Graphite Drawing Workshop

The first week of January I took a graphite drawing workshop. The workshop was a good distance from home and I didn't get to attend the last two days. But I learned a lot of what I had been doing wrong in my drawing and some new things that will help me do better. So, after finishing up the flower collages and wanting a few days break from having sticky fingers, I started on this drawing of my nephew Collin. What you see is only half of the drawing due to the fact that it's 8x24 and won't fit on the scanner bed.

The paper is Stonehenge. I use this paper for colored pencil all the time so I was disappointed that I've already managed to "damage" the surface of the paper in a couple of places. I'm also using Derwent drawing pencils for the first time, and who would have thought that a different brand of pencil could be so different! But I will continue working, hoping for improvement.

Flower Project Finished!

OK, so I finally finished all four of the collage flowers and now I'll have to figure out how to put them all together in a frame. I'll need some sort of moulding to go down through the center to camoflauge the fact that these little pieces were not exact, just little scraps that I used to experiment! I will frame them all together as one if I can; if not, I will make some individual frames. Do you think they will look better together or separate?

The Third of Four--Orange

One thing about these small pieces, they go fairly fast. And it's becoming easier to figure out what goes down first, etc. For instance, in the orange flower, because it was a top quadrant, I wanted to have some leaves showing. But I forgot about them until I was nearly finished and now I can't add them in. So, in the last flower, which I hope to start tomorrow, I need to do the leaves first!

Blue Flower Finished

Here is the blue flower (the 2nd of my planned four) tweaked a little. I think it's finished; so I have started on flower number 3, which is orange!

Flower No. 2

Here is the second of my four flowers; I love the blue color! And they look pretty good together. It's a good think they go together pretty fast because I usually don't like doing the same thing more than once! At least changing the color of the flower helps with that:)

Now, it's time to figure out how to put them together so that they look good as a composition. If I flip the next two so that the flowers all come from the center, two of them will be upside down, unless...

6x6 Finished

Working on this little piece was a lot of fun! And I think it was much easier working on the wood. I have three more pieces of the 6x6 so I intend to do three more flowers and frame them all together.

The Beauty of Flowers in Collage

I don't know if the rooster is finished yet but he's being put aside for the moment. I got up early this morning and went straight to my work room and I only just now looked up--I worked right through breakfast and lunch--what a great diet!!!

Yesterday I was able to get a piece of 1/4" birch; I have a piece cut 6x6 for my trial piece. I coated it in gesso, both sides, and then used Jenkins Green for the background. I got a couple of runs which I like, and in the end actually look like stems! I put on my flower sketch and had a great time using some of the rice paper I painted with acrylics. Here is my little collage to date--I'm not sure if it's finished. I like the background as it is mostly. I'm not sure if I need to add more yellow pieces for the center of the flower. I'm going to look at it a while and think about it!

Cockadoodle Two

Well, I got sidetracked by all the housework I need to do--it's January, the month to organize! I've rearranged and reordered my art room so, hopefully, I have a little more workspace. If only I could figure out how to store my large sheets of paper so they don't get buckled or dented!

So, I have worked on the roo a little more, though I have to say it's mighty "busy" Very bright, maybe too many colors for such a little subject! But it's been very interesting and fun! Need to figure out how to keep my fingers out of the medium!

I was at HD and got a nice piece of 1/4 birch and I'm ready to see how I like painting and collaging on that for a substrate! I have little 4x4 tile pieces to practice on and I'm waiting for the gesso to dry on the first one. Now, to find the subject...

Cockadoodledoo

OK, put your shades on because this might hurt your eyes! I'm not happy with those bright colors but will tone them down with paper. This has started out really ugly, hence my reason for not posting sooner! If I had started over as I thought I would, I would have used greens instead of that blue. Your input is welcome!