All levels welcome. Snow date: Saturday, March 6.
LONGWOOD GARDENS • KENNETT SQUARE, PA
Botanical Art for Beginners
Sunday, March 7, 2027 · 9 AM-3:00 PM · On site
Join us for this welcoming, beginner-friendly experience designed to help you build confidence and discover your own illustration style. Working at your own pace, learn foundational botanical art techniques using watercolor as the primary medium. Artist Margaret Saylor will provide frequent demonstrations to guide your process and clarify each step.
wayne art center • wayne, PA
Bud Break: Spring on the Branch
Saturday, March 20, 2027 · 10 AM-1:00 PM · On site
Spring shows up on the branch before it shows up anywhere else. Buds swell, split, and give you the first color of the year. In this half-day workshop we draw that moment up close: the twig, the scales of the bud, and the first bit of green or red pushing out. We build the form in graphite and let light watercolor follow the buds as they open. We meet on the first day of spring. Branches provided, and you are welcome to bring your own. All levels welcome.
MT CUBA CENTER • HOCKESSIN, DE
Spring Botanical Art Series
Learning to Draw Spring Wildflowers
Thursdays, March 25-April 15, 2027 · 10 AM-1:00 PM · On site
A relaxed, beginner-level class in drawing from life. Over four weeks we observe and sketch the flowers, leaves, and branches of spring wildflowers, building basic drawing skills one subject at a time. No experience needed. Session 1 of the 12-week Spring Botanical Art Series, offered on its own or with the full series.
Wildflowers in Color
Thursdays, April 22-May 13, 2027 · 10 AM-1:00 PM · On site
The next step after the first session. We continue with composition, scale, and perspective, then add simple color techniques, working in watercolor or colored pencil. Step-by-step exercises, demonstrations, and one-on-one feedback, with native wildflowers from Mt. Cuba's collections as subjects. Session 2 of the 12-week Spring Botanical Art Series, offered on its own or with the full series.
Refined Botanical Drawing
Thursdays, May 20-June 10, 2027 · 10 AM-1:00 PM · On site
Refine your drawing and composition with color theory and exercises that keep the work botanically accurate. We explore painterly techniques such as dry brush and watercolor washes, then sketch, compose, and finish a piece that draws on everything from the series. Session 3 of the 12-week Spring Botanical Art Series, offered on its own or with the full series.
LONGWOOD GARDENS • KENNETT SQUARE, PA
Understory Alphabetica: Woodland Curiosities
Saturday, April 17, 2027 · 9 AM-3:00 PM · On site
Understory Alphabetica is an artist's book project that documents the forest floor one letter at a time. In this one-day workshop, we wander outside until a specimen earns our attention, research it, then draw and paint it. You leave with one finished naturalist's spread and the method to continue the book on your own.