Currently in its 10th successful year, the Yale Peabody Museum’s Natural Science Illustration Program provides opportunities to learn a wide range of art techniques focusing on nature and natural science illustration. Whether you are a beginner or professional, our skilled and certified instructors provide personalized support in small classes to help you develop your abilities and discover new ways of encountering art and nature. The Yale Peabody Museum’s collections and special outdoor locations provide endless subjects for drawing, painting and sketching. Take an individual class or complete a sequence of classes to earn a Certificate in Natural Science Illustration.
Visit "Seeing Nature Through Art", an exhibition of our instructors' artwork which was on display at the Museum from November 2019 through June of 2020. See all of the artwork, learn about the instructors, and view more examples of their work.
Contact the Education Office for questions about registration and payment. For questions about course content, prerequisites, etc. please contact the instructor listed for each course.
293X Painting Natural Motifs in Watercolor
Saturdays, January 9 to February 13, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$360, 6 weeks, 18 hours
Create complete watercolor bird, mammal, insect, and/or flower paintings in natural settings. Learn to integrate subject/background painting elements to strengthen a new painting motif each week. Students will prepare a contour drawing before each class. Register
101A Drawing I
Sundays, January 10 to February 28, 1-4 pm
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Registration closes January 2
101B Drawing I
Tuesdays, January 12 to March 2, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Drawing I is the foundation course for all sequential courses taken at the Yale Peabody Museum. It is here that the necessary techniques in rendering light on form, value, texture, perspective, proportion, and composition are taught. Each student will be given individual assignments and critiques, along with a final project, which is due at the culmination of the course. Register
244 Watercolor I
Thursdays, January 14 to March 4, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Watercolor is a medium that produces luminous, translucent colors. Practice mixing colors while learning about color theory, and gain experience applying washes and layers when using color in your scientific illustrations and paintings. We will be working with fruits, vegetables, flowering plants, and specimens from the Peabody Museum’s collections. Register
169X Plants and Their Pollinators: A Sketchbook Journey
Fridays, January 22 to February 19, 2 to 5 pm
Instructors: Dorie Petrochko and Jim Sirch
$300 5 weeks, 15 hours
Registration closes January 15
Explore the uncommon lifestyles of our common pollinators such as birds, bees, butterflies, and moths. We will draw them in a sketchbook-journal format representing each species and their interrelationship with plants. No previous drawing experience is necessary. Register
170X Virtual Visits to the Yale Art Gallery
Fridays, February 5, March 5, April 2, and May 7, 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
During each class session, the instructor will present an illustrated talk focused on drawings and watercolors from the Yale Art Gallery’s collection of works with a nature theme. Discussion will follow the presentation and students will be encouraged to ask questions of the instructor and a member of the Art Gallery staff. The students will be encouraged to explore the illustrated Yale Art Gallery online catalog for added information as they write and sketch in their journals. Register
286XA Watercolor Workshop: Flowers
Saturdays, March 6 to March 20, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Learn how to portray familiar flowers in a setting in watercolor. Instructor will demonstrate how to modify various painting elements to strengthen what's key, work in stages, and complete a new painting each week. Students will prepare a contour drawing before each class. Register
263X Composition and Design
Sundays, March 7 to May 2, 1 to 4 pm (No class April 4)
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Prerequisites: Drawing II, Colored Pencil I or Watercolor I
Registration closes February 28
Learning the elements of composition and design is fun and essential for completing successful paintings and illustrations. Exploring color theory, notan composition, spatial relationships, the golden mean, and perspective, we will create dynamic studies that will serve as templates for final projects. Register
103X Introduction to Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, March 11 to April 1, 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
103X II Introduction to Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, April 8 to April 29, 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
