Improvements

Remember this one? It went from this....

to this..

Untitled

This I think is finished. And I am pleased with the last few decisions I made - to gray out a large portion of the composition in order to define the background; and to use the fuschia watercolor on the other two daisies so as to make them a more prominent visual element. It was all there. The drawing was done - but I needed the tone and colors to bring it together and give it structure. I am going to take a break from this and see how I feel about it in a few days, but right now I couldn't be happier.

Plodding along

I've gotten some good work done on this piece, but it's very composed; and each decision is being carefully considered. It is becoming a bit tedious. And I'm pretty surprised that I seem to be overwhelmingly working in this way. Perhaps an indication of my state of mind.

All at once

I am working on quite a few pieces at the same time right now. Making small changes to them before moving on. Rather than post them all separately, here they are together. I developed the circular mark in the warbler drawing. The texture is begininng to read like birch bark. Today I began drawing from observation in the daisy drawing capturing a wilting bouquet of flowers we have in the house before they entirely fade. I also worked a long string of circular shapes through the composition to create a strong visual movement. According to the group at Joy St, the last panel needed some work to incorporate the disparate elements of the red blotch and the highly realized sparrow. They suggested adding a second bird, and I'm still not convinced. I am trying to work it out now with simple changes like extending the green maple leaves beyond the blotch and working on top of it with collaged leaves.

Working a little each morning.

I have been busy with my job, but I am still able to get into the studio each morning for a quick drawing and then again for a short time in the afternoon. I am excited by this daisy drawing. I was restricting myself to the contour line drawing for a while, but didn't feel like that was allowing me to move forward with the piece. So I have introduced some wet washes and watercolor. I chose the doilies for this image because I feel they reference the weblike intertwining of leaves in the bush. I am not quite sure where this piece will take me.

Daisies 22" square

This is a drawing I began on Tuesday. I saw some brightly colored bushes of flowers on a walk home from the grocery store and I was hooked. The branches are spindly with web like leaves and the flowers are bright bright bright. I am working this drawing as a contour drawing right now and love the stark design feel it lends to the piece. One of my intents working with this subject was to work with the colors of the blooms, but I don't think I have the right watercolor pigments on hand. It will necessitate a trip to the art store. (Perhaps today as I seem very resistant to working in the studio.)