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.

Catching Up

Time is flying by so quickly lately that two months has gone by and I haven't updated the blog. I shall do two months in one go.

The month of March was for Francis' sketchbook,coming from Ireland via Anglesey and I knew that Francis liked Celtic designs. I have a book by Courtney Davis full of lovely patterns so I got drawing some of these. My garden was blooming with many crocus, so very springlike.

Then on to April and Shevaun's sketchbook. I was already painting scaly male ferns and I am always taken with the architectural shapes and fresh smells of the fern crosiers; like newly mown lawns. My studio brimmed with them, all different species, shapes and sizes.

I liked how Ida had used black paper to make her painting of daffodils sing, so vibrant. So I got out the gouache and painted a shield fern on the black paper. These soft ferns are just like furry caterpillars, curled up and snug, then unfurling in the warmth of spring.

A few more sketched ferns and some writing, in welsh and english completed April.

Sketchbooks are for having fun!

As this project progresses, I’ve noticed that each sketchbook is developing it’s own little character. Although we all started out with the same black Stillman & Birn sketchbook, each one somehow carries some of it’s owner’s personality with it.

Julie Douglas's sketchbook is no exception- it’s creative, it’s fun and imaginative! Her sketchbook is already looking full, with bits of paper peeking out, and playful sketches by Julie and Ida in different mediums.
It dares you to be bold and step out of your comfort zone.

I decided to start with some daffodils (Narcissus). They’re such happy little flowers, and it’s been a while since I have painted flowers. Besides, yellow is always such a challenge, as there’s a very fine line between subtle shading and making a horrible muddy mess. 

I dug out an old sketchbook study of some daffodils which had my colour notes and began to paint.
You can read more about the process here.

The joy of working in a sketchbook is that you relax a little. You can make up the composition as you go along. You can be a bit more spontaneous, there’s no planning or tracing… just the pleasure of watching the flowers take shape on the page. The leaves were fun too. They’re nice simple shapes that pull the whole thing together.

However I wasn’t completely satisfied. It was still a bit tame and safe. 

Inspiration came to me in the form of a bottle of Winsor & Newton iridescent medium. 

Iridescent medium is something that I would rarely get a chance to use in botanical art. I had some shells from Galicia, and some nice blue paper. It was time to play!

 I drew the shells out in white pencil first, and then painted them with gouache paints combined with watercolour paints. Gouache is very forgiving and I found it quite meditative building up the layers and creating form. 

I tried using the iridescent medium with the paint on one of the shinier shells, but to be honest, it looked more like cheap glitter glue. It was time to go wild. I covered each shell in carefully cut out tracing paper, laid the page on some newspaper, got my husband’s toothbrush (I can get him a new one), and began to splatter. 

A few pieces of carrageen seaweed (Chondrus crispus) that have been sitting in my cupboard since God knows when, finished off the composition.

Oh what fun!! The best part was splattering the iridescent medium. It doesn’t really show up in the photos but it’s sparkly! Just perfect for Julie!

 I was happy. I had my creative buzz and I’m ready for the next sketchbook now.