Still Life in Colored Pencil

I had been working on this one several weeks off and on, so once again no clear dating. I should have cleaned up this scan, because the white paper/lack of background shows a lot of stray marks near the top of the page that shouldn't be there.  Oh well... It's not as if this drawing is worth anything more than a record of my progress.

This drawing was done on cheap 8.5 X 11 inch paper with mixed brands of colored pencils.  I didn't keep a record so can't say which colors from which brands made the cut. Somewhere along the line, I lost my highlights on this one, which I repaired by using a white, soft pastel stick.  I'm calling this one finished as of sometime in May of 2013.

Lily - WIP

No doubt I've mentioned that one of my favorite drawing books is Drawing for Dummies by Brenda Hoddinott.  I'll clarify here that I mean the first edition, because there is also a second edition.  The publisher got someone else to do most of the work for the second edition, and used artwork from several contributors, so there's a lot of difference between the two books.

At the end of most chapters in the first edition, there is a project to complete that helps let you know if you've understood the material presented in that chapter.  For Chapter 14, beginning on page 185, the project is titled Lovely Lily.

The lesson as written is done in graphite, but I wanted color, so I used my set of 150 Prismacolor Premier colored pencils after I had achieved an acceptable outline; from that point on, I disregarded the project instructions. I did not complete the shadows or highlights, which are both important and something on which I tend to do substandard work, therefore, I'll label this a WIP... because I can still go back and correct and/or revise the drawing.

The scan you'll see here was done in May, and shows the progress on Lily that I had achieved as of the end of April, 2013. This drawing is on cheap paper, which I cut to 8X10 inches to fit a frame I have on hand. I foolishly disregarded the orientation of the paper when I began to sketch my flower, using the horizontal, or landscape orientation when I could have used the portrait orientation to better advantage, so the version you see here has had the resulting excess white space cropped off of each end for better display.

Wild Poppies

It's been awhile since I posted anything here for the simple reason that I have not finished a drawing or a painting for a very long time.  Or, at least not one that I felt was worthy of inclusion in this blog.  Below is the painting that has changed all that.  Wild Poppies is acrylic on canvas, with silverleaf accents. The original is 11 X 14 inches.  I had fun painting this one.  As usual, you should be able to click the small version to see the full-sized photo of this painting.

Colored Pencil Drawing

Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencil on coldpress watercolor paper. My finished piece is 9 inches wide by 6 inches high, yet would also work as a vertical display. The basic line drawing I used here was inspired in part by a lesson from Watercolor Painting for Dummies by Colette Pitcher, although I didn't trace, so my freehand drawn start is different than hers... and of course, I listened to my own muse rather than following the instructions given in the book... I like how this turned out. As with most of my blog entries, you can click this image to see the full sized version.

Notes: 

1. The background appears darker here than on my original... darned scanner.
2. For those who haven't used them, it should also be noted that Verithin pencils are harder and sharpen to a finer point than the basic Prismacolors do, hence the appearance of scratch-marks near the center of this piece.

Handy Rose

One attempt at a mixed media piece. Basic drawing in colored pencil, chromatic black background in watercolor paint. The rose is one of an artificial bunch I bought a couple years ago... the hand is my trusty manniquin hand I purchased for just such purposes.  Glad I was able to find the hand used; it's not nearly as flexible as I had hoped, which strictly limits the positions in which it can be posed.

Colored pencil and watercolor on Bristol Board. 7 x 11 inches.

Poppy

There's a number of things wrong with this, the shape of the flower being just one of them... but there's something else, too. The longer I look, the more I like this poppy.  The original sketch was done based on a photo of a flower, but done in the style of Georgia O'keef - where the flower was enlarged to occupy nearly the entire paper.

Watercolor on Strathmore Cold Press Watercolor paper. 7 x 11 inches

Roses of Happiness

These roses were done from a Drawspace lesson, except, of course, I went for color instead of just graphite.

11X15 - Strathmore 140 lb cold press watercolor paper
Derwent Inktense water-soluable color pencils and about 2 months off and on of my time - first with an 8b graphite pencil on cheap paper and then the colored pencils on better paper.

Okay, I'll admit it. The framing and signature you see here were done digitally; although the original sketch does bear my real signature...  And I can see now that I didn't do such a great job of cleaning up this scan... but oh well. The original hangs in my livingroom, a gift to my beloved husband, and that original does look better than the scan.