In late summer 2020, a call for entries went out from GNSI member, Cordelia Norris of Luna Creative for a coloring book on backyard pollinators. Remember my post about “All Along the Atlantic”? Well, this is the second coloring book in a series produced by Cordelia and her team. I jumped at the chance to participate again.
Continue reading “Backyard Pollinators” Coloring BookTag: botanical illustration
Sketchbook Exchange – Round 3
The Nature Miscellany Sketchbook Exchange began a third trip around the world in 2017. Since life gets in the way for many of us, the sketchbooks took a leisurely time to go to each participant and finally made their way back to the original owners in 2019.
I was pleased to have a chance to draw many of my favorite botanicals for the other participants. Apologies for the dark photos. I just took some quick pictures before sending them on their way.
A walk through my favorite place, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, in August 2017 inspired me to tackle Showy Tick-Trefoil from the Great Lakes Garden for the next sketchbook.
When my own book made its way back to me, I found it filled with gorgeous drawings from my artist friends. (note the pen and ink pine cone – I forgot I had done that one in my book before it left!) I think the next round is on hold for the foreseeable future, but I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in such a wonderful project. It has kept me looking for new ideas and pushing myself to try new botanical subjects. A huge thank you to my fellow participants. It is an honor to have your work in my books!
Sketchbook Exchange – Finishing with a Peony!
The second round of the international sketchbook exchange has finished up! This round only had 7 participants, so it went a bit faster.
I had much inspiration to choose from with spring blooming all around me. However, I knew that when I went for our annual walk through the Nichols Arboretum Peony Garden at peak bloom that I must attempt one of these gorgeous blossoms for my last entry.
The peony garden is a real treat to have here in town. It is the largest collection of heirloom peonies in North America, containing over 270 historic varieties (cultivars) from the 19th and early 20th century. They are arranged in 27 beds with each full bed containing 30 peonies, and when filled to capacity the garden holds nearly 800 peonies and up to 10,000 flowers at peak bloom. (source: About the Garden.)
I was fortunate to see the blooms at peak and took many reference photos! In addition to the wide variety of blooms, I really enjoy the buds. Round as a golf ball and bursting with color, I knew that I wanted to include both in my drawing.
I did a rough sketch in pencil, using my 4H for light lines. Then I went over it with ink. This time, I used a new pen I purchased recently. It had read about it on a nature journaling group online. This is the Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen, Super Fine. It has cartridges for ink, so it is clean and easy to use. It also has a nice feel in the hand and you can get a bit more variance in line width. I really enjoyed using it and look forward to doing more with it.
Finally, to add color, I used my Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils. I puzzled a bit about how to render the delicate pink blossom. I layered Pink Madder, Pink Carmine, and Rose Carmine, which worked well. However, the shadow areas were a bit tougher. I tried a bit of Cold Grey II, but it was too dull. Finally, I realized that a light layer of Manganese Violet was perfect. It gave a bit more life and depth to the shadows without dulling. I used that throughout the blossom for shadow areas.
I am very glad to have been able to participate in another round of sketchbooks. However, I am looking forward to putting some of my work in my own sketchbook moving forward! A recent trip to South Carolina yielded more great reference photos and fun finds, so I have plenty of material for ideas. Stay tuned for a future post on that!
Spring in full swing!
It has been awhile since my last post! It seemed to take forever for spring to take hold here in Michigan, but we are in full-swing and leaning towards early summer now.
I have not done nearly as much drawing as I would like, but did manage to get some more sketchbook entries done and take lots and lots of photos for future reference!
My March sketchbook entry coincided with St. Patrick’s Day. I found a beautiful little shamrock plant at the store, so a simple study with just a bit of color captured the leaves and delicate blooms.
In April, I continued to check on the progress of my favorite star magnolia in a nearby park. I just love the large, fuzzy buds. I decided to do a small branch study just in ink and a close-up of one, opening bud. Such great textures and earthy colors!
Finally, in May, ours and the neighbors front yards were covered in gorgeous wild violets. So tiny, but so colorful! When I got closer to take photos, I became fascinated with the cup-like leaves and deep violet-purple centers of the flowers. Definitely needed to document this in the next sketchbook!
I only have one more book to fill and send on for this round, and there is no shortage of material with peony buds and blossoms opening as well as all manner of leaves to study.
What has been your favorite natural item to document these days?
Birch Bark and Buds
Winter is still wrapping up in our part of the country, but there is no shortage of drawing material thanks to our neighbor’s beautiful, white birch tree.
About a month ago, I went outside to run an errand and found what I thought was a piece of plastic garbage in the driveway. We have had a mild winter and it had been cool, rainy and windy that week. I picked it up and looked closely and realized that I had a beautiful piece of birch bark in my hand!
It was curled up on one side, frayed on the other and had a pretty little lichen on top. The underside was the gorgeous, light peach/tan that you expect from birch wood. I was looking for a subject for my next sketchbook entry and this was it!
I decided to do two views – one from each side – and chose my usual favorite media of ink and colored pencil. I really liked the look of just the pen, so I only used colored pencil on half of each view to give a sense of the coloration without having to detail it too much. I love that with a sketchbook study you can do partials, give an idea of color, shade or shape and move on. Here is how it turned out:
Thanks to an additional windy night, I was able to grab some small birch branches that had blown down. These had a great mix of the papery, white outer bark along with some lichen and hints of the peachy inner bark. I did a quick study in graphite and colored pencil
Finally, thanks to the continuing mild weather and a nice day, I visited one of my favorite small trees at a nearby park. This star magnolia is gorgeous when it blooms, but it also has some wonderful, fuzzy, pale-green buds. I did a quick drawing, just in pen, to capture some of this late-winter/early-spring growth.
What finds have you made this winter? Or are you eagerly awaiting spring with me? Tell me what you are looking forward to!