I am now a fiber artist without a studio. Yesterday I packed the final box of my materials, tools, supplies, journals, finished paintings and works in progress. With no access to my stuff, there can be no new reveals. For now, I’ve decided to share some of my earlier posts, starting with this one, written and photographed about one year ago. Please enjoy the pretty posies. I’ll return to normal (I hope) in about two weeks.
Yesterday I finished the first sock using KDDs design Mary Delaney. During a break in the rain, the sock and I took a stroll through the garden.
Pinned to a panicle of the Oakleaf Hydrangea. As you can see, the blooms are close to opening fully.
Mary Delaney on the rock edging surrounding the herbs. You see lemon thyme here. Very fragrant and excellent in chicken or fish dishes.
Hanging around with the garden peas. This variety is Sugarsnap.
Some of the paeonies haven’t bloomed yet, but buds are swollen. This stop resulted in a few surprised ants walking across the sock.
On the trellis with some clematis blooms. Notice some of the fluffy seedheads. They are fun to touch – springy, but soft as corn silk.
The sock has come to rest on my concrete statue of a garden cherub. I call him Dickon, after the character in A Secret Garden who charmed the wild animals.
I hope you were as amused as I was by this fanciful photo shoot uniting knitting and nature. When the rain starts up again, I’ll cast on sock no. 2.
What a difference a year makes. This spring, we have had sufficient rainfall, and the plants are blooming madly. Bill and I both took photos this morning. Here are mine, taken with my little point and shoot canon.
The bearded iris are just starting to bloom, but my photos of them didn’t turn out well. Perhaps I can persuade Bill to share a few of his.
There is a storm coming tonight and these blooms may end up shredded by wind. A life on the prairie has its trials. (sigh) It’s best to enjoy nature’s floral bounty promptly, for tomorrow it may be gone.
There was quite a crowd at today’s Open Studio. Cheryl Bryan decided that this session would be focused on playing with our paint. She brought examples of daffodils rendered in a stylized fashion using watercolor and pen.
I have been struggling with painting lately, so it was very therapeutic for me to let go and try stuff. Here is my 3 by 5 1/2 single daffodil based on the reference image.
After making the drawing with pencil, the panel was taped off and splashed with water Three colors were selected, dropped on the wet paper and encouraged to run. I used Winsor yellow, transparent orange and Prussian blue.
The paint was allowed to dry, then additional paint worked in, mostly around the edges and into the background. After drying thoroughly, the tape was removed and lines worked over the painting. I used a dark blue Micron pen. It was fun to let the elements of the image slip outside the border.
Next, I pulled out one of Bill’s photographs. He loves shooting images of the daffodils in our front yard. This variety is called geranium. They have tiny clusters of three or so flowers topping each plant.
Using the same technique, I worked these cuties in a cool palette of carbazole violet, quinacridone magenta and Prussian blue.
I intensified the color in the short trumpets with some watercolor pencil in gold and dark magenta.
Despite the crowded room, I ended the session feeling relaxed and confident. Now I am ready to return to a slightly bigger painting that I have started, which features a butterfly and some spring weeds. Stay tuned.
To see some of Cheryl’s gorgeous watercolor paintings, you can visit her website:
https://cibstad07.wixsite.com/mysite-1/about
It seems that I’m drawing and/or painting just about every day, but not finishing very much. In the interest of keeping my progress on this project going, I’m posting some works that may not be quite done.
As usual, Bill’s photographs are wonderful. I chose two that focus on springtime, one vacation photo and an outdoor snapshot of the grand kids.
Day 22: Daffodil “Geranium.
This is an early morning shot. Besides the freshness and beauty of the flower trio, I am also attracted to the backlighting and the colors that lie in the shadows.
Day 23: An alley in Assisi.
I chose to make a pencil sketch. My main goal was to render the perspective accurately. After a few hours of work, I stopped with only contour lines in place – no attempt was made to capture values.
Oh, I did add a little figure to the picture, at its focal point. He is wearing a cloak and carrying a staff. Perhaps he is the saint himself?
Day 24 – 25: The grands at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in November.
This photograph totally captivated me, to the point that I’m intimidated to paint it. This week I got started.
UNFINISHED. I transferred the figures, laid down the first washes and one layer of second wash. I like where I’m going but feel the need to develop the painting slowly.
Day 26: Molting goldfinch
This little guy is transitioning to his summer plumage. Bill truly captured the moment.
I chose to make a sketchbook page, adding to the bird a few sprigs of plants that I gathered up from the back yard and brought into my studio. It’s a style I learned from Jean MacKay.
To learn more about Jean, check out her blog:
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/20723534
See you next time!
Daily Fiber 