Once again, the set of photos I snapped last fall captured my attention, and I drew this larger sunflower and sparrow piece. After weeks of using mineral paper and Claybord, it’s a pleasure to once again use ink on paper. I especially enjoyed the line work on the leaves.
I may want to do a little more on this small metalpoint drawing, but this was a good time to take a break. Drawing a a rigid surface was great, and I’ll definitely do this again. I was surprised at the value range.
It’s ironic that with graphite, artists want to avoid a sheen but with metalpoint, it’s considered to be kind of delightful.
I took an online watercolor workshop by artist Liz Clayton Fuller that was offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. It sped by, and at the end I had completed painting a female Belted Kingfisher. I haven’t used watercolor much in the past several years, so I was pleased with the end result although my brush skills are pretty awful.
I’ve never done an online class before, and I have a feeling it was huge. By the time I registered, there were over 300 others who had already signed up. Before the class started, I sketched the bird to get a feel for it, and I also did a sampling of my palette to remember what colors I had available.
I have a combination of Daniel Smith (tubes and sticks) and M. Graham watercolors. By far my favorites are Daniel Smith watercolor sticks. Such bright, pure pigments. If I ever return to watercolor painting, I’ll switch over to those.
The next day I did a very quick watercolor sketch of the same image, trying to recall the basics from the lesson. Lots of light layers lead to a dimensional effect was what I came away with. It’s a good test of my patience. This image was a bit more cute than the other. I prefer the one I completed during the class, but it was a good challenge to try it again.
These miniature pieces measure just 2.5″ x 3.5″. They’re the same size as a wallet photo, just a little bigger than a business card. They’re on Ampersand Claybord tiles, and I used ink, colored pencil, and scratchboard techniques. I have a feeling this is my new favorite thing, creating very small paintings.
