No new work to post today, so again, here are two quotes for thought.
- Do what you like. It’ll probably turn out to be what you do best.
Wallace Stegner
- “No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” Taoist Proverb
Have a nice weekend.
Day Seven and the drawing is almost done. I’ve gone back into the both the wood and the shadow underneath. I’ve included a photograph of with the edges showing so that you can see the faint “halo” of color I added at the top. (Click on thumbnails for enlargement).
I’ve worked on the butterfly for another couple of hours and it’s nearing completion, but not quite there yet. It’s clear now that I need to go back into the wood and develop it more. The butterfly has more definition and darks, and the wood needs to balance this as well. (Click on thumbnails for enlargement).
Here are four early stages of the butterfly. The first photo is sepia tones only. The second photo adds orange ochre tones, and the third adds yellows, peach and violet. Then I found it hard to stop working to take a photo for a while, so you can see that the last photo shows quite a bit more development – browns, blacks and more oranges have been added. More tomorrow!
I wasn’t able to work in my studio today . . . I had to take a new piece to the semi-annual Wellesley Society of Artists exhibition instead. I am going to leave you with two quotes for thought:
“Don’t you think that all of our interpretations of other people’s work sound like us?
-Jasper Johns
“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you never grow” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Have a good night and I’ll be back tomorrow to post some artwork.
The wood is even more developed than day three, with fine detail being applied in all areas. There is still a lot of detail to add, but much of that will come when the butterfly has been added, to balance out the drawing. Okay, can anyone tell me what has been added on Day Four? Leave a comment if you notice. Thanks, and any feedback is always welcome.
The bark is becoming much more developed. All areas have solid background layers of color that have been blended with a brush.
In addition, some areas have been gone back into with more minute detail. (Click on thumbnail for enlargement).
Here is the piece at the end of two days of work. Notice the increased color values. Many additional layers of color have been added in some, but not all, areas. (Click on thumbnail 2x for biggest enlargement).
I have begun a new piece and will be posting each day’s work to chart the development of a small piece. This drawing is of an Eastern Comma butterfly resting on a piece of Sycamore bark. At this point I have only started to work on the bark and there are about 6 layers of color in some areas. The butterfly is just sketched out in gray pencil and is at the top of the bark. (Click on photo thumbnail for enlargement).
This is a recently completed still-life and, for interest and comparison, the actual set-up that I worked from. These are three little birds eggs – a simple way to try out new techniques learned at an all day workshop with Linda Lucas Hardy. Linda specializes in colored pencil, and teaches techniques that she has developed, including burnishing the layers of color with a brush. Almost everything was burnished (excluding the eggs). (Click on thumbnails for photo enlargement).
Powered by WordPress
