I have spent some time over the last two days reorganising the studio and getting things set up so that I can revisit some collage and mixed media work. I miss it and think it will be a lovely way to offset the concentration and single mindedness that botanical art needs. I have recently come across Artist Trading Cards and love the idea of little collages to fill in gaps and make use of little spaces of time, and they seem a perfect way to use my botanical art and move it beyond the traditional. I spent some time yesterday playing with the larkspur drawing that I recently finished and have posted the two little collages that came out of that play.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Playing with the Larkspur
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Agapanthus Progress
The weather may be beyond lousy, but it is actually quite kind to watercolours, so I have made use of it by getting the first layer down on one of the agapanthus. I start with a light pencil drawing, and then lay down some watercolour to help me see what it is going to look like and to put in some tonal values. It is really helpful in seeing if there are any compositional problems and also is invaluable in keeping complex flowers like agapanthus a bit easier to handle.
I have started to lay down a little more colour in the top corner, partly because the weather is just too damp to do much coloured pencil work, but also to try to speed up the whole process. By laying down more colour in paint, I am hoping that coloured pencil will be more detail, rather than the bulk of the work. If you can't beat the weather then maybe you just have to go with the flow.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
New Year Drizzle
a wet welcome home |
The plan for the new year is to finish off a few projects which I have had on the go, such as the fruit blossoms and an asiatic lily which I started some time ago, and to try to get as many finished as I can before the school year starts again. Most of them are small pieces, so fingers crossed I can get stuck in and get plenty achieved. I have drawn up two new pieces to add to the list today and am going to make use of the damp weather to lay down some watercolour this afternoon. It is too damp to lay in colour and detail on other pieces as the coloured pencils seem to have trouble holding a very fine edge on the damp paper, but I managed to get the lead pencil down before it got too damp so I have something to go on with. I have rescued the sodden agapanthus stalks from the back jungle and am trying to use them and some photos I have been taken during the rare sunny spells, to try to capture one of my absolute favourite flowers. All I need is now is some sun and there will be no excuses for not getting these done by the end of January.
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