The Herb Garden - Rosemary

 

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

Rosemary is an herb I have grown for many years. I love the way it looks and its piney, woodsy, minty scent. Great for sprinkling on a beef roast as it cooks. I've tried to overwinter rosemary plants in the garden but we just don't have the right climate for them to survive. So, I pot them up and put them in a sunny window in the basement where it's cool. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but it is very much worth the try. Rosemary has pretty little blue flowers that might make an appearance on an older plant. I have one that I've kept for several years. Maybe this year she will bloom!

Rosemary in my garden

For this drawing I used 2 different plants for my models. My potted plant which had sprouted new growth over the winter and I was happy to also find a plant in the early spring offerings at the local greenhouse. This was important to get the color just right. Always better with a live specimen. 

I start with color notes and sketches then move on to the life size compositional drawing. I use tracing paper for this because it is easy to erase. This eliminates the possibility of damaging the good paper as I work things out.

I sometimes tape the sketch onto an outside window to transfer/trace to my good paper over top. This time I used Strathmore 500 plate 4-ply. I had used this paper for another project and really liked it. It worked well for printing the images and I was able to build up multiple layers of colored pencil which doesn't always work with a smooth paper. 

When it was time to start adding color I referred to my color notes I had made in the beginning of this process. While the basil was more of a bright green and the sage leaned toward bluish green, the rosemary was sort of a mix between the two. The colored pencils I used most were - Earth green yellowish, Permanent green olive, Juniper green and Pine green. For the shadow areas I used Chrome oxide green, Red-Violet and a little Cold grey VI. On the undersides of the leaves I added a bit of Sky blue and Ivory for burnishing. All of these colors were Faber Castell Polychromos.

As usual, I really enjoyed getting to know this plant. There is so much we miss because we don't take time to really look.

 

I hope you are enjoying this series! The third and last article will feature the Sage drawing. 

You can find my artwork at ~ TwigsAndPetals

 

 

 

The Herb Garden - Basil

Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Basil is a favorite herb both for it's beautiful, fragrant leaves and for it's many uses. It is a symbol of "good wishes" according to the language of plants and flowers of the Victorian era. It grows very well here and is very easy for me to start from seed. You want to plant it in a sunny spot and keep it watered but not soggy. I have grown it in a pot on my kitchen windowsill and it does fairly well. Just enough to give us a taste of summer in the dead of winter. 

I have grown 2 varieties of basil this summer. The Genovese, a sweet basil with a strong aromatic flavor. It's great for using in pesto, that wonderful pasta sauce with olive oil, garlic, chopped walnuts or pine nuts and parmesan cheese. Other summertime treats we enjoy when there is an abundance of basil and tomatoes to be harvested are Caprese salad and Bruschetta. You can find the recipes for these dishes with many variations online and in cookbooks dedicated to cooking with herbs. 

Another basil in the garden this year is Dark Opal. It's a beautiful dark red-violet in color with pink flowers that makes a wonderful herbal vinegar. I love it on a green salad with olive oil and a pinch of salt.

So, that's a little background on why I enjoy this herb so much. A great plant to spend time with and draw. 

(First, I must say, this is really not a complete "step by step", I'm just sharing a few notes on how I came to the finished drawing. Maybe more detailed process posts will be something to think about in the future.)

I decided on a bunch of 3 stalks for the composition - one facing upward, one toward me and one facing away showing the underside of the leaves. I learned a lot about mixing greens in these drawings. Basil was the brightest of the three. First, I started mapping in the shadows with FC (Faber-Castell Polychromos) Permanent green olive. Then impressed some FC Cream in the larger veins to help resist color in these areas.

I applied a layer of FC Earth green yellowish next and then started darkening the shadows with FC Red violet and FC Chrome oxide green. I use these two colors a lot for my dark green shadows. I believe I used small amounts of FC Dark sepia and FC Dark indigo as well.  

I added a bit of FC Light yellow ochre on the tips of a couple of the leaves and highlights to give some variation as my specimen showed. Also a little FC Sky blue added to the backs of the leaves that were turned away from me. 

There were quite a few layers of these colors, as always in my work, and this is the finished piece.

The next herb featured in this series will be Rosemary, the herb for remembrance.

You may visit my Etsy shop if you like for note cards of the 3 herb designs.  

And, the project that started it all, pillows from TheWhiteCottageCo.

The Herb Garden Assortment
2 each of 3 designs

 

The Herb Garden

This past spring I spent an enjoyable couple months working on a project for Mary from TheWhiteCottageCo.  The design she had envisioned was a pillow with 3 herb plants in a row as well as smaller pillows illustrated with each individual herb.  It was so much fun working on this with her. She was so nice to work with.  They turned out great!  It's so gratifying to see my drawings made into something that people can use and enjoy everyday. (You can see the pillows HERE if you like...as well as many other lovely things Mary  has in her shop.)