Learn the basics of observational drawing starting with simple objects so that you can sketch what you find outdoors as well as indoors. Students will be encouraged to carry their sketchbooks and journals wherever they go. There will be a balance between presentations by the instructor and actual practice followed by group critiques during the interactive Zoom classes. Register
241 Colored Pencil I
Saturdays, March 13 to May 8, 9 am to noon
Instructor: Jan Prentice
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Begin your exploration of color with this approachable medium. In our first few meetings students learn and practice key color concepts: primary and secondary color, local color, color temperature, hue, chroma and value. Armed with this information, students will then learn techniques needed to create beautiful, detailed drawings on a variety of drawing surfaces. Register
201 Drawing II, Part 2: Light on Form
Tuesdays, March 23 to April 20, 9:00 to 11:30 am
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
$240, 5 weeks, 12 hours
Prerequisite: 201X A, Drawing II, Part I
Registration closes January 2
Part II of this advanced graphite course will offer students the opportunity to create a composition of natural subjects in graphite employing the traditional light source and exhibiting the smooth tone of an old silver tone photograph. Prerequisite: 201XA, Drawing II Part A. Register
286XB Watercolor Workshop: Birds and Other Critters
Mondays, March 29 to April 12, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Bivenne Staiger
$180, 3 weeks, 9 hours
Learn how to depict birds and other creatures within their habitats in watercolor. Instructor shows how to complete a painting in a specific sequence using painting elements to emphasize what is key. Student will prepare a contour drawing before each class. Register
104XA Intermediate Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, May 6 to May 247, 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
104XB Intermediate Field Sketching and Nature Journaling
Thursdays, June 3 to June 27 10 am to noon
Instructor: Linda Miller
$160 4 weeks, 8 hours
Students will explore, sketch, and journal outside and then will bring some seasonal specimens they find inside to work from. We will welcome guest naturalists who will help us identify things that we have discovered. In April we will be searching for early spring flowers and in June we will be looking for early summer flowers. Learn to slow down and observe more deeply as you connect and open up to the ineffable in natural objects through the making of art. Register
225 Colored Pencil II
Mondays, May 3 to June 28, 1 to 4 pm (No class May 31)
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Prerequisite: Colored Pencil I
Registration deadline, April 26
Using both traditional and experimental methods, students will master the techniques of colored pencil needed to create detailed and accurate illustrations for portfolio presentation or publication. Course concentration will be focused on refining techniques learned in Colored Pencil I, increasing pigment intensity, creating textural effects and working closely from museum specimens and still life objects. Register
270 Plant Morphology
Tuesdays, May 4 to June 22, 9 am to 12 noon
Instructor: Susannah Graedel
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Explore the exquisite variety of forms and structural adaptations of flowering plants. Students will draw the parts of flowers to produce an artistic botanical plate. The connection between flower structure and type of pollinator will be explored. Register
294X Business Practices for Artists
Thursdays, April 8 to May 27, 1-4 pm
Instructor: Dorie Petrochko
$480, 8 weeks, 24 hours
Prerequisites: Successful completion of three 200-level courses and two electives. See NSIP Certificate Course Requirements on the Peabody Website
Registration closes March 29
In this class, you will hone your skills in marketing your work as an artist, fine tuning your portfolio, resume, artist statement, and website, both online and analog. Each student will create a promotional media portfolio to showcase their work to present to potential clients in the fine and community arts. Register
171X From the Inside Out: How to Draw a Dinosaur
Saturdays, June 5 to June 26, 10am-Noon
Instructor: Armand Morgan
$160, 4 weeks, 8 hours
This class will guide participants through a step-by-step illustration of a well-known Peabody dinosaur, Triceratops. We’ll begin by studying the dinosaur’s posture and drawing the skeleton. Then we’ll add the proposed musculature and finally a body covering. This process can be applied to other prehistoric and modern vertebrate animals. Drawing experience is helpful but not required. Register
All participants must be at least 18 years of age. There are no exceptions. Instructors will be in touch to provide a list of art supplies needed for the class. These materials may not be covered by the registration fee.
Contact the Education Office for questions about registration and for payment information. For questions about course content, prerequisites, etc. please contact the instructor listed for each course.
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