Since this last post, I ordered two additional skeins of Elysian yarn in the colorway Ultraviolet. The three I purchased in St Louis didn’t provide enough yardage. Also, I needed a dark shade to balance out the tones of the variegated yarn.
I started by knitting the sleeves. This allows me to test out my color plan.
Encouraged by the way the gradation worked out, I cast on the body of the sweater and knit up to the body/sleeve split.
The project is on pause while I await some measurements of the giftee. But I am pleased so far.
My selection today is all watercolor, of varying qualities.
Day 18: Amanda’s Shawl
This week I slipped in a photograph taken by me. Last August I had started painting a close-up version in watercolor. The painting has been in time-out for several months. This week I finished it.
The theme is texture, and I’m fairly happy with most of what I did. I’d like to try again using a larger piece of paper and the full view.
Day 19:
Again, I was drawn to the texture, and the points of the barbed wire which look almost white to me.
I didn’t achieve a good range of value. I plan to try again, maybe in a monotone, so I can focus the value contrasts.
Day 20: Sharp-shinned hawk.
Yesterday was First Wednesday Open Studio at the arts center. Cheryl Bryan’s lesson focused on lost and found edges. I chose this photograph because the hawk’s coloration allows it to blend in with its environment. And there are cool shadows.
The lesson started with creating a three-color background in a random fashion. After it dried, we determined the subject’s position in the background and penciled it in lightly. In addition to making a lost and found edge at the bird’s wing and tail, I also practiced negative painting around the right edge and the talons. I enjoyed it and the work went quickly.
Day 21: Sonoma view
Bill took this photo from the upper deck of his brother’s house in Petaluma, CA. It could almost be a view of Oklahoma last week, when, pushed by high winds, fire raged barely five miles from our home.
I brightened up the foreground to see what exactly made up all those plants. Using three different mixes of green and some yellow ochre, I just played around with shapes until it looked done.
The first painting is 8 by 8. The other three are postcard sized. All were painted on Arches cold press paper.
Yesterday I had my second opportunity to sketch from a live model. And what an interesting model he was.
Nate arrived somewhat breathless, resplendently dressed in Victorian garb from head to toe: black cloak lined in plum wool, waistcoat with satin lapels, brocade vest and ascot scarf around his neck.
The poses were held for fifteen minutes, with breaks in between each stretch. I sketched this first one fairly quickly in pencil, adding just enough detail to give the right impression.
I had hoped to make more art objects in the week after my return from vacation. But then I decided it’s better to keep posting what’s done than wait for more progress.
If you are following this subject, you know that I am working with husband Bill. He selects the photos, I make art objects inspired by them. This week I selected five photos that feature interesting textures.
Day 13: Mosaic floor in Roman church
What struck me about this image was its illustration of single point perspective. As you look down and away, the medallions morph from circles to ovals. I started by drawing two straight lines, narrowing towards the vanishing point. For my texture, I went with Zentangles.
Fun and meditative drawing with Micron pen on bristol smooth paper
Day 14: What would you do with this object?
In case you can’t tell, it’s beachball floating in a pool. I found myself drawn to the reflection in the northern hemisphere of the ball.
Using pencil, I did my best to draw the shapes. Next, I combined it with this photograph of an orchid.
Day 15:
I added the orchid to the lower right corner of my pencil drawing, overlapping the edge of the circle. Then I dropped in color washes to the sphere. After that dried, I painted the orchid with darker shades.
Day 16: Ghost leaf
This is one of Bill’s favorites. The light is from behind, filtering through the oak leaf. The back leaf, peeking out between the lobes of the large front leaf, is casting its shadow.
I adore the color and texture of this image. It was impossible for me to do justice to the lacey network of golden veins. Instead, after painting on a golden wash, I lightly tapped the surface with a sponge dipped in masking fluid.
I also intensified the color of the background using orange’s complement, blue. The two hues side-by-side seem to throb.
Day 17: Shells
This photo was chosen for making a quick study in my sketchbook. I drew the shells free hand using a watercolor pencil in a neutral brown. Using that and other watercolor pencils, I added detail, color and texture. Finally, I dissolved and blended the pigments with a wet brush.
I recently read Painting Light & Shadow in Watercolor, by William B. Lawrence. Inspired by his work, my next set of photos will be chosen for the presence of interesting shadows. I’m excited to see what happens.
Spring is in the air and on the ground! Although we had frost on the roof this morning, it is warming rapidly. I was in St. Louis for the spring equinox. When I got home last Thursday, there were hundreds of grape hyacinths blooming in the yard and the flower bed.
While in St. Louis, we visited a LYS located in a suburb. We had promised Lu that she could pick out the yarn for her next sweater. Many thanks to the tolerant staff at Yarn Com while the little one whirled through the shop, looking at and picking up every skein that attracted her attention. She carried this on while talking softly to herself. Finally, she triumphently presented me with this hand-painted merino wool skein in her favorite shades of purple and pink.
Alas, the label was torn off and lost, so I don’t know the maker.
I paired it with some lavender Cascade 220 and a soft pink blended wool in Elysion by Cascade, quickly and quietly moving to the register before she added to the stack.
The washed swatch is very soft.
On Friday I searched Ravelry and chose a pattern that fit this yarn quite well.
The other item I’m working is a scarf. It has many attributes, including travel knitting, mindless knitting, stashbuster and quick knit.
The brown yarn is a wool-acrylic blend leftover from Christmas sock making. The gray and white yarns are 100% alpaca. I was given the multi-hued natural colored skein from knitting buddy Kathy. The source of the white is forgotten and unknown.
To keep from being too bored I played around with different striping patterns. To achieve the diagonal stripe, you decrease at the end of the right-side rows and increase at the end of the wrong-side rows. I’ll knit until I run out of the shortest yarn. That could happen today.
Do you have a project in process that is inspired by Springtime?
Daily Fiber 