Another reason I enjoyed this so much is because herbs are one of my favorite things.  From growing them in the herb garden behind our house~

to preserving them by drying, freezing or in herb vinegars and, of course, using them in tasty recipes.  I have many books I go to for inspiration, with well-worn covers torn and pages stained by ingredients used in the herbal recipes within.  Two of my favorites are The Pleasure of Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys and my favorite from the very beginning, Herbs Through the Seasons at Caprilands by Adelma Simmons. 

So, this all got me thinking.  Why don't I do something a little different and combine my love of art, gardening, cooking and herbs and feature each of the plants I had drawn in the next 3 articles? I am by no means an "expert", I just would like to share a little about my drawing process as well as some info on how I grow, preserve and cook with these wonders of nature that give us so much pleasure. 

I hope you will enjoy! 

 

 

New Projects

                                         

        I have been thinking about adding more items to my shop featuring some of my botanical art. I've decided on flour sack tea towels for a start. Having a love for baking and cooking and also being a big fan of fine teas, teatime, tea parties...then there's gardening and botanical art, well, this seemed like a perfect fit for me. Canvastry.com  has done a great job with the colors, definition of detail along with a nice quality fabric. They have been tested and they machine wash and dry very well. There are also no problems with ironing. 

    

     In doing some research I've found there are many uses for flour sack towels~

           

          -They are lint free so they're great for drying glassware and dishes.

          -A gift of bread or baked goods would look lovely wrapped in a floral towel featuring the recipient's favorite flower.

         

         -So pretty lining a tea tray for afternoon tea

     Well, you get the idea. I'm sure you can think of many other uses as well. 

      I will be adding more items to join these towels in my Etsy shop TwigsAndPetals in the near future. Coasters and pillow covers are coming soon~   

  

Returning to Unfinished Projects

 

                                    

Pumpkin - colored pencil on Fabriano Artistico h/p watercolor paper

Two years ago during an Autumn trip to the local apple orchard I found this very interesting pumpkin. I loved the bluish-green and pinky-orange skin with its craggy stem. Throw in a few bumps and scratches and you have one pumpkin overflowing with character.  

I did, with good intentions, start drawing, making color notes and taking photos. But, as 'life happened', I had to put this one aside for awhile.

A couple of weeks ago as I was cleaning out the studio, I found him again and thought it was a good time to finish. There are others as well in my files that I will be working on before summer gardens, fields and woods put forth a bounty of inspiration for future works. 

An Article in The Botanical Artist

In the summer of 2020 I was surprised (and a little nervous) when contacted by Laura Bethmann from the ASBA (American Society of Botanical Artists) who wanted to interview me for an article in The Botanical Artist, a quarterly publication of the organization. I so enjoyed the lovely conversation we had. And this was the result. Just thought I'd share. :) 

 

Adding an amaryllis to the accordion sketchbook~

I'm still plugging along with my sketching. I shouldn't really make it sound like it's a chore, because it's a very relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon, which is what I did here. I've added an amaryllis flower, leaf and bud to a large space in my accordion sketchbook. 

This flower was especially beautiful in form and color. My son-in-law had given me several bulbs last summer which I left grow outside, cured in the fall and took in this winter. It was a fun project, one I had never tried before. I've had several that have bloomed so far, and several that I don't think will flower this spring. Maybe in the summer? maybe next spring? With gardening--as with making art--sometimes surprising things happen that we don't expect.

 

Art spaces

Welcome to my studio! This week I thought I'd show you my current art making space and write a little about making time in the day for art.

During the winter and early spring I often move from my larger basement studio to this room upstairs. It's warmer, brighter and just more cozy. It's not elaborate but I have everything I need on this 5 foot folding table along the wall of my daughter's former bedroom. 

But a special room isn't always necessary for the practice that's so valuable in the in-between time. I have been taking a few pencils and sketchbook along with my portable drawing board to sketch while sitting on the living room couch in the evenings. 

No matter where I make art it becomes my "happy place" and I wonder sometimes why I sometimes find it so hard to go there. Maybe it's the fear of starting? Maybe it's the pile of laundry or dishes in the sink that need my immediate attention (or, so I think). But will 15 minutes away from the chores of the day really make that much difference? I think not.

So, I think it's just a matter of scheduling in a bit of sketching every day to achieve my goal of steady improvement in the art I make. 

