Monday, August 16, 2010

One for you Gallery Chick

Because the blossoms are still flowering and because I love them so much I decided to dedicate another page of my sketchbook to them. I also thought they deserved some colour this time. So.....Gallery Chick, these blossoms are for you.



I did an outline sketch using pencil, then went over the top with watercolours. I think I'm beginning to enjoy using watercolours, and maybe with few more sketches I might just love them... it is a very forgiving medium.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Blossoms!....It must be spring.

I was a bit shocked to see that the Cherry blossoms around town have started flowering in the last two weeks. I love the blossoms and tend to have a small branch displayed on my kitchen bench for a month or so every year....but I am sad that winter is coming to end. It seems to be such a short season in Australia, and for me spring marks the beginning of the long hot season.



The street where I grew up was lined on both sides with cherry blossoms...in my memory they stretched all the way from my house to the town centre. I like the little pink buds, then the mass of colour as the flowers unfurl and finally fall and carpet the ground around them. It has always amazed me that a tree with such a glorious and delicate flower could be so drab when in full leaf. I guess you can't be perfect at everything....and I am just happy that I again live in a town that celebrates spring with blossoms.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Detail of a Central Park footbridge

A few years ago I visited New York and spent quite a bit of time roaming the streets, parks and galleries of Manhattan. I think like most visitors I was really taken with Central Park....what a wonderful place to have right in the heart of such a huge city. I visited New York twice at Christmas and once in late fall. Consequently when I was there most of the trees had no leaves, and there were no flowers to speak of. I actually really liked the washed out sepia tone of Central Park in late fall. In the afternoon glow is was quite magical and I though sort of old world, like looking at an old photograph.

It may be because of this pretty stark landscape when I visited that I noticed the little details in fountains, bridges and buildings so much. This weekend I decided to draw a section of bridge that I took a photo of on one of my trips, it had lovely concentric and intertwining circles.

I would normally use pastels for this sort of picture because I love the very flat and vivid colours that dry pastels produce. I haven't yet figured a way around the "no smudgy media" rule....so I pulled out a box of coloured pencils and gave it a shot. I think it'll be a while before I do that again as it took an awfully long time to colour in the two page spread. But, it was pretty miserable weather outside and it was nice and calming to sit at the kitchen table and colour-in. I like to draw with orange, the colour just seems so cheerful to me....so I drew my bridge in this colour simply because it makes me happy.