Quick studies ~ drawing with a brush

Quick studies ~ drawing with a brush, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

When time is short, we can still take a few minutes to practice! Part of my ongoing practice is to find techniques that work well in Pentalic’s “Nature Sketch” sketchbook.

The paper isn’t as sturdy as the watercolor papers I’m used to using. Water is a bit of a problem, because I like to use multiple layers and sometimes lift color from the paper surface. This paper is really made for one or two washes, and no lifting. Anything beyond that and the paper starts to disintegrate. So - I’m attempting to streamline my approach.

On this page, I decided to draw directly onto the paper with my brush (a #3 round) and watercolor washes. I thought it best to limit the washes and any reworking, so I kept the colors simple (Sap Green, Burnt Umber, and Shadow Violet) and tried to use minimal colors and brush marks.

Starting with a simple suject,  I tried to capture the essence of it with just a few strokes. The more I painted, the more confident I became. By the time I finished with the various leaves, I felt that I could attempt a more complicated branch by painting free-hand (bottom right)!

It’s all in the name of practice, anyway, and what we learn  ~ happy painting!

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

First day of fall (sycamore leaf)

First day of fall (sycamore leaf), originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

“Sycamores are among the last trees to go into leaf; in the fall, they are the first to shed. They make sweet food in green broadleaves for a while – leaves wide as plates – and then go wild and wave their long white arms.” ~ Annie Dillard

Today is recognized as the second annual crossing of the equator by the sun, known in the northern hemisphere as the autumnal equinox. The word equinox derives from the Latin, meaning “equal night.” Traditionally, the length of days and nights become the same on this day. Of course, this really depends on where you live and how exactly you wish to measure!

If you are in the northern hemisphere and out and about tonight, look for the moon; this year we’re supposed to experience what is called a Super Harvest Moon. I read that there will be a huge orange moon rising as the sun is setting.

To celebrate these events and our first day of fall, I thought I’d create another version of a sycamore leaf. This one is in my Pentalic Nature Sketch 6 x 12 inch book.

First, I brushed the paper with gesso, letting it dry overnight. Next morning I added the ink sketch and some watercolor washes. Then I layered watercolor pencil strokes here and there with a clear water wash, and added a subtle leaf print or two. The textures seemed to be appropriate to the season and to reflect the dry crinkly texture of the leaf.


The quote above is from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, and is part of a longer exploration of life and nature including trees, time, and sycamores.

Happy equinox!


You can click on the image caption above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

Sycamore leaves

Sycamore leaves, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

 

Although sycamores naturally range into north Florida, landscapers have been planting them in our area of Southwest Florida. I enjoy finding their huge leaves on the ground – they make interesting subjects to draw as they dry and twist and wrinkle into challenging shapes.

 

Sycamore trees are one of our largest species in North America – up to 100 feet or more – and can develop massive trunks. Besides the distinctive huge leaves (these are 11 inches across!), sycamore trees also produce a flaky bark of gray, brown, and cream colors.

 

The scientific name Platanus occidentalis refers to the wide, large leaves (Plantanus from the Greek for broad, and location (occidentalis meaning “western,” as in the western hemisphere).

 

The common name meaning of sycamore is a bit more of a mystery. Online sources give two or three versions, but word-origins.com seems to have the most concise: a compound word evolving via Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and French translations meaning fig-mulberry.

 

I’ve painted sycamore leaves in the past, but this time I wanted to explore those amazing shapes with pencil. I used my PentalicNature Sketch pad, and was happy with the way the tooth grabbed the pencil, and allowed for both soft blending of pencil strokes as welll as distinctive lines.

 

I used an ordinary mechanical pencil for this (.7 mm, probably an HB), and I had to be careful of smearing. If I want to preserve my work, I’ll have to spray it with fixative.

 



 

If you’d like to read more about sycamore trees, I found both of these online articles interesting:

• "Speaking the Plane Truth"  by Arthur C. Gibson
• "American Sycamore Trees: History and Appearance of One of the Largest Eastern Hardwood Species"  by Renie Burghardt

 If you’d like to see my sketchbook paintings of sycamore leaves, please visit my Flickr site and start here. These are a series of leaf studies using different primary triads of Daniel Smith watercolors. The differences are subtle, but I learned a lot!

 

To see the top image larger, just click on it to visit my Flickr photostream.

Giveaway time!

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway to mark the one-year milestone of this blog, A Nature Art Journal. I appreciate the wonderful support I’ve been given over the past year, and this is my way of saying thank you, of giving something back. Here are the winners:

Lisa at Greenbow – Red Maple Leaf

Kathy Johnson – Beach Sunflowers

Nheid2003 – Sand Dollar

If I haven't already emailed you to request your mailing address, please drop me an line to let me know where I should send your ATC.

Thank you!

Elizabeth

Leaf printing

Wild coffee leaves, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Some time ago, I experimented with making prints directly from the leaves of plants and trees. It was a fun way to play with color and form, to see and connect with nature in a unique way.