And here's what's on the drawing board today. Working on color notes and sketches before all the flowers fade. More on that later ~

 

An Accordion Sketchbook for your nature sketching

 If you have an interest in sketching the world around you, here is an inexpensive sketchbook you can make yourself using only a few materials - a large sheet of drawing paper, ruler, a pencil and scissors, and a bone folder or back of a metal spoon.

Accordion books have been around for awhile. They can be elaborate works of art in themselves but they are just as beautiful as a simple creation that can be closed and tied with a string and easily displayed standing up on a mantle or shelf if constructed with a sturdy paper. 

There are lots of "how-to" tutorials online but this is just a brief overview of how I made mine. 

The first and most important step is to find a sheet of paper that will work well with the medium you will be using - in this case, graphite pencil.  I have used a piece of Strathmore 500 2-ply Bristol, vellum finish.  It has a bit of a "tooth" to grab the graphite so you can achieve nice darks as well as fine detail.  Any sturdy drawing paper will do.

I have measured the paper a height of 7" x 30" length. This made a book of 6 sections measuring 5" x 7" when it is closed.  Once the sections had been measured and folded, I used a bone folder to crease the folds smooth and flattened to make it more like a book.  You can also use the back of a metal spoon for this.

Now your book is ready for your sketches!  This would also be a great project for children.  A classy keepsake that is easy to display and easy to store. 

I'd love to hear from you if you chose to do this project.  Just leave a comment with this post - perhaps with a photo? :) 

Materials used and where I got them ~ 

Strathmore Bristol vellum finish

        

Derwent graphic pencils

Traditional Bone folder

My favorite art supply source ~ 

Dick Blick Art Supplies

Cotton branch drawing inspired by a childhood memory

A memory I have as a young girl is of a cotton boll Dad brought home one evening. I don't remember where he got it or of anything ever being said about it but I remember it being kept in a drawer below our hall closet. It was in a plastic bag and I would get it out from time to time to touch it and be totally amazed at how it much it resembled the cotton balls from the drug store. Living in the north never seeing cotton branches before it was such an unusual, fascinating wonder to this little girl. 

Fast forward to 2 years ago while I was shopping with a friend. We were in the home decor section and there before me was a display with container after container of imitation cotton branches, literally cotton balls on sticks. ;) Well, I thought I must make this my next project. 

So, I went to Etsy and, of course, I found a vendor called SouthernNature who sold cotton branches--the real thing! Not surprising because you can find everything on the internet these days, you know. 

In the photo above you can see the model, graphite studies in my sketchbook and detail of the colored pencil drawing. Such beautiful fluffiness and the structure of the opened seed case made a lovely contrast. 

When we think of cotton we think "white". But a closer look at the boll in its natural form shows many colors. I used a variety of pinks, purples and yellows as well. 

It was a very enjoyable project. And here is the final work with cotton branches I used for reference~

All that's left are the leaves~

With the work on the flower completed I am anxious to finish this drawing. But one thing I don't want to do is hurry when I work on the leaves. It's so easy to rush with all that green! 

I love the way complimentary colors work together. Using a purple-y red, in this case, FC Red violet, I go into the shadows to add a little glow and to tone down the green color. I have also used Dark indigo and Dark sepia in the deepest shadows of the leaves. The same greens and shadow colors were also used for the stem and thorns.

I have been intensifying the colors of the flower as the work progressed. When you darken one part of the drawing it's often necessary to darken another area. For the deepest shadows in the petals I used Derwent lightfast Violet. I was really pleased with the way this color worked out. Red violet was also used along with touches of Cold grey IV and Dark sepia.

So, this project is finished! I hope you enjoyed following my process. There is so much more I could say, but I thought I would share the basics. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments below. 

 

Drawing a favorite rose ~ adding color

The process is getting a little easier now that the desired composition is decided upon and drawn with detail and everything is transferred to the "good paper".  Now the fun part -- adding color.  

As you can see, I have cut out a rough outline of the rose in a sheet of tracing paper. I have learned that sometimes the color will travel in the process of drawing. And if I would get a crumb of colored pencil on the paper and rub over it accidentally it is very hard to erase. So this helps a bunch so that won't happen and the white of the surrounding paper will stay clean.

The colors I will be using have been chosen in my preliminary sketches and I will be using my color notes (upper right photo).  

I first use a medium shade pink to map in the shadows (left). This gives me sort of a map to follow. Then I follow with the darkest shades in the shadows slowly, with a light touch and sharp pencils, adding color layer by layer. 

I am mostly using FC Polychromos pencils with Process Red from Prismacolor and Lyra Rembrandt Rose madder lake.

