Since I really enjoyed the simple compass design from the other night, I thought for tonight's 20 minutes I'd give it another go. Pencil, watercolor, and one measly line of pen, approx. 5" square. I ran out of time to outline this all in pen, I concentrated on the kaleidoscope-style design and color instead. I love this sort of doodling. Filling in small spaces as perfectly as I can, with a tiny loaded brush, just so relaxing to me. Of course I would like a more "finished" result, but it has its own stained-glass sort of merits. Surprisingly, I probably have more concentration in this than in yesterday's apple.
I plan to make a large quantity of applesauce tomorrow to go with our Easter ham on Sunday, but before peeling, chopping and cooking, I wanted to sketch one of these nice shiny apples. I tried something different here, even though it looks very similar to the other apple sketch I did a while back. I wet the paper first, then used the water soluble pencils to draw directly on the wet paper. After the paper dried, I didn't want to re-wet it (and smudge the nice lines) so I went in darker with regular colored pencils. It's about 5 1/2" x 7" or so.
20 minutes was the right amount of time to complete this apple - with more time I would just have added more detail to the cloth napkin (yes, there is one in there, it's kind of like a polar bear in a snowstorm).
It's Eastertime, so these things seem to multiply around the house, don't they? It's amazing how many colors actually make up "chocolate brown". Watercolor and water soluble pencil and crayon, 5" x 7". Though I'm still not completely sure, but after much studying I think this is a Victorian-style anthropomorphic rabbit, walking and carrying his Easter goodies in a backpack basket. Weird!
I have several jars of beads sorted out for needlework, and they are generally more fun to admire for their sparkle and shine than to use - stringing them on a needle one at a time. Since I love the effect of beading on embroidery I endure it as patiently as possible, and have grown to love the process for the resulting sparkly effect. These beads were dark purple, pretty close to the color I got in my 20 minute sketch. Watercolor and water soluble pencil, 5 1/2" x 8".
The black and white detail images I posted last week were from this painting, for a Palm Sunday church bulletin cover (ink and monotone watercolor, approx. 5" x 6"). Though I love to study religious art, it's not often that I personally create it. Here, I was inspired by several Russian icon images while illustrating John 15:5 and John 17 in a subdued manner.
Traditionally, icons are elaborately gilded, then painted on prepared wooden panels with the bright and saturated colors of egg tempera. Since they are so rich in symbolism, it may take years for an icon artist to master his/her craft. But the finished art is just striking to behold.
