Sometimes life just keeps you busy . . . or you lose inspiration . . . or something.
I promised myself I would sit down and draw or paint today. I’m glad I did. And a flower so lovely as a lupine (get those Monty Python lines out of your head!) is a nice way to return to something set aside because of other things.
I am sort of fascinated by flower farms at present, whether it is bulb flowers or lavender or other types, such as daisies for bouquets. The lines of color and how to represent them is a challenge. Here, we are looking across the fields – the rows are running parallel to the horizon. Still, there is depth here, and I would think the rows would be evident, however subtly. Well, I didn’t accomplish what I wanted, but decided to add ink and some white to it, along with a lot of birds. In looking at it, I realize the foreground needs to simplified and in my mind’s eye, I have some ideas.
Once more, the house is in total disarray – the trees in the back yard have been removed or severely trimmed back. 5 trees out, 11 pruned. The guy who did it all is an artist – you can actually see the branches on the trees, and the neighbors. So what does it have to do with a post called “Lines & Shades”? All this disruption messes everything up! With such disruption – and being unable to leave the house – it was a strange sort of prison. I read murder mysteries for the most part until yesterday. It was quiet and no one was home except me and the dogs.
Back to basics. Pen and ink, contour drawing. The first one was kind of stiff, but as things moved on, it got easier and more fun. I wanted to make “lost and found edges” as well, to make things suggested, not spelled out.
I also decided to scan in a value study I did from a photo I took years ago of the Santa Monica River in the mountains nearby, on a hot, dry day. This is to remind me to follow a more traditional route in painting as my own sense of contrast – light – dark – is not the best. As you can see, I did it some weeks ago, but I hope to make it into a watercolor in the not too distant future. The hard part is finding the right color for the sandy river bottom, but I have an idea . . .
I guess I’m a hippie – you know, “flower power” and all that stuff.
The fact is, I love flowers and want to have a flower garden again. And a vegetable garden. As retirement approaches, it look more of a reality than before. And as our backyard gets cleared out, too, that will help.
So, today’s sketch is really last night’s sketch. I went out with my tablet of tan paper and took a look. Almost all green except for the lavender plant. I used ink for the initial drawing and then Derwent’s InkTense colors. Then, for the ones on the left, I just painted to see which looked better – pen and color, or just plain color.
Another flower from my ramblings in the botanical garden last weekend. I may go back tomorrow.
The Bush Anemone – carpenteria californica – is a rather pretty little flower. Not gaudy, just soft, subtle, and short-bloomed. I penciled this in first, then used a brush to dab paint off of the tips of my Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils to see how that worked. Not bad for a small touch here and there! I then used a light touch with a very fine pointed pen.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 