Rose

5" x 8" journal page. Watercolor paints, Pigma pen. March 17, 2013. Just trying out the new watercolor paints, the rose color seemed especially colorful, the scanner did not pick up the pale blue in the background. I did not like it, before I added the Pigma pen, it defined the leaf detail and the edge of the rose petals, and made the center more interesting.

Clematis

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paint. Jan. 11, 2013.

Painted from my original photograph, of my neighbor Betsy's purple clematis. I kept trying to get deep dark colors in the background and shadows, but they dried a lot lighter than they looked when wet. I can see where good paints would make a real difference with this.

Fuchsia

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Jan 10-2013.

Painted from two of my original photographs, the delicate colors do not pick up very well, on the digital scanner. The border in the lower right corner is washed out.

Crocus

Every Day Matters #59 - Draw a sign of spring. Pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Nov. 8, 2012.

As autumn continues, and we have our first really cold days ahead of us, I needed to create a sign of spring. Painted from my original photograph, these two crocus in my yard are the first to bloom in late January, early February. I have two large bunches that have spread from 6 tiny bulbs that I planted years ago. I eagerly look forward to them every year. It is time to get the first garden catalogs in the mail to drool over.

Urban Nature Walk

Every Day Matters #63 - Take a nature walk and sketch what you find. 5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Oct. 29, 2012.

I picked up several things on my morning walk, around the neighborhood, and down passed the warehouses. A common yellow thistle found in vacant lots and along the road, most of them had turned to puff, but a few were still budding. I'll have to collect a leaf, so I can ID them, maybe it's a dandelion variety? I also have to ID the pretty yellow wildflower, again most had gone to seed, and when I picked the flowers I noticed how distinct the seed balls are, so I painted them too. The oak acorns are from the big city meridian, between Commercial street, and the birch twig is from my yard. I had fun doing this one, it was quick and simple, but I really paid attention to the details on the items.

Day Lily

5" x 8" journal page, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Oct. 21, 2012.

Drawn from an embroidery design book, and painted with watercolor. I was tired of painting "objects" from the EDM list.

Calla Lily II

6" x 8" watercolor paper, pencil sketch, masking fluid, watercolor paints, wet on wet. Sept. 25, 2012.

"I did not like how all the brush strokes showed on my first calla lily painting. So I tried it again on better paper. I like this one better. My sister has a whole row of large calla lilies along the side of her house. One year a lady paid her $1 per stem, for about 50 flowers. Another year someone came and stole them all. I hate flower thieves!! Over the years, someone has stolen, sunflower heads, all my foxglove, daffodils, lilacs, and one new iris, that I was waiting to see bloom, and the deer eat anything else. I would love to see my garden bloom some year. I work hard in my garden, terraced areas, cobble stone paths, lots of fancy iris, spring bulbs, shady maple tree with benches under it, and I want to see the fruits of my labor." Here is the first pic also for comparison.

Calla Lily

Journal page, 5" x 8" pencil sketch, watercolor paints. Sept 12, 2012.

I painted this from a picture in a watercolor painting book, it looked so simple. Deceptive uh? It was cheaper paper in the journal, not really great for watercolor paints. It is ok, but I don't like the way the paints did not blend very well. I wanted a dark background to give it "Pop" but it is still dull.

Sparrow on Sunflower

6" x 8" watercolor paper, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. Aug. 29, 2012.

This is from a photograph I took, of the sparrows getting the seeds off the sunflowers I grew in the front yard. They were small flowers 3-6" across, in clusters, not the giant sunflowers. In the fall, the birds loved to hang on them and get the seeds, sometimes upside down. I got the proportion right compared to the flower, but slipped on the paint on the head, and got it too big, still having trouble with drawing birds. I like the coloration though.

Bunchberry & Hydrangea

6" x 8" drawing paper, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen, Aug. 11, 2012

6" x 8" drawing paper, pencil sketch, colored pencil, Pigma pen, Aug. 12, 2012

The bunchberry drawing is from an old painting book, line drawings for the sketch, I copied it except I put the berries on the left instead of the right. I like the way I painted the white flower, with just a hint of purple, and I hope the leaves look deeply ridged. I am very happy with this drawing, it is one of my favorites so far. The lace cap hydrangea is journaled on the back, and I learned I need thicker paper, like the watercolor paper, because the writing has shadowed through to the front. :( "Hydrangea, need frequent watering or the leaves will wilt, the deer like to eat them, but not the leaves so much. It is not their first choice. The large petals are really "brachs," colored leaves and the real flowers are the small buds in the center. You can change the colors of the flowers by adding acidity and other minerals to the soil. People used to bury tin cans around the bush to make the flowers more blue. Mine are a pinky lavender. Cut back the green stems to the woody growth to keep in shape or it can get quiet large, especially in cooler coastal areas" I drew it from life, sitting on the bench in the shade of our large maple tree. I think I got the perspective well enough, but wished I'd used watercolor pencil for a brighter smoother coloring.

Oriental Poppies

6" x 8" drawing paper, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen. July 19, 2012

An original design from my imagination of Oriental Poppies and a seed pod. I have drawn them many times for my art quilts, so I did not need a picture for reference. Pencil sketch, watercolor paints, and Pigma pen. I am definitely getting better with the watercolors, I am still using the cheap kids paints. :) I added the colored background this time, in a soft gray purple wash, I like it better than the plain white paper. The colors are much brighter in real life, than I am seeing on the computer monitor. Maybe I need to bump up the color in Photoshop a bit for the internet.

Blue Poppies

6" x 8" watercolor paper, watercolor paints and Pigma pen. July 18, 2012

After watching Susan Schewee on TV doing some water color, painting some blue poppies, I again thought "I can do that!" Famous last words, NOT, it was much harder than it looked, she makes it look so simple, just do this and that, yea! right! Of coarse it did not help that I was using a cheap kids watercolor tray from the dollar store, and a random brush. I have a lot to learn! Shading the poppies was difficult, but I liked the way that the little leaves, just happened. I still did not like what I had done, until several weeks later, when I added the Pigma pen, like my other sketches. It added extra dimension to the flowers, and detail to the foreground. They still look nothing like hers! I am learning to mix different shades of green from the cheap watercolors.

Gaillardia

6" x 8", watercolor paper, pencil sketch, watercolor paints, Pigma pen, July 17, 2012

I love sketching flowers, it is also my favorite subject for photography, home grown, gardens, wildflowers, bouquets, it doesn't matter, any flower will do. I saw this on the sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com the colors and detail appealed to me, and I thought "I can do this." So I went off to sketch it, I drew it from memory, not looking at the other drawing. I sketched first in pencil, then added the watercolor paints from a kids cheap set from the dollar store. Then I added the Pigma pen detail. I am very happy with the color blending, and the turquoise border really adds to it. I am slowly getting better with the watercolor paints.