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 ©2012 Carolyn A Pappas, Ashtrays. Graphite, colored pencil and marker in 8.5 x 11 inch sketchbook. I sketched it twice. The sketch on the left was first and I was off quite a bit. I came closer to the actual object on my second sketch (right). Elipses were never my cup of tea (whose are they, anyway?). I could fill up a sketchbook of practice sketches and still be improving.  ©2012 Carolyn A. Pappas, Rose (1-7-12). Graphite and watercolor on Fabriano Artistico hotpress paper, 4 x 4 inches. I bought some hotpress watercolor paper to try out. I’m not sure how I feel about the surface; it will take some getting used to. Coldpress paper seems to allow me more time for “wiggle room” before leaving an indelible mark. Also, coldpress paper seems to take more abuse and “scrubbing” before the paper’s surface starts to disintegrate. I painted this rose, but I mangled the leaves badly so I cut them off with the paper cutter. It’s frustrating to have something turn out badly, especially when I don’t get to paint whenever I want anymore. I know that it is to be expected though, and I’m glad I experimented with this new paper.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, A Dahlia for Christmas. Watercolor and colored pencil, 8 x 10 inches. This is my latest painting, which I used as the image for my Christmas cards this year. I painted it in watercolor first, and then went over it with colored pencil. I wanted something really bright and bold, and I think that I got what I was going for even though it isn’t blatantly Christmas themed. If you scroll down you can see two work in progress photos plus my printed cards that I got in the mail the other day. Opening up my package made all my hard work seem worth it. I ordered my cards with red envelopes. I am really happy with the quality, although I wish I had the option to have 5 x 7 cards printed.  This is after I finished the watercolor and had just started on the colored pencil.  I worked from top left to lower right and used a piece of paper towel to rest my hand on to avoid smudging the colored pencil.  My finished card.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Rose Blossoms 2. Graphite and watercolor, 4 x 6 inches. This image goes along with this one that I had posted earlier. My sister had them printed on postcards to use as invitations for my baby shower. I like the delicate look of graphite with watercolor wash and I’m thinking of making more pictures in this style. What do you think?  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Rose Blossoms 1. Graphite and watercolor, 4 x 6 inches. There is no fatigue so wearisome as that which comes from lack of work. -Charles H SpurgeonI painted these roses back in July, when I had more energy and when my life felt completely different. These days I am exhausted, mostly because I am in my last few weeks of pregnancy. Apparently, I have a free pass to take it easy according to my family, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty. I did finish up my large handbook sketchbook and have started on another one. So far, all I’ve done are small black ink sketches, although I’m hoping to drag out the watercolors and have a go at them soon.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Jersey Shore Overlook. Watercolor and colored pencil, 4.5 x 10.5 inches. This is my submission for the July VPO which is on the Island of Jersey. I usually don’t wait so long before submitting my painting, and I finished just in time. I started this picture earlier on in the month, but didn’t get around to finishing it until yesterday. I painted in watercolor first, and then went over it with the colored pencils. Finally, I used the colorless blender to brighten up the colors and smooth them out a bit. Since I was working on watercolor paper, I couldn’t hide the tooth of the paper, but I’ve always liked this effect because it allows me to get really bright colors. I wasn’t trying to be especially realistic with the colors and was going for something happy and sunny instead.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Mexico City. Ink and watercolor, apx 3.5 x 8.5 inches. While looking through my paper collection yesterday, I found a pad of watercolor paper that had an old drawing in it, from over a year ago. I had made an ink drawing of a Mexico City street, originally intended for the Virtual Paintout, but I had abandoned the whole piece because the drawing had many errors in perspective. I never ended up starting over and submitting anything that month, so it kind of felt like a failure to me. When I looked it over yesterday though, I still liked one part of the drawing, so I decided to do something with it. I painted it in watercolor and then cropped out the part that I liked. Now I have this colorful mini painting sitting next to my drafting table.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Blue Sea. Watercolor and colored pencil, 4.5 x 10.5 inches. This scene is based on a photo I took on a small private beach in Maine that I found while taking a walk along the coast. I made one sketch beforehand, rearranged the rocks just a bit, and changed the colors. Blue is my favorite color, can you tell?  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Mini Roses. Graphite and watercolor in 8 x 5.5 inch sketchbook. I hope everyone has a good day, especially if you are feeling depressed. I am planning on having a nice, neutral V-Day this year. I baked a bundt cake with a lemony glazy, and we are ordering pizza tonight. I had fun making this little sketch of a chickadee for the Wilderness Art Challenge, which is a monthly art challenge hosted by Gary Keimig. He has some really lovely nature art and photography, so I would check him out. The scan didn’t come in that great because of the buckling of the paper, but I wasn’t aiming for perfection.  ©2011 Carolyn A. Pappas, Chickadee. Graphite and watercolor, apx 5.5 x 4 inches in watercolor sketchbook. A bit of trivia for you: I have only used birds as a subject three other times in my life before, when I was a preteen. I painted a bluebird for my grandmother, a parakeet for my grandfather and a cardinal for someone in my church who collected them. Since then I haven’t drawn birds at all, mostly because I felt that the Internet was becoming too saturated with them, especially owls and peacocks. Birds seem to be a good “self-contained” subject and I have noticed that they are a favorite subject for illustrators and artists who like to stylize their work more. For more bird themed art, check out Geninne Zlatkis and Natasha Newton, who have made a name for themselves by painting birds almost exclusively. Do you know of an artist who paints birds? Let me know in the comments! |
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Copyright ©2012 Carolyn A Pappas - All Rights Reserved |
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