Turning a Bad Photo into Good Art

The image above is not a good photo.  The lighting is dull, and there's too much clutter distracting your eye from the beauty of the creek snaking through the hilly woodland. 

Yet, photos like this one still have an artistic purpose.  They make good reference photos for art, especially when it's too cold to sit outside and draw in person!

I started with a sketch of the main elements in the scene, and began adding in areas of color.

The photo was taken just before 6" of snow fell, so I wanted to get the white-gray appearance of the sky. 

I turned the pencil on its side to create a soft, uniform area of color for the snow clouds.

With the sky and the icy creek laid in, I began adding detail to the woods - the weeds & grasses on the forest floor, the distant trees, and the details in the tree trunk on the left.

I stepped back to study the composition, and felt it needed more vitality on the right hand side.

I added in the wobbly tree on the right, and am happy with the sketch. 

As the artist, you get to decide what you include in a drawing.  You can edit out the parts you don't like and add in bits you prefer. Choosing to draw the parts of a scene that inspire and excite you is more fun, and creates a better drawing.

Happy Creating!

November Landscape on Black Paper

Out on a walk, I snapped this photo.  The dark shadows, the sunlight in the forest, and the bright foxtails in the field all drew my eye.

I chose Strathmore's black Artagain paper to capture the dark, shadowy evergreens and cherry trees.  I find that working on toned or black paper makes it easier to express the brightness of winter grasses and weeds in the sunlight.  It's fun to shift gears and look at drawing the world from a different perspective -- keeping the darks and adding in the lights.

Here are a few tips for working on black paper:

1. Start with a sketch using a light colored pencil, and use a gentle touch!  It's common to make changes early on in a drawing as you're laying things out, and pressing down hard on the colored pencil makes it harder to erase.

2. Pick out the parts of the landscape that interest you the most.  You don't have to draw everything!  Simplify the scene and be expressive in your drawing. 

3. Step back often!  Even 5 seconds of holding your drawing at arm's length will help you see the big picture.   You'll see areas that might surprise you with their beauty, and also areas that you want to work on.  

Stepping back early will help you include the parts of the scene you feel are important, so you don't end up wishing for a paper stretcher!

4. Use a black colored pencil to create fine, dark lines -- like the small branches against the blue sky. It's easier to add fine lines back in than to work around them in the negative space.
 

I hope these tips help you.

Happy Creating!

A New Nature Journal

A few months ago, I started a watercolor nature journal, and I'm having fun painting nature scenes in it. Still, I missed my brown craft paper and the possibilities it brings for working with colored pencils & gouache.

I cracked open a craft paper journal that I had bought online to create a new nature journal.  I can work in both journals, using whichever works best for my ideas.

Right away, I delighted in making simple pen and ink sketches, adding colored pencil to some.

The brown paper automatically creates the midtone, making highlights and shadows more dramatic.

I try to listen to my intuition, that tiny voice within that offers suggestions.  It often feels like a little nudge rather than a loud, obvious instruction.  Each scene calls out for a certain medium -- some feel very watercolor-y and others invite sketching with a colored pencil.  Maybe it's just my own moods that I'm responding to.  

I find that when I listen to these little nudges, I'm happier and create more freely. It doesn't mean I'm always going to create impressive work, just that it will feel right and that I will be more at peace with the finished artwork than if I had forced myself to follow an expected path.

Listening to your intuition and trying out its ideas is a valuable habit to get into.  Your intuition is full of exciting possibilities and will help you to make wonderful discoveries.

Happy Creating!

Vignettes from a Summer's Day

Mornings in the summer, I like to take my art supplies outside to a picnic table in my back yard and paint in my watercolor nature journal.

My cats join me for this quiet work.

I've been enjoying a technique of painting the little details that catch my eye in the landscape.

I begin by drawing a series of shapes -- circles, squares, rectangles, etc. -- then pick an image to fill each shape.  

I start each vignette with a pencil sketch.  Once the sketch looks right, I add watercolor & India ink.

A refillable Lamy fountain pen filled with waterproof ink works well for adding lines.  You could also use a Micron pen or a Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen. Once the ink is dry, the watercolors won't cause it to run.

You can add more details over the watercolor with colored pencils.  I used Prismacolor colored pencils for some of the details, and for all of the thistle scene. Feel free to mix your media!

These little scenes were from a walk around the farm I took August 8th.  As I walked, I looked for beauty, and took lots of photos.  I selected 9 images to illustrate, including my cat, Grover, sleeping beside me on the cushion.

By breaking the page into many smaller shapes, the overall scene doesn't feel as overwhelming as a larger composition.  And, I am able to include the beautiful details that I love in any scene.

