Tuesday, November 18, 2014

A New Class - Revisiting Basics

9B Pencil and Wash

Ink and One Colour Highlight
I've just started a 12 week online course by Australia's Liz Steel called Sketching Now. In the first lesson, she has us re-examining the materials in our kit and working on some basics. This assignment was to draw the same still life twice, once using pencil and a matching monochrome colour and ten again straight to pen with just one colour focal point. As much as I love colour and pen, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the smooth flow of a 9B pencil and the exciting dark shadows in paint. Quick, wonky, fun and satisfying.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Shrivelled Rose Hips


We have had a remarkably warm and dry fall this year. (I heard with horror that it snowed in Calgary today!) This morning,  I got up to the coziest yellow glow in the house as the sun shone on all of the brightly coloured leaves in my garden. The witch hazel stands directly in front of the kitchen window and casts an unearthly glow on our table. And the burning bush in the courtyard is as fluorescent red as it has ever been. And the big leaf maple leaves at the back are sailing down for their 5 seconds of freedom and glory.

My favourites continue to be the tree peony pods with their huge glossy black seeds and of course the rose hips, now all shrivelled and cratered. Originally they were a luminescent orangy red but now they have dipped into the deep purple red and, in places, almost black range.