Sunday, March 20, 2011

Illustration Friday: Cultivate

"The garden is a ground plot
for the mind."
 
—Thomas Hill,  The Gardener's Labyrinth, 1577

Several days in a row of spring rains are keeping me from putting in my vegetable beds as I'd planned, but the Illustration Friday topic of "cultivate" has me thinking of gardening nonetheless. (I found that wonderful quote in a book that I love to page through when I can't be outside in a real garden: The Garden of Reading.)

This magnolia drawing (also part of my page banner) was drawn at a workshop that I attended quite a few years ago at Filoli, an historic estate with beautiful gardens about thirty minutes north of where I live.  (The mansion was used for the exterior shots in the tv show "Dynasty", once upon a time.)  Filoli has a wonderful botanical drawing program, but the classes are quite pricey—however, the two-day workshops are a little more affordable.  The class description said that all mediums were welcome, but I was the only person not using watercolors, which I found a little intimidating.  I never completed the drawing (I'm not sure I even went back for the second day, come to think of it), but I kind of  like the fact that the image is sort of blossoming out of the white paper.

At that time, I did very little drawing for pleasure.  But in the following years, I would occasionally steal a peek at this piece, as if to remind myself that, even though I didn't have the time or inclination to cultivate it, the artistic side of me was lying dormant, ready to emerge when the time was right.

By the way, two of my favorite farmers/gardeners are back in my life this week:  The Fabulous Beekman Boys will be back for Season Two on Planet Green on Tuesday, March 22!  (There is also a Season One marathon being shown today, at this very moment.)  You may remember that I blogged about and drew my Beekman 1802 goat milk soaps here and here, back in January, and even got a comment from the guys themselves.  Love them, love the show, love Josh's book, love their goats...you get the idea.

35 comments:

  1. The drawing is complete in my view. I love the ‘find a line – lose a line’ effect as the image emerges from, and dissolves into the background. Another very beautiful and delicate illustration!

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  2. I like your thoughts and am going to book mark your blog because it is a place I want to return to.
    Nice colors on this illo. You should give it a second try. :)

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  3. Unfinished, perhaps. Gorgeous, most definitely.

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  4. Helolo, your work is certainly equisite,(wish I could spell that)

    It's so controlled, yet has the wonderful look of not being controlled (looseness) thanks for sharing Hugo Cabret's work too

    looks like a good book :)

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  6. This flower is gorgeous. Drawing as you do, you should go back and take that class again and take your pencils with you! You might be just what someone struggling with watercolor needs to see.

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  7. Simply gorgeous piece, melding together as nature does when cultivated well.

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  8. I really enjoyed the book, too. I'd never heard of their farm, but I saw the book on display at my library and couldn't resist the cover photo of them with their goats. Your drawing is lovely, as usual, Sarah.

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  9. This is absolutely beautiful!

    Thank you for your lovely comment on little boat too!

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  10. A delicate and fine drawing...I love how the pedals nearly fade out!

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  11. your work is absolutely amazing. It's inspiring me to do some still life work again :)
    I was looking at some of your previous posts and the honey bee is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen!! Thanks so much for your comment on my drawing - it means a lot to me to know that someone is taking a look at my stuff :)
    I really look forward to following your blog.

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  12. This is very delicate and beautifully done. Coloured pencil is perfect for botanical work, superior to watercolour in my opinion!

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  13. I like what you said about it "blossoming out of the white paper" - it certainly has that life of its own. Not sure if I'm explaining myself properly ;) but it is a beautiful drawing! :)

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  14. This is so pretty! The white on white is really eye catching. You did a good job! Isn't it fun to look at something that you did a long time ago and remember what you were doing and how it felt to draw it at that time? I even remember what music I was listening to, or movie I was watching on TV when I drew it...

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  15. perfect, as is! I love how the blossom fades out. It's a place for our eyes to rest while we take in the whole piece. Lovely, really.

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  16. Lovely drawing. I like that it gives you something to look to for inspiration.

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  17. Awesome subtle shading on this! That can be tough with color selection...I like the warm direction...

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  18. those soft texture are a challenge not to overdo... nice work.

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  19. Just lovely Sarah......I love your delicate line work...

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  20. What a lovely drawing, Sarah! I like the delicate transition of colors in the petals. (Thanks also for your nice comment and the 'head's up' on my faulty IF link.)

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  21. What a lovely drawing.

    Filoli! I did a drawing afternoon there once (more of a 'wander around freely and draw wherever you like' kind of thing, not a botanical class).
    The estate was also used a lot in the movie Heaven Can Wait.

    I have a magnolia tree. Lovely blooms, but those little red 'pine cone' dealies drop all year long and are kind of a pain. :~)

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  22. It's a lovely illustration and I enjoyed reading your thoughts, as well. Thanks for sharing.

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  23. Spectacular! So wispy and delicate, but precise as well!

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  24. I like your drawings a lot, they are very peaceful. I used to draw with prismacolors quite a bit, and still have boxes of them. What are they, about 12 dollars each now? Ha.

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  25. What a serenely beautiful illustration, Sarah! My goodness it is blossoming right out of the page which is lovely. I so enjoy visiting your blog..Filoli! What a gorgeous place, for sure. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to paint there someday. Thank you for your visits and kind words! And oh my, I enjoyed your Starbucks post too. There is comfort in a good cup of your favorite Joe..I am right there with you (though I am a Peet's fan! Hee-hee) Have a lovely rest of the week - though we are in for more rain..yikes!

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  26. Your illustrations are exquisite and I've been enjoying your beautiful blog. Good luck with your vegetable beds.

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  27. Joy. That's what this is. Pure, simple lovely, joy. Spring is coming and you remind us of that promise especially since it's 23 degrees here in the Boston area. Thank you!

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  28. I just love this flower. I've been thinking about drawing flowers...I'm not sure if it is because of Spring or because I'm reading a biography of Georgia O'Keeffe. Either way, your flower is inspiring.

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  29. Magnolia is my favorite tree! first one to bloom in the spring!
    Beautifull illlo!

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