Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Some apples to hold you over
Well, I'm still working away on that pinecone drawing. (Scroll down if you missed that post.) My already-slow pace came to a screeching halt this past week while I've enjoyed some family visits. So, to hold you over, I'm posting a drawing of two little lady apples that I started during the holidays. It was intended to be larger (see below), but I got caught up in the holidays, and the apples started to look a little tired. I love these beautiful little apples; the better produce markets always stock them at the winter holidays. The scale isn't evident in this drawing, but they're just a couple of inches in diameter—perfect for tucking in among evergreeens and pinecones on the mantel or on the dining table.
Now, back to that pinecone...
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Pinecones revisited
I'm drawing it in graphite, which takes less time than colored pencil, but I'm guessing it will still take a while, as I'm drawing it full-sized. (It's about 17" long!) So I've decided to share a few work-in-progress posts along the way. Today I'll show you how I set up my "model".
The pinecone is pretty fragile, so rather than handle it much, I wanted to hang it directly in front of me. This was a challenge right off the bat, until I remembered my new portable easel—perfect!
So, now I'm all set—time to get underway. Hmmm...I'm starting to reconsider my decision to use graphite for a tonal piece instead of using colored pencil—what do you think?
Monday, February 3, 2014
Backyard birds
Sure, I have these drawings of feathers, nests, and even an emu egg. And I've drawn my chickens a few times, but never our wild backyard birds.
So, yesterday I sat down in my kitchen to sketch some. Of course, they're always moving, so I just tried to get some basic shapes down; I had to take a couple of photos to examine them more closely.
Such fun! Maybe it's because I've been getting back into life drawing (of humans), but I'm excited to explore drawing birds a bit more. I think I'll use this toned sketchbook to document the birds at our feeder a couple of times a week. Besides being great drawing practice, it will serve as a nice record of which birds are visiting.
A couple of years ago, I bought a wonderful book, Drawing Birds with Colored Pencils by Kaaren Poole. I think it's time to get it out again!
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