Once again I have been playing with my pencils and not journaling or blogging. I definitely like drawing way more than writing down my story, but here goes.
I've started a few new pieces. The major one, Thought Patterns - 18"H x 24"W, took up a lot of the summer and by the end was tiring. I feel like it was a way to lapse into a meditative state. Most of the circles in the piece are done with gold Acrylic paint so there is a real glimmer to the piece when the light is right. Photographing it did not pick up on the gold.
And while I was working on this piece I was encouraged by the Beech Tree Community to try working on a subject matter that I had always wanted to attempt, but never made the time for...and that was drawing birds. So I chose one of my photos from my Costa Rican trip quite a few years back. The bird is a Bare Throated Tiger Heron. I wasn't sure how to start this bird since I knew I was going to add a black background and I didn't want the black to smear into the bird. I worked with tracing paper under my hand the entire time to keep the black off my hand and the bird. It's somewhat successful, but I don't think I'll devote too much time towards birds. First of all, if you really want to paint them properly you need to know a lot more about the bird itself such as...is it a male or female, do the feathers molt, change colors at different times of the year, etc. etc. Anyway, it was a fun challenge.
And while I was working on the heron I began another non-representational drawing or what some people might call non-objective. I also did two layouts for landscapes, one from a picture I again took years ago while walking in a State park in Michigan. You can't beat the beautiful fall yellow color of a forest filled with maples. I think I could draw Michigan forests at anytime. And another drawing is taken from a picture my brother-in-law Earl took down by the creek on the Vinyard farmland. I've walked in that creek many times and it's so lovely to me. It's like walking into another era of time 'down by the creek'. The only creek I remember as a child was by a small industrial area. We caught tadpoles there, but who even knows what was being drained off in that little creek, no one was watching how companies were ridding themselves of their waste products.
So this one is the non-representational called The Swim, 18"H x 24"W. Probably another 2-3 weeks on this one although maybe more now that the Holidays are moving in fast. This one is being done on Fabriano Artistico. What a great name for a paper.
And this is the start of Down by the Creek. I am using Derwent Ink Tense pencils and it's been a learning process. I've watched three video tutorials on how to use these pencils effectively and I think I've fallen in love with them, the pencils that is, but I still need way more experience to use them to their fullest. I have to say that it's been great fun working with them, although they are not accepted in the CPSA Internatnional Show since they are more ink based than colored pencil.
And the final picture is really in the beginning stages. Just a drawing at this time, but I'm looking forward to beginning the painting process. This gives you an idea of how I start out. Both Down by the Creek and Michigan Maples are 12" x 16". There also on two different papers; one is 500 Crescent Illustration Board and the other is on 90lb Stonehenge.
See you in about a month. I have Christmas gifts to wrap, cookies to bake along with two fruit cakes. And holiday cards to send out, house to clean, you know, the usual.