Time Flies

The time flies past so quickly and summer is passing into autumn already. It is my favourite time of the year though with plenty of things to draw and paint. I have 2 books now to catch up on here, Ida's and Julie's. They are both filling up with beautiful studies, each page different and unique; they are all going to be treasured.

For Ida's book I did a few Tregaron bog sketches as I went there rather a lot in early summer. I also painted a dandelion clock in white gouache on black paper.

Then for Julie's book I painted cow parsley in white gouache again on black paper. I also added a few items that I'd found on walks and in gardens over July and August. 

And to fill the gap I stuck in a skeletal Magnolia leaf.

Wings

Sometimes inspiration is hard to find, and other times it literally lands on your doorstep.

Such was the case a few weeks ago, when I found a little female chaffinch lying outside my back door. I think she must have crashed into the windowpane for there were no visible signs of injury, but she was definitely lifeless.  I looked at her little wings and thought “I want to paint them.”

“I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.”

 Frederick Franck, The Zen of Seeing:

This would be the perfect subject. This month I have Ida Mitrani’s sketchbook for the Nature Trails 2014- a natural sketchbook exchange, in which she has made some exquisite drawings of Birds of Paradise. You can read about that here.

Ida's beautiful Bird of Paradise

Of course, artists have been painting dead birds for many centuries. I have always loved Albrecht Durer’s painting of the “Wing of a Blue Roller”, and Edward Burne Jones’ study of a wing is sensitively observed.

Albrecht Durer's "Wing of a Blue Roller" from wikipaintings

Although my little bird was not as bright and colourful as Durer’s, each wing is a fascinating and incredible thing to behold, so light and yet so powerful. I put the wings into a ziplock bag and placed them into the freezer first to kill off any feather mites. If you are tempted to paint or draw a dead animal, I would recommend reading this good advice about how to handle it safely given by Tim Wootton in his blog. 

Having carefully pinned out my wing onto foamcore, the studies could at last begin. I used my Earth colour chart to work out which colours would work best, and decided that Van Dyke brown (Talens) was the nearest match. I also used Talens permanent blue violet and winsor and newton’s cerulean, cobalt violet, burnt sienna, indanthrene and new gamboge.

A colour chart and a tiny painting of a chaffinch (1.5 x 1.5 cm)

I finished by painting a few of the feathers from the rump of the bird which are a delicate shade of olive green. They were fun to paint, although I had to hold my breath as the slightly puff would gently lift them off the page.

I think there is so much to be gained by doing studies like this. Through careful observation of nature comes a greater understanding and a deeper appreciation for the wonders of the natural world. 

My completed spread in Ida's sketchbook

Ida's Sketchbook

 I look at an Artist's sketchbook like the formation of an organism. It holds the essence of the final piece. There is something so intimate and mysterious about it. The pages of a sketchbook provide insight into an artist's personal thoughts, intentions and creative process.

I was so delighted when Shevaun offered me to take part of the Nature Trails Sketchbook Exchange project. Such a great idea!

So many ideas came to my mind and I also felt a bit intimidated... I finally decided to have fun with the project and include elements of my non-botanical artwork combine with a more illustrative and realistic work.

Coming from a Fine Art and Animation background, Art and especially drawing has always been a major tool to express my internal world.
My aim with this project is to fully experiment with various mediums and techniques while observing the transformations taking place in Nature.

Here are the words and subjects that came to my mind- Hybridisation, Turkish design/patterns, Islamic Art patterns, Paradise and Sacred Geometry in Nature.

First Page- The Door (The Entrance)  Including Turkish floral patterns- Cut out

Back of the first page- Natural light through Cut Out

Double spread- Birds of Paradise- Bird of Paradise flower (Strelitzia)

Watercolour/pencil drawing

Hybridisation