This small antique cordial glass was tempting me to paint it. Those ellipses aren't perfect, but sketched in a hurry, they'll do. I did sketch first in pencil then added the watercolor (size is about 5" x 8"). There are probably only 3-4 colors used in this whole painting, but when you try to convey something clear against something white (like the cloth napkin), you don't need too much other than shadow.
There's quite a bit of texture and color to these corks that keeps them interesting to me. Colored pencil, approx. 4" x 5". As much as I adore watercolor, I admit there's always some fear that a mislaid brush stroke or water blotch will ruin a painting. With colored pencil I feel more in control of each mark. But it is more methodical, and certainly has a different feel to the finished piece. There's a place in my repertoire for both mediums, for sure.
Haven't you always wondered what the inside of a squash house looked like? Me too. Pretty cozy from the looks of it. Lots of room for the sort of homebody living a small creature (a mouse? A fairy?) might have in mind. Pen, watercolor, and water soluble pencil on too-thin sketchbook paper, approx. 5" x 5". I'm glad my imagination kicks in once in a while.
I love illuminated manuscripts, there is so much detail in such a small space. I am constantly inspired by them in different ways. This peacock appears in the margin of a 16th century Italian manuscript, along with lots of beautiful foliage, florals, and other birds. It was just so charming I had to try my hand at reproducing it (my version is done in pen, watercolor and water soluble pencil, approx. 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"). The original was probably done with egg tempera and maybe ink on vellum, with real gold applied in the dots on the feathers and around some of the edges.
I've been toying with the idea of making a mini-calendar for a while, possibly to embroider. For my other 20 minute sketches I abandoned my pencil and eraser, but tonight I wanted to plan this out a little more so I drew the design in pencil first and then inked it (approx. 4" square). If I design some other months, those with holidays lend themselves easier to simple designs than those without, but I still think it sounds like a fun little project.
Inspired by a book of incredible pen and ink drawings, I decided to create a 20 minute pen design without any preplanning (or erasing!). This was fun to draw, but I would love to have more time to go in and do some shading, dots, cross hatching, etc. to add more depth to it. I am at the point with these drawings now where I wonder what I should do with them all when I am done (I will probably have somewhere around 300 at the end of the year!) Select my favorites and frame them? Collage them? Put them in some sort of scrapbook? Wallpaper?
