Posted in drawing

Celebrate Equinox – Belatedly

Since I missed celebrating the equinox on the right date, I am belatedly posting pictures of spring flowers blooming in my yard. This one is the front yarn, showing multiple pansies, some grape hyacinths, and the foliage of daffodils whose blooms got zapped in the late February freeze.

Another view including late blooming daffs that just opened up this week.

Two views of the back yard.

On to more artsy subjects. I may have mentioned that I am taking a course in traditional art. It runs for ten weeks, five of which are devoted to drawing. Since I am nearly finished with the drawing portion of the course, I thought I would share some pages from my sketchbook.

Full disclosure: I am not really working very hard at this, due to other, more deadline-driven projects that have eaten away at my free time. Here are some pages with notes and examples of drawing adult and child portraits.

The first lesson was about still life drawing.

Next came portraits of children. I chose to draw three girls from a photograph I found on Unsplash.com. I was charmed by their expressions.

Last Monday, we moved on to animals. This drawing is based on a magazine photograph – probably National Geographic.

SNOW LEAPORD

It’s been pretty fun so far. There is a lot light-hearted banter, and no-one is stressing about their performance very much. From feedback I have received, I am encouraged to try more portraits. I’m also ready to have a go at drawing those frisky squirrels which make their home in our trees and regularly steal food from the bird feeders.

Posted in Uncategorized

2019 Best Loved Fiber Objects

As many of you are doing right now, I also am looking back at my work in 2019 for the purpose of choosing favorites. It was an interesting exercise. I especially was surprised when comparing the difference between most popular projects and my own favorite projects. They didn’t always match up. Here are the top picks in each discipline.

1. Embroidery: Prayer Flags.

This fiber object was actually a mixed media work, including the crafts of painting and applique. But embroidery was the new skill that I was practicing and I was thrilled with the results.

2. Knitting: Luna Moth Baby Dress.

Starting with some yarn purchased the prior year and a design of my own featuring a ruffled hem, this project morphed into something special when I discovered a Luna moth resting on a blade of grass in my backyard. She looked so much like the dress I was knitting that I decided to embroider her image on the back.

3. Mixed Media: Henry’s Haiku

When my grandson handed me this little poem, I felt that it was special. To illustrate it, I chose an image of a jaguar which I painted and embroidered. The background fabric is treated with candle wax drips and overpainted. I embroidered the poem so as to match the author’s handwriting as closely as possible.

4. Drawing: Overgrown Garden Shed.

While not my favorite sketch, this one received the most likes and comments. All of these skills were new to me, especially using ink wash and brush pen.

5. Quilting: Oakleaf Hydrangea Study

Every day is a happy one, when I see this quilt in the morning light. New skills included working with resist and free-motion quilting.

6. And finally: Crochet: Purple Yogi.

This object is so silly, and yet it turned out to be the most popular by far. Perhaps I had accidently connected with the current Zietgeist. The doll has florist wire bones so that it can bend and twist as needed to strike a post.

Happy New Year to all, and may 2020 bring you your most creative work.

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A Walk in the Woods

Stellar weather today. The temperatures are in the mid 50s, with sunshine and no wind. It was a perfect afternoon for walking. We went to the Pathfinder, which winds its way through the floodplain along the river. I brought my Canon camera and got a few shots that could serve as reference photos for future drawings.

Over the river. Beautiful lines, shadows and colors.
Interesting perspective
Great reflections on the pond and fine color contrast between banks and water.
The trees in the foreground frame the shot.
Really lovely bark texture and brilliant green moss.

Back home for a cup of tea with biscuits (also known as cookies to those of us who live in the States.) The number of days with gorgeous weather this year is about over.