I developed a completely new appreciation for the plants I selected; I found myself paying more attention to leaf margins and vein patterns, to textures and shapes.

I pressed the leaves for a day or two beforehand to reduce the moisture content – it also made them flatter and more manageable. Then I gathered a variety of paints and materials and set out to see what would work best!

Here is what worked for me:

Watercolors

1. I used scraps of watercolor paper, both hot- and cold-pressed. Hot-press paper will retain more detail because of its smoothness. I normally like a 90 or 140 lb. paper.

2. Since watercolor dries so fast, I brushed pure gum Arabic on the leaf to increase flow and to extend the drying time.

3. I painted over the Gum Arabic with a deeply pigmented wash, trying for an even coat.

4. I then pressed the leaf gently onto the dry paper, covered it with a paper towel and a piece of light pasteboard, and rolled it gently with a brayer (I used a wallpaper seam roller that I had on hand).

5. I carefully removed the board, paper towel, and leaf, and let the paper dry thoroughly.

6. I added a pale color wash behind some of the printed veins, and used a small rigger brush to enhance veins or outlines. Be gentle so you don’t overly disturb the initial print.

Acrylics

1. I used hot-press watercolor paper, scraps of paint canvas, and suede.

2. A medium slurry of acrylic and water is preferable to heavy impasto paint, especially on paper. I found that a more buttery paint consistency works better with heavily textured materials such as canvas and suede.

3. Follow the same technique as the watercolor printing above, skipping the Gum Arabic part.

4. Because acrylic molecules dry and bond more permanently, you can paint over them much sooner than watercolors (just avoid scrubbing them).

A lot of my experimenting is trial and error, and discovering which types of leaves worked best. I find that printing with the leaf underside yields a stronger vein pattern than using the top of the leaf. I also realized that I could use the leaves themselves to plan out compositions beforehand by placing them on my paper and moving them around.

Be prepared to have a few flops as you learn about materials and techniques. Once you practice a bit and find what works for you, you’ll enjoy success! As for me, what could be more fun than playing with leaves and paint and paper?

Click on the topmost image to view it larger on my Flickr photostream, click here to see several other examples of leaf printing.

One year anniversary coming up – my chance to give back

ATC red maple leaf, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

One year? So the calendar tells me. This upcoming Saturday is the one-year anniversary of this blog, A Nature Art Journal. Thank you, dear readers, for encouraging and inspiring me as I explore Florida nature in the ways I enjoy best, through images and words.

To celebrate (!), I’d like to give away the ATC’s (Artists Trading Cards) I’ve been working on: Red Maple Leaf, Sand dollar, and Beach Sunflowers. Comment below or email me by midnight on Saturday, 9-11-10, and I will put the names “in the hat” and choose three winners.

Each ATC is a small original watercolor painting, 3.5 by 2.5 inches, on watercolor paper, signed on the back. The subjects are from some of my favorite past nature journal entries.

 Thank you for joining me in a virtual friendship and fellowship, linked by curiosity and exploration of the common things found in our natural world!

Elizabeth

As always, you can click on the images to view them larger on my Flickr photostream.

Black Vultures, the cleanup crew

Black Vultures, the cleanup crew, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

You know you’re a nature nerd when you find yourself stopping to take photos of vultures hanging out near a fast-food dumpster!

I don't remember this scavenger when I lived in the northern Midwest, but they seem to be abundant in the South – I see them as or more often than the more familiar turkey vultures. My bird books show a range for black vultures extending into South America, and as far north in the United States as Missouri, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania.

Without vultures to clean up dead and decomposing matter, our world would be rampant with disease-causing bacteria (not to mention how untidy and smelly it would become). Although some view vultures as harbingers of death, symbols of filth, or ominous omens – they have an indispensable job in our natural system.

Wikipedia has a nice entry about black vultures, and Saturday, 9-04-10 is International Vulture Awareness Day. Consider this event to be a reminder to learn a little more about these thankless janitors, and to appreciate their role in the circle of life and death on earth.

The more I read about vultures, the more impressed I am by their unique adaptations and value to mankind. Tidbits I found interesting:

• The common name of vulture comes from the Latin word vulturus meaning “tearer.”
• The genus name Cathartidae means “purifier.”
• The scientific name (Coragyps atratus) means “raven-vulture” and “clothed in black.”
• Care must be taken with vulture chicks because they imprint readily with humans.
• Black vultures may choose to migrate or to stay.
• They tend to be social birds.
• Like turkey vultures, they do not sing or call, but hiss and grunt.
• Black vultures are New World Vultures. Current dispute on vulture classification going on!
• They are monogamous.
• Vultures use the sun to bake and kill bacteria from their heads, beaks, and feathers.

You can click on the image above to view it larger on my Flickr photostream.

Parents and teachers:

You can click here to download a PDF coloring page of an ink drawing of the center bird.