drawing – Page 9 – Daily Fiber

Belize Journal – A Memory

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Laura Kate

I am returning to my Belize journal in an effort to coax from my memory the images I experienced on the return boat ride from our snorkeling outing. Memories are all I have of this experience. Because of the choppiness of the ride and the spray of the sea no cameras were in use during this part of the trip.

First, it’s important to mention that I wasn’t wearing glasses. They were stowed away so I wouldn’t lose them overboard. I believe that state of fuzzy vision contributed mightily to the dream-like quality of the experience. Here’s what I remember.

I was sitting on the port side of the boat, with my left hand to the south and my face to the west. On either side of me the sea rolled by, with bright, transparent turquoise water punctuated by amorphous, dark green forms of sea grass and coral clumps below the surface. After the first several miles had passed, I began to detect bits and pieces of the shoreline. They came in the form of striated horizontal lines, looking like a slow fade from one color to the next. First sea green, then turquoise, followed by the strip of land separating the bay from the lagoon. The land was dark, with bumpy forms of vegetation. Beyond and above that was a cool blue strip of atmosphere. Was it mist, fog or ordinary clouds? I couldn’t tell.

Eventually I detected the purplish forms of the mountains – roughly pyramid shaped, overlapping and rising from the mist. Above the mountains stretched the sky. I have no memory of its color. It could have been layered in clouds, thinning out to pale blue at the apex. Or it could have been a sky blue, pale just above the mountains, and then intensifying into deep blue in the upper atmosphere. I wish I could recall this detail.

**Preliminary palette for Belize memory**

This dream-like state carried on until we passed through the narrow strip and returned to the inlet from where we had started.

I will attempt to paint my impression. The colors are definitely more vivid to me than the shapes are. So, I plan to render the shapes in geometric, abstract fashion.

Now that I have a rough layout and some color options, I can start doing watercolor sketching. I’m pretty excited to start on this one and hope to get painting during the next few weeks. I’m also aware that the design has much potential as a fiber work.

drawing

Lino-Cut Fun

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Laura Kate

On Sunday I posted the sketches that I did in anticipation of a print-making class I was planning to attend. Today I’m showing the fun stuff I made at that class.

The instructor, Justine Cherwick, was quiet, modest and thoroughly prepared. She started us off with a circle-in-a-rectangle design for practice. Each quadrant was carved in a different design.

That was quite easy and very satisfying. Next, Justine transposed our initials in reverse on a blank block and we carved stamps of them.

So far, so good. For our third exercise, we each selected from a group of Halloween designs to carve a 3 x 4 block. I loved this cat with a skull and sickle.

The stray faint lines and dots you see around the edges of the main design are called “noise.” Some artists like this effect, others not-so-much. It’s easy to carve them off after you’ve done your test print.

And now for the big finale. I chose to carve the beach scene. Here is my sketch.

You will have to imagine that the dark marks will become white and the white background will print black. Here is my finished block.

And my print.

For a first try, it’s not too bad. Good enough to encourage me to try making more lino-cut work.

And finally, here are the Halloween postcards I printed and sent to the grandkids.

**A touch of orange and a barbed wire border**

drawing

Sunday Sketches

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Laura Kate

I spent some time this week-end preparing for a class in printmaking. This will be an introductory class for me, since I’ve had no previous training in the art. After dreaming up a few ideas for print images, I started sketching them out. Here’s what I came up with in the space of a few hours.

To start, I went to my photographs of Belize for inspiration. Here is one that I snapped of the beach as seen from our front porch. The view faces east and the time is shortly after sunrise.

Nice, huh? The tree and hammock are silhouetted against the water and sky, so I made them the primary subjects. Keeping in mind my inexperience with carving a print block I vastly simplified the scene. I also chose to reverse the tones and turn day into a night with the moon rising.

Next I went through previous saved photographs. This is one of a monarch butterfly I downloaded from a free use site. I was attracted by the strong contrast of its black body and wing edges with the warm background

For my third sketch I worked from my imagination. I wanted to play with a basketweave pattern, but in an unusual context. The idea of a cloak came to mind.

The class took place yesterday. It went well and I had a great time. I’ll show you the subject I chose and the block and print I made in the next post.

drawing

Sunday Sketching: Belize Journal

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Laura Kate

My week in Belize was filled with wonderful experiences and unforgettable sights. After getting in very late Friday night, it has taken me almost two full days of rest to recover my energy.

I thought today I would sketch in graphite one of the sights I saw in paradise. I chose this fellow:

On our last day at the resort, I took a late morning walk with the goal of photographing some picturesque scenes that might inspire my artwork. Nearing the end of my stroll this iguana appeared on the sidewalk ahead of me. Seeing me, he froze momentarily. I slowly moved into position and snapped a couple the images. He cooperated quite well. As you can see the light is harsh giving very strong shadows. I had to lighten the image just to see his face clearly enough to draw it.

**Some background details hastily penciled in**

I have to say, this is the first reptile I’ve sketched. Getting the proportions right took me a few tries. The wrinkly skin was the most fun to draw. I liked it.