Purple iris progress......

I have made some noticeable progress of late on my painting. I've just about completed the irises, and only have a few stems and leaves to finish. It's been fun to have the rose leaves to paint, along with the iris leaves. The different shapes and varying shades of green have been a joy to work on.
I've had fun with the brick wall, too! I started laying down color on the bricks beginning at the bottom. Better to experiment with varying colors on the bricks that are behind the flowers and leaves, than to start at the top! I moisten only part of each individual brick before I put down the paint. Better to create the varigated look to the bricks that way. I've been using many different colors for the bricks, including Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, French Ultramarine, Dragon's Blood, Lemon Yellow, Sienna, and more. No two bricks are the same, so they shouldn't be painted in identical fashion.
Boy, this will be a colorful painting when it's completed!

The irises are coming along.......

Showing some actual progress on my latest painting!

I've been deepening the colors of the iris blossoms, leaves and stems. I love that rose leaves are interspersed among the iris leaves. They provide a nice contrast to the spear-like leaves of the irises.

I've been using Windsor Violet and Windsor Blue for the irises, coupled with the soft pink of Rose Madder Genuine. At this stage of the painting, I'm working on slowly building up the colors of the petals and leaves. I wanted to get those colors deepened before I work on the brick wall. That will be lots of fun.....and quite time consuming, to say the least!

Back to work!

A new iris painting has begun.....

After finishing the heavily detailed painting of Quebec City, I was anxious to do an iris painting. It's been a while! I had originally thought I would do a single iris painting, however when I came across this photo- of gorgeous purple blooms against a brick wall.....I decided this would be the one for me. I had originally photographed these irises a summer or two ago. I fell in love with the beautiful purple blooms and the blue-green foliage all contasted against the beautiful tones of the brick wall.

I began with a drawing of the irises and the foliage. It doesn't matter which medium an artist employs- an artist needs to know how to draw. I wonder sometimes how many irises I've drawn in my career so far! But I love it!

After drawing the irises, I then began to work on the brick wall. A ruler was necessary! I wanted the rows of bricks to be level and the bricks to be the same size. The formality of the brick wall will contrast nicely with the tangle of the iris and the rose leaves. What I have laid down so far is just a light varigated wash for the bricks. I painted the bricks and the mortar first, before I laid any color on the irises and leaves. Now I've begun to work on the leaves and the iris blooms. I need to get more color down on the flowers before I go back and deepen the bricks. That will be so much fun! Lots of work awaits!

Drawing of "Edward Cullen".......

Yes, I am aware I have OCD (obsessive Cullen disorder)! Too funny....!

Continuing...for several years I participated in figure drawing classes, and even ran the class for a few years. What a fantastic way to sharpen your drawing skills- there's nothing like drawing from life. It helps train your eye for accurately rendering perspective and spatial relationships so necessary no matter what media an artist employs. I was blown away by the talent in our local group. Some drew every day, and it showed!!

Wanting to get back to sketching more often, I bought a really nice sketchbook and a great drawing set- a Cretacolor from Austria. It has charcoal pencils, sticks, natural charcoal, and what I used for this drawing- graphite sticks, 6B and 9B.

Wondering what to sketch one evening, I eyed my Twilight Movie Companion book. ( Couldn't resist!) I saw the photo and thought it would be a good test. I didn't use any measuring device- I wanted to just eyeball it. While the likeness isn't completely perfect, it's darn close. Rendering eyes is tricky, but I always remember what my drawing teacher, Dot Huntley, told me- that the eye is always in shadow, as it sits encased in the eye socket and is shaded and protected by the brow and lid. How helpful that advice has always been for me. I notice some artists tend to make the eyes look as if they are stuck ON the face, instead of resting inside the eye socket.

I love the all graphite pencils. I didn't want to use charcoal as I was sitting in my family room and didn't want to get covered in charcoal. I love the depth of value charcoal gives, but I cannot use it without getting it all over me!

I know I want, and I need, to draw more often. Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to buy the "New Moon" movie companion book when it comes out........ !