An Iris and some Pen and Ink

Well it has been a bit longer since my last post than I intended, but colored pencil work just can't be rushed and to be honest I just wasn't spending the amount time on it that I should have. Anyway it is done.

Above is my latest of the 6 x 6 inch images done with colored pencil and pen and ink outlines. The pen and ink version of this I posted a few weeks ago. Done basically the same way the other two pieces were done, under layers of Derwent wax colored pencils (various lines) and top layers of Polychromos oil colored pencils.

I have to say that the colors in the scanned image aren't quite right, my scanner doesn't pick up color intensity well so I have made some adjustments in Photoshop, the end result is the orange is a bit too bright, but the blues are about right so I left it as close enough.

I used a reference photograph that I had made the summer of 2014, though the background is somewhat from my imagination. Still I am rather pleased with how this one came out. Blue flowers can be a challenge when it comes to getting the right color on paper.

In my past couple of visits to Dick Blicks large Boston store I have been picking up some additional watercolor tubes. Wanting to play a bit with my new colors and practice laying down a wash I took a square sheet (6 x 6 inches) of cold press paper and went at it. The colors used were M. Graham Turquoise and Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold.  After the washes had dried I added the ink work with a dip pen and Sepia Acrylic ink. The image is one of the reference photos for February in the WetCanvas Pen and Ink forum. I took some liberties with the reference as the original photo wasn't square.

Not sure how I feel about this, it was more or less an experiment. I do know that I need to work on my watercolor wash techniques a lot more, but even so it was sort of fun to do. I did do a preliminary pencil sketch, but I didn't spend much time on either the sketch or the ink work, and I think it shows.

I also drew and inked another of my 6 x 6 coloring book type images on Stonehenge paper. A couple of Lilies based on a reference photograph I made the summer of 2014. The colors in this one are going to be fun, the Lilies are sort of orange while the background flowers were pink, and I intend to keep the color combination.

I have another photograph selected for my next drawing, just have to get my act together and get it drawn. Can you tell I am having fun with these. So far I am quite pleased with how they are coming out. The smallish size means that they don't take me too long to finish even though Colored Pencil isn't fast.

I am hoping that winter is almost over, though in New England you really can't consider winter over until April, March can be a tricky month. Anyway the signs are in place that Spring is coming sooner or later.

Above are a couple of Skunk Cabbage flowers, and yes those strange shapes are flowers, in fact our earliest spring wild flower. I found these last week by the side of a stream near Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hill Reservation. As Spring progresses the plants will put forth their large bright green leaves, making the soggy ground around some streams a carpet of bright green.

The tree in the above photo is a Sugar Maple and the attached buckets are to collect Maple sap that will be boiled down to make Maple Syrup or Maple Sugar. This tree is at Moose Hill, MA Audubon Sanctuary in Sharon, MA. I visited there last Sunday for a walk. The sap will be collected (as long as it remains sweet) and then processed at the center for the entertainment of visitors.

That is it for today, per usual comments are welcome.

Stipple Flowers and figure drawings

It is finally finished. I started the above stipple piece of Bladder Campion last fall but ended up putting it aside to work on other projects. About a week or two ago I finally pulled it back out and started working on it again. Yesterday I finally put the finishing dots in place. The drawing is based on a photograph I made in June 2011 in Massasoit State Park. I really liked the photo and actually decided way back then that I would use it for a drawing. Last fall I decided it was time to take action on using the photo and that it would be a good image for a stipple piece.

The work is 9 x 6 inches, done on Stonehenge paper with a technical pen. I think this paper color is grey, the petals of the flowers only look lighter than the edges because of the contrast with the dark areas next to them. I love this optical effect, and have seen it in other stipple pieces I have done. I have to admit I sometimes get tired of making all those dots but when I get one finished I can't help but feel it was worth the effort.

Last night I went out to a short pose figure drawing session, and I have a few images from the session to post to the blog today. The ones above were 3 minute poses, drawing was done with a pen.

Above is one of my drawings of a 5 minute pose. I was trying out some new paper last night, and while this works I have to do some thinking about what media I want to use on this paper to achieve a more interesting effect.

 Last are 2 drawings of 15 minute poses. I rather like the one on the left, and feel I could have used a bit more time with the one on the right. I have a feeling I was getting pretty tired by that time and it shows in the resulting drawing.

We have been having some lovely spring weather this week. The above photograph is of skunk cabbage which I made Monday in the Blue Hills Reservation. Skunk Cabbage is one of the earliest flowers that bloom in our woods. They aren't very impressive looking I know, but after this winter I will take any signs of spring that I can find.

One last image, yesterday I was over to Daniel Webster (MA Audubon sanctuary) for the first time this year. It was a beautiful day and I was rewarded with the sight of blue birds, a hawk, wood ducks, mallard ducks, a northern shoveler, and some blue wing teal.

The photo above is of a male blue wing teal.

That is it for today, per usual comments are always welcome.

Challenges and updates

I am starting the post today with an Everyday Matters Challenge drawing. Number 188: Draw a peanut in the shell or out. I sort of did both, but I didn't do a whole unopened shell, just the 2 halves with the 2 peanuts. one still inside and one outside. I did draw it a bit larger than life sized, and probably should have gone even larger so I could have included more details.

I enjoy peanuts for a snack and peanuts in the shell have a lot more flavor than the ones in cans or jars, though because last years harvest wasn't very good they can sometimes be hard to find.

Another attempt at a strictly pen sketch, no pencil, from another of the WetCanvas Pen and Ink Forum April challenge photographs. Not terribly happy with this one. If I were doing it other than as a challenge I would have laid in some pencil guides, and I think I should have switched to a finer pen tip for the distant landscape. Well this exercise is about learning, and sometimes learning what doesn't work is as important as learning what does work, on Stonehenge paper with my 00X technical pen.

Above is the stipple border piece I have been working on. At this point I am calling the border done and trying to decide what I am going to put in the center. A flower of some sort I think to go with the flowers and leaves in the border design. .

So far I like this piece and am pleased with how it is coming along.

Above is a in-progress scan of the pen and ink I started last week. I have to say it isn't staying a lot like the thumbnail I drew. Doesn't matter of course, the thumbnail was only a guide to get me started. I don't have a title for this so if anyone has a suggestion let me know.

The photograph for today I actually made 2 weeks ago and is of a skunk cabbage flower with emerging leaf.  The name of course has to do with the smell of its crushed leaves, but to be honest I have never really noticed, I don't get that close to them as they tend to grow in soggy ground. The skunk cabbage flower will bloom in March, even if it hasn't been a warm spring. The dark flower will generate enough heat to melt snow so the flower can emerge even if covered. The heat helps it to attract pollinating insects.

That is it for today, per usual comments are always welcome.