Noodling around on a Sunday afternoon, with one of Bill’s bird photographs. This is the undercarriage of a sandhill crane, standing on one foot.
All I really wanted to draw was the claw and standing leg. But I had to include a few feathers in this graphite sketch.
Today’s sketch may also be categorized as the 100 Day Project. I am again working with photographs by husband Bill. Having recently enjoyed spending time with loons while on the lake in Wisconsin, I gained more appreciation for the beauty of these birds. This photograph is a classic loon pose: neck held in a graceful S-curve, head and bill slightly raised. But what I’m interested in for this exercise is the graphic quality of those black and white feathers. I zoomed in on Bill’s picture to examine the feathers more closely.
I started my sketch by drawing strong lines to separate what I see as four quadrants of an abstract view. Using a micron fine tip pen, I drew in the white markings, making shapes with a lot of variety – just like I see them. Then I used a Stabilo permanent marker to fill in around all of the white dots.
I originally wanted to do this art piece in black and white only. But the solid-looking color of the neck suggested an opportunity to try out a water soluable graphite pencil. So, I did and used it again on the lower body.
In the end, I felt compelled to add a little bit of color, in the form of red ink and blue watercolor paint for the water and sky.
I took some liberties with a few red dots. They create some focal points, and echo the bird’s red eye, which remains unseen in my sketch.
My abstract loon was drawn on smooth paper in a 9 x 9 sketchbook.
I could have called this post Wednesday WIP. But since I worked from three of Bill’s photographs to create this panel of the dragonfly art quilt, I prefer to focus on the inspiration.
As noted above, I am still working with dragonfly photographs. In this installment, I selected two images of the same dragonfly……….
…….plus one photo of some bougainvillea blooms.
The three images will be combined in a horizontal panel measuring 12 x 24 inches.
On the first day I painted the background. I dipped the scrunched white cotton into two different pigment baths, wringing it out in between soaks. After smoothing the fabric onto my dry erase board, I placed two dragonfly shaped masks, several sprigs of dried leaves, and a sprinkling of dried peas. Next, I dropped on a little bit of purple and magenta paint, then set the board outside in the sun to dried.
It didn’t take long.
I took my time painting the dragonflies. Today I finished up by drawing the delicate wing veins. Next the background got more attention. I enhanced the leaf shapes with color, then painted a long line across the panel – my interpretation of the wire plant support seen in the photos.
A closer look…………
another…….
Again I used Micron pens, watercolor pencils and a little white Gelli pen for the finishing touches.
I’ve figured out which day I am on, AND,
The process of painting dragonflies on postcards broke open my mental block.
I started painting fabric right away, after swatching the colors I want to use.
Using these colors and a variety of techniques, I painted backgrounds on rectangles of white quilting cotton. Earlier I had cut out dragonfly body shapes from craft foam. These shapes and an assortment of leaves were laid on the painted fabric to serve as masks. Laying the pieces in the sun printed the masked shapes.
The next day, I did more fabric painting, just to make sure I had enough selection.
With the backgrounds prepared, I began inserting the dragonflies into the pieces.
Day 34:
Day 35
I’m in love with this last guy. He will be the focal point of the finished product.
In the next week I plan to add finishing touches to these two paintings and begin work on the rest. My layout calls for five paintings sewn together with blue borders in between them. What happens after that is done will take a bit more cogitation.
Okay, I’ve lost track of which day I am on. (6-10-23: it’s days 28, 29, 30 and 31.)
What I can say is that Bill has given me about a half dozen photos of dragonflies.
Here are five:
While I have an idea for making a wall hanging; quilted, embroidered, and with painted dragonflies; for now I’m painting postcards. The purpose is to warm-up and to break my funky creative block.
In the process I’ve discovered that painting these beauties is like eating potato chips. It’s hard to stop once you get started.
I’ve tried to keep the dragonflies light and loose. They are so jewel-like in real life, the painted versions are but a poor imitation.
Made on Fabriano Studio cold press using watercolors, a micron pen for linework and Dr Ph Martin’s bleed-proof white for some highlights. I experimented with a silver pen on no. 3, but the shiny bits never show up in a photograph.
Daily Fiber 