Figure Drawing Update

I had the privilege of drawing a wonderfully creative and athletic model named Zach today.  He invented dramatic poses full of negative space, using a few simple props.

I minute gesture

1 minute gestures

5 minute gesture

The Weary Warrior

15 minute pose

Hiking Day

Doak Field is still dressed in winter colors.

Saturday afternoon the clouds cleared from the sky, and I had free hours to slip on my backpack and traipse out to the woods and fields.  I carried two nature journals -- one is 9" x 12" with plenty of white paper to fill up, and the other, 6" x 8", is filled with brown paper.  The little, brown journal is my primary nature journal -- small, friendly, and easier to balance as I walk and sketch, it provides a midtone starting place to work lighter and darker into the drawing.

From my journal:

I wander Doak Field realizing that this time in the sunshine under the Bluebirds' sky is precisely what my soul needed.  A Song Sparrow's call bids me welcome. Wish I had my tea thermos like I had back in my Oak Openings days.  

Sitting in Doak Field watching the bluebirds hunt.  Perched on a low limb of a cherry tree, their impossibly blue wings catch the sunshine as they sail to the mowed earth after their prey & then flutter back up to their branch. 

Bright sunlight made every line crisp and had me reaching for pen and ink to capture the scene. 

Spring Report

The first glimmers of spring have been interspersed with cold, snowy, windy weather.  These are the times to brew up a mug of tea, make notes on the week, and sketch nature indoors.

Hike with a Friend

The day was lovely, and I had a few hours open in my schedule, so I called my friend and we went on a hike, swapping stories , and making discoveries -- like the pile of little bird bones perfectly bare and white, and the Ringneck Pheasant feather with the clean-snapped shaft.  Crisply cut by the beak of a hawk most likely.  I scooped up samples and brought them indoors, where I could sketch and linger with them.

Figure Drawing Update

I had the good fortune to draw a new model who brought remarkable strength and flexibility to her poses.

One-minute gesture pose.

Playing with Watercolors

During an afternoon experimenting with watercolors, I took a post card sized piece of watercolor paper that I had painted streaks of blue on and added a heart design with Conte crayons.  I wrote a message on the back to my best friend, slapped on a stamp, and dropped it in the mail to her. 

I find even an hour spent with my brushes, colors and papers feels like a mini vacation from winter & daily stresses.

Salt added to a colorful wash creates a beautiful texture.

I painted this grassy scene and then covered the wet paper with plastic wrap to create additional texture.

Nature Journal: Signs of Spring

I got the opportunity to get out for a hike to Doak Field in Raccoon Creek State Park today while the weather was warm and mostly sunny.  The songs of Cardinals, Rufous-Sided Towhees and Song Sparrows brightened the world.  Down in the lowlands, Skunk Cabbage spikes have risen from the mud.  Spring is coming!