Cala Lily Blues No. 2

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I was thinking I would do a few orchids, but I have gotten side tracked with the Cala Lily. I think I like the shapes better. The reference photo that I used for this was not super great, but the shapes were all there. I did a pre-painting sketch…something I rarely do these days. I think it’s a good idea. Gets your hand moving and you can think about where you really want things. In the final piece I notice now that I didn’t listen to all my sketch comments! I do think I might add some yellow spatter to the lower right area…maybe even a little yellow spatter onto the petal. I wanted the light to travel around from the top left to lower right…I might have to do this one again.

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Cala Lily Blues

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This was inspired by my father-in-law. Flowers from the day that we celebrated his life. I wasn’t able to seriously draw during this time, but I knew that I would want to capture something to keep the memory of the day. The flowers that were brought back to the house from the church were so beautiful, so I took some photos to do some paintings from. The cala lily has such great curves, the colors seem to set the tone for me.

I liked adding the spirographs…somehow they add some mystical features to the piece. We will keep him with us in our memories.

Day Twenty Six

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It’s easy to get distracted when you are in Hawaii. Not as much drawing and painting going on, but lots of sight seeing and enjoying the weather. I have decided not to be too hard on myself and just take it easy…so we will see how many more of these little paintings I get done.

Morning walks have been great, there is beauty everywhere you look. The Bird of Paradise flowers and in full bloom, nice to see. Still working on my hibiscus!

Day Seven

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I missed a couple of days. I had these hopes that I could do more than one a day, it’s just not working out. And, there is too much going on at my day job to take a long enough lunch to do any painting and drawing. I started this one at 4:30am and finished it up after work. It’s done, but not what I wanted. Sometimes it just has to be okay that you worked on some art…not that it really turned out.

I might miss tomorrow, but the weekend is almost here, so at least I will do two paintings this weekend. More if I can manage it!

Cone Flowers

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Working the cone flower: watercolor pencil and blue fountain pen

Working the cone flower: watercolor pencil and blue fountain pen

I need more cone flowers in the garden! They are so wonderful, they draw in the bees, the butterflies, the moth’s all the pollinators seem to love them. After some research it seems that they come in some really nice colors too! My mother tells me that I have cone flowers that are native to Maine…the droopy kind. Next year I think I will add some new varieties. In the meantime, it’s nice to have these around for a little while.

Quick sketch: flower journal

Quick sketch: flower journal

Really enjoying sketching a little plein air! This is the most perfect time in Maine, and great for sitting outside with your art supplies. Nice temperatures, mostly not too hot, not too cold. It will be gone soon, so good to take advantage. I took a lot of photos of the butterfly and the cone flowers to use as reference for the winter months.

Time and discipline

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Acrylic: 18"x24" in progress

Acrylic: 18″x24″ in progress

So, I think I might be over ambitious. I had such good intentions two weeks ago to get a bunch of stuff finished…I am not sure why I feel the need to hurry anyway. I am going to try very hard though not to start anything new until I finish the Jack-in-the-pulpit painting. I am still working on my beetle bug and of course sketching as much as I can. I feel like I have abandoned my shell painting–I am just not that happy with it. Of course I can go back to it at any time.

I feel like I need to give my self permission to move on when a project is feeling good. But, on the other hand sometimes when I push through and just get it done it all works out! And, time or the lack of is probably my most frustrating problem. Time in is what I want. I am just going to have to be happier with the time I get to work on my art projects, enjoy it while it happens.

I am missing the bug drawing. Now that the days are longer, I need to plan to get into the art shed after my day job–discipline.

Warm-up sketch: watercolor pencil

Warm-up sketch: watercolor pencil

Paper 53 App

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Gerber Daisy: drawn with the pen tool in the iPad app Paper 53

Gerber Daisy: drawn with the pen tool in the iPad app Paper 53

Leave it to #sketchbookskool to open up another medium for exploration. I have had the Paper 53 app on my iPad for a long time. I have never used it, until yesterday! It’s AWESOME!!!! No doubt it is going to take some getting used to, but it is super cool. I am really surprised how nice the pen and pencil tools are. I am using a cheap stylus that isn’t great, but good enough for some experiments. I ordered the Paper 53 stylus in hopes that it will prove easier to use. I am really excited about the possibilities for this new way of sketching.

The pros: 

  • The iPad is always with me
  • Endless color options
  • No need for new supplies
  • Quality reproduction

The Cons:

  • Results are not the same as working on different paper surfaces
  • Spontaneity of splashy unexpected, unplanned color can’t really be achieved

Overall, I am really excited about using this app for different sketchbooks. I have created one for “Learning”, “Bugs” and one just for “Sketches”.

I am also working on the Every Day in May Facebook Group Challenge. Basically just a drawing a day using the prompts from the group. Hopefully I can keep up. May 1 was your favorite food, I couldn’t get the entire image on the scanner–but the eggplant turned out okay. It was delicious roasted for supper. Today May 3 is curtains. Of which I have none in the house, so I will have to figure that one out.

Water-soluble crayon, black & white sharpie

Water-soluble crayon, black & white sharpie

Quick Sketches

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Sharpie in Ink Only Journal

Sharpie in Ink Only Journal

Sometimes a sketch just comes at you in a surprising way. My Mom posted this sweet photo of a newly born lamb, and I immediately thought–so cute I want to draw him! And now, because I am drawing so much, all my supplies are readily at hand. I picked up my ink only journal and a sharpie and did the sketch. What a joy, fun and quick. A happy drawing. I think that is a good goal, to draw as many subjects as I can that really make me happy.

Inspired by one of the #sketchbookskool email assignments I decided to get a Strathmore tinted paper book. The first couple of pages are just experimenting with different mediums to see what works best. I have discovered that that oil based white sharpie I bought has some limitations–the paper just sucks it in, so it really doesn’t show up well. I have a feeling this paper will do best with colored pencil, conte crayon, things like that. The stock is not heavy enough to support too much wet media. It’s one of the largest sketch books I have ever used at 9″x12″–so that will be a good challenge to work a little larger.

This should be a busy week. I have some concentrated time off work and several days in a row–5 big ones, that will be devoted to drawing and painting. Really excited about that!

Colored pencil and white sharpie

Colored pencil and white sharpie

Thinking Spring

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Opaque watercolor and colored pencil

Opaque watercolor and colored pencil

I actually saw a robin in the yard today! Spring can’t be too far away. I think I am going to take a break from the daffodil’s now. I won’t see my own blooming for at least another 6 weeks, I will get back to them once I see them in my own yard. Trying to keep the tulips simple, just a little color and a little ink brush pen. Looking forward to filling up my flower only journal with nice variety. of flowers drawn from life.

Inktense and small brush pitt pen

Inktense and small brush pitt pen

We had snow this Easter Sunday! No accumulation, but some heavy snow squalls.

quick Easter bunny sketch: ink only journal

quick Easter bunny sketch: ink only journal