drawing animals – Daily Fiber

Fun Friday Finished Blocks

Posted on July 25, 2025 by Laura Kate

The Oregon Baby quilt block creation phase is ju……..st about done. Today I want to share two blocks that I finished and two images of blocks that my daughter finished.

Let’s start with sketches: My first attempt at rendering a painted turtle didn’t work out very well in the applique process. It was too complicated.

While I loved the drawing, I decided to start over. Here is my revised sketch with some colored pencil enhancements.

and here is my block complete with applique, machine stitches and painted details.

(there is a little smudge of paint that rubbed off my hand. I’ll have to find a way to cover it up before sewing this block into the quilt.)

Next I sketched a fish common to the northwest: coastal cut-throat trout.

This was easy to applique, and required very little paint to render the fishy details.

Yesterday, I was thrilled to receive two photographs of blocks completed by Amanda. During the preliminary phase of the quilt design, I had shared two sketches with her.

She took these designs and interpreted them in her own style. In addition to applique and paint, she added some expert hand embroidery touches to these blocks. Her results really bring these cute animals to life.

In the meanwhile, I have sewn up all of the strip pieced blocks. There are only two more feature blocks to finish before the quilt top can be assembled.

I’m pretty happy right now, and feel confident the quilt will be ready to send when my goddaughter’s baby arrives in August.

drawing, quilting

Finally Friday: A New Project

Posted on May 30, 2025 by Laura Kate

During the past week I had correspondence with my niece who is expecting a child in August. I offered to make her a crib quilt, and she happily accepted my offer.

Suddenly my creativity was rekindled.

The stirrings of this project began a week or so earlier when I checked out Carolyn Forster’s book, String Quilts, from my local library.

While I am familiar with this construction technique (It is one I taught to fiber arts students in 2019) Carolyn had some excellent advice and also examples of variations that helped me to envision a baby quilt.

My niece kindly sent me an image of her nursery palette.

At this point, I graphed a design. There will be five rows of four 10 inch blocks, framed by a 4-inch solid border

I must have been channeling those days when my granddaughter was expected and I was knitting like a crazy woman. Just as then, I decided on a theme of baby animals. The animals will appear on the background color blocks. They will be made using a combination of applique, paint and embroidery. Suddenly I felt a strong desire to collaborate with Amanda, my granddaughter’s mother and also a talented fiber artist.

She was thrilled to be asked. We will need ten feature blocks. The two of us will share in designing and making these.

Yesterday and today I spent an hour or two happily sketching creatures that would fit nicely into the diamond shaped picture frame of our solid blocks.

This is just an audition. There is much work to be done before we cast all the roles.

I have also done a fabric pull and begun cutting blocks and strips. Once the fabric I ordered from Connecting Threads arrives, I can start piecing.

drawing, painting

Sketching Sunday and a Finish

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Laura Kate

My art association is planning to hold a second fundraiser by selling 6 x 6 inch artwork created by their members. To kick it off, there will be an open studio today. I want to support this worthy organization, so I will be participating again. Last year, I focused on small subjects for the small canvas. Going through my reference photos in search of suitable subjects, I came across this little sea turtle. It is something I dowloaded from Unsplash several years ago.

Cute and easy, I think. I like that the turtle has made it to the water’s edge. Just another little push and she will be launched.

To reframe it into a six by six size, I compressed the image and did this pencil sketch.

Today I will take this drawing to the art center and turn it into a watercolor painting.

On another subject, I managed to finish the landscape painting of a seaside cabin in Iceland. This painting was an exercise in water reflections.

Reference photo:

The weather is completely clouded over, so no shadows to paint. My painting:

It’s on a not-so-big piece of cheap watercolor paper (although it is 100% cotton.) So I didn’t fuss over the many windows in the cabin. I will need more practice on painting reflections, to get a more consistent effect over the entire water surface.

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.

drawing

Drawing Again

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Laura Kate

I’ve gone back to the photos of Henry and Cat. Today I chose this one.

The little guy has spotted Cat, and is just about to climb onto the adjacent tree stump chair. Cat is just starting to settle into a seated position. The photo was taken in Albuquerque NM on a late afternoon in autumn. I like this one particularly because Henry is smiling.