Back to work with a messed up wrist . . . wasn’t bad. After work, the sun was still out. In our yard, we have a beautiful vase-shaped crepe myrtle tree. It is sending out the first leaves of the season. I sketched this at sunset, trying to catch the complex interweaving of the branches and the delicate greens of the baby leaves at the tips of the smallest branches.
Besides doing the orchid yesterday, I sat down and did what is being called”direct watercolor.” As in sumi-e, the artist thinks about things before committing brush to paper. No lines. No value studies. Look, see, think, paint. It is a bit of a challenge and rather daunting, but I think this is such an enlightening way to learn the art of brushwork, value, contrast, and so on. I did some glazes here and there, to create contrast as well as to carry various colors throughout the painting. I also worked with vignetting, considering the shapes of the four corners of the vignette as well.
Today I took off my splints – it’s like getting out of jail, I swear – to enjoy the freedom of using some pen and ink. Now the splints are back on, but there is a sense of satisfaction in doing some artwork, no matter how simple. Pen and color, with a focus on simple color.
Even though I am trying to be a good patient and wear my splints all the time, it just isn’t possible. I am still limping around, too, so I am not doing much hiking as my knee still hurts from the fall. Rather, I am on the patio in the warm afternoon sun, away from those dangerous dogs! I had a few pictures, a bit of imagination, and some watercolor pencils. I decided to try them out in some rather different ways to learn how to better use them.
Above is a Black Phoebe. They live in the trees around here. Their feathers are darker om the head, and their faces are not quite so fat. I tried to get in line detail and then used a fine brush. Darkest blacks were from an ink brush.
Next, just a simple Japanese maple leaf, no lines, only pencil and water. I laid it on pretty thick, but it is still paler than what I would like to see.
Finally, Queen Anne’s Lace. Here I wanted to draw into negative space, so what better subject than white flowers? I used ink, and for the paler flowers in the background, I dipped my brush in water and took color off the pencil tips before painting onto the paper.
About 3 weeks ago I dropped off some slide film I finally finished up. The problem was I couldn’t advance my film or rewind it halfway through the roll. Off to the neighborhood repair shop, and voilà! Just a this and a that, and the film worked. I advanced a few and finished up the roll.
This is a view of my neighbor’s garden – he has one of the finest “southwestern” gardens I have seen because it is well kept and not full of weeds. At sunset, with soft light, a row of blooms – quite lovely.
I was hoping to get a lot of photography done this week since I am off from work, but instead I decided to break my wrist and finger on Easter Sunday, just to do something different.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 