At my recent botanical illustration class, the teacher had us close our eyes for about two minutes and then open them and notice what drew our attention. She wanted us to see if we were drawn to the lighter areas or the darker areas of the room first. I noticed the light filtering in through the window and then the contrast of some white antlers against the wall.
Then she explained her theory that people who are attracted to the dark areas first find it more natural to work in oil, acrylic or pastel. People that prefer the light areas first tend to enjoy watercolor, colored pencil, graphite and pen and ink. I felt like my own instincts were confirmed! I had never before heard someone explain this theory, but in my case I think it definitely applies.
Last week we bought a bag (1/2 peck) of apples and I had the intention of drawing some of them, but I kept putting it off for another day. Until yesterday, that is, when I noticed that there were only three left! I finally drew them before they disappeared for good.
I had another opportunity to draw Olivia, one of my favorite Whippets, this time in ink with watercolor and colored pencil. My first sketches from this past February were done from life in ballpoint pen. When I was making these sketches I was trying to practice and basically figure out how their heads were constructed. When I made this recent piece I used a photo reference and I wanted it to appear more flat, as if the shapes fit together like puzzle pieces.
I recently got an email from someone who said they really admired my detailed pen and ink artwork “that looks like teeny tiny dots.” Then I remembered that I had this drawing that I did a few months ago but haven’t posted yet. These are leaves that I collected in my driveway last fall and took inside to draw. I spent about a week on and off working on all the leaves and then coloring them in with colored pencil. This drawing features lots of dots lining all the veins in the leaves and it was a bit of an experiment for me.
I think every year I end up making some sort of fall leaf piece. Here is a link for a small painting I did in 2008.
I drew this for the January Virtual Paintout. The location this month is Corsica and I had a lot of fun finding the scene I wanted and carrying it out. This drawing is not in my usual style at all. I drew it with pen and then filled it in with colored pencil. I felt like I was coloring in a coloring book and now that I’m finished, it reminds me a bit like something that Tommy Kane would have done. I can’t wait until next month and I think I will try some other form of experimentation with that piece.
Stone Window, pen and ink and colored pencil (7 x 5), 2009
When I was eighteen I visited Germany with my family. When we were taking a tour of a vineyard in Bad Dürkheim, I snapped a photo of this window and thought it would make a nice drawing. I never got around to making that drawing when I got home though, and I eventually I forgot all about it. My mother was recently cleaning out the house and she found the photo and requested that I finally make that drawing.
I did finally got around to making it – almost ten years later! I gave it to my parents for Christmas this year. Here is a photo that Chris took of me drawing it a few weeks ago:
The other day I got a text message from my dad saying that he was studying it under a magnifying glass. Yesterday I got a phone call from my mother saying that she and my dad were arguing over which one of them I made it for and I had to explain that I meant it for both of them – for the house, so to speak. I gave it to my dad to open, but I wrote “To Mom AND Dad” on the tag!
I always thought my relationship with floral art was a love/hate one. For a long time I was embarrassed of my fascination with flowers because various individuals used to criticize me for it, saying that I was too “girly.” At other times, I was given flowers by an abusive partner as a “goodwill” gesture, basically trying to appease me until the next time he blew up.
Even though flowers are a divisive subject for me, I’ve continued to be drawn to them. I have hundreds of reference photos that I’ve taken at various botanical gardens, parks and my own backyard. Whenever I am feeling restless and unsure of what to draw, I usually pick flowers because I find that drawing or painting them is like meditation for me. I can easily get lost in the intricacies of the petals of a rose or a daisy, like I drew here. I love the design of flowers and how they are so beautiful and varied, all the while serving a very important and special purpose in nature. I was thinking about it this morning, and the thought came across my mind that flowers really are proof of God’s exuberance.
I have never been a risk taker in life. Generally, my attitude has been “Life is about survival and I am going to make it through unscathed.” However, recent circumstances I’ve found myself in over the past year or so have led me to do some rethinking. I’ve realized that a lot of things in life are completely out of my control so I might as least be an active participant and maybe have some fun.
On Saturday I went snowboarding for the first time. I can honestly say that I’ve never been so bad at something in my entire life. I went with someone that I didn’t know too well and I felt bad because I sort of ruined it for him. I have never been a very athletic person but I have never felt so out of touch with my own body either. But I wasn’t a quitter and at least I can say that I tried it. Upon talking to another friend of mine, it turns out that it is actually quite a difficult thing to learn how to do so I don’t feel quite so bad. I did injure myself quite badly however, and I am just starting to feel a little bit more human, even with popping tons of advils.
On Sunday I made some sketches of some food items. It is a subject that I feel at ease drawing, and very comfortable with.
1/25/2009 sketchbook, sepia Pitt pens
1/25/2009 sketchbook, sepia Pitt pens and colored pencil
January 2009 VSD, pitt pens and colored pencil in sketchbook
January 2009 VSD, graphite in sketchbook
This week I have been preoccupied with other things and I didn’t feel like making a very detailed drawing of the clementine for the January 09 VSD. It would have come out really nice but I just wasn’t feeling it. Instead, I felt like making an ink drawing and coloring it in like a coloring book. The caption is inspired by Jeanette Jobson’s post. I also made a small graphite sketch above.
Salad, sepia pitt pens and colored pencil in kraft paper sketchbook, 12/13/2008
I’ve been without an internet connection for the past few days and it has been frustrating. My wireless internet still does not work and I have to plug myself into the wall to get on right now. I’ve been thinking a lot about how dependent I’ve become on the internet, and modern conveniences in general. I’m thinking of trying to stay off the computer for a few days, or as long as I can manage, as I don’t like to be dependent on anything. I’ll probably still go on once a day to check my email but I want to try to get away from spending hours reading all kinds of blogs. I don’t want to read about others living exciting lives while I’m sitting on my carpet not living an exciting life of my own! I’ve practically given up tv which is a good thing because there is not really anything good on anyway and it is a huge time waster. It is so passive–even the internet is better as it requires more active participation than changing the channel.
Interestingly, a lot of us New Englanders are realizing how dependent we’ve become on technology as there are thousands without electricity after the ice storm. Luckily, it didn’t hit me personally, but my parents have refugees at their house for the weekend as a lot of our friends don’t have any heat–very scary.
This sketch would fit in for EDM 135, draw a salad. I strongly dislike salad and will only eat it if there is nothing else available. In this case, I made the salad just so I could draw it. I screwed up the plate, but it was fun in any case.
