Tuesday, November 22, 2011

EDM #24 with Journal Pages and a Figure


When I am not quite sure what to draw or need a quick drawing because I have been busy with other projects that aren't quite ready to be shown I fall back on the Every Day Matters list of Challenge's. It has gotten to be quite long so I can go through it and select something that I feel in the mood to draw with little difficulty. The other day I selected #24 Draw a piece of fruit. I happen to have an apple on hand so it became my subject.

Not too bad for something done fairly quickly. Still it was a bit of a challenge to suggest the striations on the apple along with the shadows. That white oval is the store sticker identifying the apple type, bar-code and source.

Below is another Nature Journal Page, this one from a visit to Borderland State Park last Friday.


I expect these will be my last leaf images until next spring. Well I may do some evergreen leaves but there aren't that many evergreen plants in my local woods so there won't be many.

I am not sure what the top leaf is, there were several trees that it could be, but in the end I couldn't make a positive identification so I will leave it as a mystery for now and hopefully next spring I will be able to figure it out.

The middle leaf is from a Norway Maple. The leaves turn yellow in the fall and can hang on a bit later than the Sugar Maples do. It does look a lot like a Sugar Maple leaf, but there are some differences that make it possible to identify the species. The Norway Maple is not native to the US so trees found in the woods are volunteers from plantings around homes.

The bottom sketch is of a small dog I photographed while on my walk. I have sketched in just the hint of feet and pants of the owner in the background. The dog was wearing some sort of sweater as the day was a bit chilly. I expect I will be including a lot more people and dog images in the Journal, it is that or just landscapes as winter sends wild animals away or into hibernation.

Below is my figure drawing from last night.


Does the setting for the model look different? It certainly ought to. Last night one of the women who sometimes models for us came to draw and she asked Scott if we couldn't have a more complex setting, so they set up a still life to act as a background for the model.

Yikes, I admit that all the visual distraction gave me a bit of a problem early on, esp getting the angle of the body/head correct in relationship to the cart and other materials in the center of the image. In the end I did leave things out and others I only hinted at. Otherwise the result is more successful then I expected at the first break.

The lighting source is also different, usually it is from a low source and last night it was shinning down on her. A lot is very sketchily done, but I think there is just enough detail to give the viewer something to look at.

Below are a couple of photographs from my visit to Borderland.


A leaf falling onto the surface of one of the ponds. I am not sure I have the crop right. I did play with it a bit before selecting this image. I wanted some context for the leaf, not just leaf and water. A narrower crop just didn't feel right.


This is just a photograph of the path I was walking. Totally covered with fallen leaves, and showing the shadows of the tree trunks on the path. But this view won't last, people walking will break up the leaves, the wind and rain will move them off the path, so this photo has like many captured just a moment in time.

That is it for today. Hope you enjoy reading my blog, and per usual comments are always appreciated.

4 comments:

  1. great sketches! The model looks like she is sun bathing :) and lovely photographs, they are so peaceful

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  2. Thanks for your comments, I knew the models pose reminded me of something but wasn't sure just what, she does look like she was spending a day at the beach. Though she is going to have to wait until next summer to use our local beaches.

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  3. Lovely sketches! Very well done

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