pen and ink – Daily Fiber

Sunday Sketches: Winter Birds

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Laura Kate

Today I am pondering a painting subject that illustrates wintertime. Pretty quickly I settled on the humble chickadee. It is an ever curious, constantly moving little bird. Today our backyard chickadees are flying back and forth from the tube feeder. Each bird selects and grabs one sunflower before darting up to a tree branch where it consumes its quarry.

Fortunately for me, Bill has shared two photographs of chickadees suitable for my planned painting. But working out a composition that uses both birds is not coming easily to me.

Chickadee 1.

Chickadee 2.

My first try at a composition is awkward and unsatisfactory to me, so it won’t even get shared. I decided to make ink sketches of these two photographs, which will get them familiar and warm me up to the task.

On an 8 by 8 inch piece of paper, the little chickadee, which measures barely 4 inches, can be drawn at its full size. First, I worked out the placement using pencil, then inked the contours lines, adding value with various types of marks. My sweet subjects, black and white IRL, were rendered with ease.

This one is very curious indeed.

This one is demonstrating his love of sunflower seeds.

My two chickadee drawings are numbers 42 and 43 in the 100day project.

Now I need to figure out a scene that will serve as a setting for the two birds.

drawing

Sunday Sketching: 100 day project

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Laura Kate

It feels like months since I worked on the 100 day project. But I have new inspiration that pushed me into making a sketch today.

Bill took this photo earlier in the year.

I have no idea how he got our grandson to pose AND to smile. There must have been a story to go along with this image. I’ll have to ask about it. Anyway, the photo touched my heart and motivated me to get out my pencil, eraser and Micron pen.

Here is my initial pencil sketch.

I worked on it sporadically over a few days, trying to get all the proportions and subtleties of the face accurate.

Today I inked my lines, refining shapes as I worked.

I used number .05 and .005 Micron pens, adding light hatch lines to indicate contours and shadow. The boy has a multitude of freckles, which I felt unable to render with any degree of delicacy. So, you get to see Henry freckle-free.

I believe this drawing brings me to Day 41 of the 100-day challenge. While I feel no particular urgency to reach 100 pieces of art before a year has passed, I’ll continue to plug away at the project. Bill continues to offer up excellent photographs for my artistic consideration.

painting

Finished by Friday: Abstract Paintings

Posted on September 1, 2023August 31, 2023 by Laura Kate

It’s time to share two more paintings resulting from my lessons last week with Jan Brieschke. She taught three days on how to approach abstract painting using watercolor and ink. She calls her style Fractured Light.

**https://www.janbrieschke.com/Abstracts.htm**

Last week I posted photographs of these works at the half-way point.

First is an exercise featuring iterations of a leaf. After drawing some directional lines, we traced a leaf over and over again, following the lines. I chose a red bud leaf.

The next exercise was truly abstract. It involved a string, puddles of paint and two pieces of paper. The wet string is pulled vigorously through the paper sandwich.

Initial painting. This is a close-up of the section I worked further.

Finished painting. I fleshed out the design with many, many stipples. I also used a soluable graphite pencil to augment my painted lines.

This one pleases me a lot. I found myself in the flow while working on it. Somehow I knew exactly what to do, and exactly when it was finished.

So mysterious.

I’m sorely tempted to do more work in abstract style. I’d like to know if I got lucky or if I can find myself “in the flow” again.

drawing, painting

100 Day Project: Days 13 to 17

Posted on March 29, 2023March 29, 2023 by Laura Kate

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.

colorwork, drawing, painting

100 Day Project: Days 1-5

Posted on March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 by Laura Kate

Last Wednesday I wrote about my 100-day project, during which I will collaborate with Bill in making artwork or fiber objects inspired by his photographs. These three are the subjects of my first week.

Back in 2017 at the Kansas City Zoo, Bill has a close encounter with this lorikeet. In his image you see plumage in colors that, impossibly, co-exist on one bird. I accepted as my challenge to swatch out this feathery palette in watercolor paint.

Day One: Samples

Day Two: I turned it into a color wheel.

In 2010 we visited The Louvre. While I wandered around, Bill found this sculptural fragment in the Antiquities gallery.

My initial idea was to do a simple drawing using Micron pen. To get a better look at the details, I edited the photo, brightening up the shadows, then printing it in monochrome.

Day Three: Drawing

It actually took me two days to finish the drawing because I chose to stipple.

The next photograph was taken while vacationing in the Caribbean, but I am unsure if we were in Barbados or Belize. I really love the wave action and the colors.

My brain must have mashed up the last two photographs because I ended up superimposing the face onto the water.

1st Week Final Note: Searching my yarn closet, I found scraps to match up with the Lorikeet plumage. Today I used them to knit this swatch in fingering yarn.