Here are a few of the photos I used for references.  If you're looking for something to sketch or paint, give one of these a try!

Happy Creating!

Alaskan Adventure: Sitka, Alaska

Our first port on the cruise was Sitka, Alaska, on Baranoff Island -- one of a string of islands off the coast of British Columbia.

When you arrive in a new land, so many things catch your eye because they're different from home.  I found a multitude of fascinating details -- wildflowers, trees, whales, waterfowl, and mountainous vistas -- that I wanted to record.  I drew circles, squares & rectangles in pencil to fill with illustrations that made Sitka special to me.

I loved how the mountains and the Pacific Ocean framed everything in this small town.

We walked down a boardwalk along the rocky shoreline, to the Sitka National Historical Park, the site of a gorgeous temperate rainforest.

Trees grew out of old stumps, and moss seemed to cover every surface.

The colors of Alaska are eye-catching: cobalt blue mountains, yellow ochre kelp washed up on the beaches, the yellowy sap green of thick moss covering every log and much of the ground, and the deep pine green of hemlocks and spruces.

As we approached the little cove next to the National Park (above) we saw a dozen bald eagles flying and perching along the shore.

The majestic birds seemed unconcerned about people watching from the nearby walkway.

Inside the deep woods, the sounds of warblers, eagles, and the wind in the massively tall trees brought an immediate sense of calm. 

I didn't invent this technique of making mini-illustrations inside borders, but I do recommend it. This technique breaks up the page into manageable chunks.  You can take your time with each little facet, and when you are done, you have the larger story told in details.

Give this technique a try!

I started with pencil sketches, then added watercolor, and often, I put finishing details in with a permanent fine line black pen & colored pencils.  

Happy Creating!

Bird Gestures

Because birds move so quickly, it can be hard to make drawings of them. 

You have to draw fast.

A scribbly gesture drawing is just the thing to capture the essence of the bird's pose.

My gesture of the mockingbird at the top of the page shows how loosely the drawing begins.

The Black-Capped Chickadee and the Eastern Bluebird lower on the page started as gestures.  After the birds flew away, I added details from memory.

You can also find photos online or in books to help you get the bird's markings just right.

When you return to a place again and again, even if it's your backyard, you will get to know the plants and animals who live there.  You can record the news of their lives in your nature journal.

This Mulberry tree is the reason we had so many birds flitting around the morning I made my sketches.  The birds were attracted to the ripening mulberry fruits.

Do you have a bird feeder, a berry bush or other food source for birds nearby?  Try some quick bird gestures to tell the story of your encounters in your nature journal!

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved.

Nature Journal: Returning Songbirds

My birdfeeder has given me a look into the movements of the songbirds in my neighborhood.  This Common Grackle showed up recently in a flock of migrating blackbirds.  The group refueled on the sunflower seed feast laid out for them.

The grackle that caught my eye moved around on the ground quickly, so I found a photo online at Cornell University's All About Birds to use as a reference.  Here's a link to their page about Common Grackles.

I began this journal page with the observations on the left side, then a light graphite pencil sketch of the grackle. I erased extra pencil lines, and layered in Prismacolor colored pencils on top of the graphite sketch.

If you try this approach, make sure to keep the graphite pencil sketch light so that you don't create any grooves in the paper.  Grooves can prevent the soft colored pencils from getting down into the channel cut by the pencil.  

Also, if you're using lighter colors, the colored pencils may pick up the gray graphite and mute your colors.  I find keeping the sketch light or rolling a kneaded eraser over the graphite sketch to pick up excess graphite helps to prevent this problem.  

Spring is a fantastic time to start a nature journal.  Grab any small sketchbook and your favorite drawing tools, and take them on a walk with you.  Or simply set them up by a window where you can watch what's going on outside.

I hope you find some signs of spring this week!

Nature Journaling: Welcome Spring!

Today marked the return of Red-Winged Blackbirds to my corner of Pennsylvania.  I'll always be grateful for the burry, brash call of the male Red-winged Blackbird as they lift my spirits at the end of winter when I'm ready for any sign of spring.

The males migrate north to us ahead of the females, and set up breeding territories.  On cold, rainy days like today, I least expect them, and am always surprised in the most pleasant way.  

A small flock descended from the gray sky to perch in a little mulberry tree that stands next to my birdfeeders.  They brightened my day on this rainy, mizzly day.

After I had finished my admin. chores for the day, I rewarded myself with this sketch, made from a  reference photo.

What's your favorite bird?  

A great way to celebrate your wild friend is to find a photo in a book or online to use as a reference, and make a sketch.  Then write about a memorable encounter. 

Happy creating!