 

Drawing a favorite rose ~ The Transfer

Now that the drawing is complete and I'm satisfied with the composition, it's time to transfer the drawing to a piece of Fabriano Artistico bright white, hot press watercolor paper. I like the smooth texture of this paper as well as it's ability to take many layers of colored pencil while keeping sharp details. This is very important to my technique. The paper is also acid-free to avoid yellowing. 

In this piece, I made my initial drawing in my sketchbook and transferred to a sheet of tracing paper to allow more light to come through. 

I sometimes use a "light box" that my husband had made for me. He's really handy that way and helps me out a lot. :)  But if it's a sunny day, taping it up on the window works great for me. The tracing paper goes up first with the watercolor paper over top. I'm using a Derwent HB pencil to do the tracing.

After I've finished with the transfer it's time for color! 

Drawing a favorite rose ~ sketching and color notes

Once I've chosen the flower and leaves I want to draw, I use a floral water tube to keep it hydrated and attach it to a clamp to keep the specimen upright. I have to work fast with these first steps because roses tend to wilt and lose their petals quickly. I also take many close up photographs to use after the flower fades.

First of all, I drew a detailed sketch - from the live specimen as long as was possible. I took measurements using a tool called a divider in order to make a life-sized rendering.

It was helpful to use a single petal as a guide while I worked out my color combinations. I also tried to replicate the fine details of the petal.

Here is the complete page of preliminary sketches and materials I used to make them. I have also added a detailed sketch of a single leaf. I like to draw a sphere with the lightest to the darkest shades for each color of the piece. It is helpful to make a chart of the colors and the order in which they are used. I've found that it eliminates a lot of frustration and time in creating the finished piece when I do this.

Next time, I'll show you how I transfer the drawing to the "good paper". 

 

 

Drawing Series of a favorite rose

Rosa gallica 'Officinalis' - colored pencil on h/p watercolor paper 

One my favorite plants in the cottage garden behind our house are the roses. I really love the old- fashioned types ~ lovely forms and scents. Probably the most fragrant is the Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’, a beautiful clear pink with an amazing scent. It only blooms for a short while in late spring/early summer so I try to gather a few flower heads to dry for potpourri or just to fill a bowl of dried petals to scent a corner of the room. They keep their scent very well when dried.

I was happy to be able to do a drawing of a single blossom last year. It actually took a couple of years to complete as the flower wilted and lost its petals very quickly and I had to put the piece away to do other things. Thankfully, with the aid of photographs, a few detailed sketches, measurements and color notes I was able to get a good likeness.

I thought I would share a series of posts with photos and notes for anyone who might be interested in my process. I enjoyed the work so much and hope you will too!

Old-Fashioned Peonies

One of the most beautiful of the old-fashioned garden flowers is the peony (Paeonia officinalis). With its lovely scent and form, it is one of my favorites and I always wish that its blooming season would last a little longer. I was given this particular plant by a dear friend whose home had a collection of flowers and plants planted by previous owners through the years. This was one of them. Really no idea of who or when, but I like to think about the first gardener who planted and saw this lovely pink flower bloom for the first time. 

I thought I would share how this drawing came to be, from plant to sketches to finished colored pencil painting.

First of all, I like to make a few sketches and note the color mixes I will use to get the accurate colors of the plant. You can see here that I have made a couple detailed drawings of certain areas of my specimen.

Along with my sketches I almost always take photographs of the flowers before I start to work because, as you see here, they tend to wilt, move and drop their petals. I draw my working sketch on a piece of acid free tracing paper. It is easy to erase as I work out the composition.

After I transfer my drawing to the "good paper" (here I have used Fabriano Artistico) I use my color notes when I begin to use colored pencil. I am using Faber Castell Polychromos and a few Prismacolor colored pencils.

To keep the white of the paper clean, I make a cut-out of tracing paper to surround my drawing as I work. This protects the paper from a stray crumb from a bright pink colored pencil--something that is very difficult to erase.

To get a smooth, rich color it takes many layers with a light touch from pencils which I constantly keep sharpened to a very sharp point.

Petals are finished!

Beginning to build color on leaves, stems and bud.

Finished drawing!

This piece is available as note cards and as a fine art reproduction as well.

Click Here to visit my Etsy shop to purchase.

  

Nature Journaling Revisited

At the beginning of 2017 I had started a nature journal project. I started out with gusto for the first few months. It was winter, a slow time for a gardener and botanical artist. But as the months went by, my entries began to slow down too --until it came to an abrupt stop when summer rolled around. 

Rather than be discouraged, I reminded myself that there was no deadline. The only pressure that came would be coming from me. So, rather than keeping to a rigorous schedule I would just work on it when I felt like it and, yes, enjoy the process. 

So here is April, the newest page, terribly behind but finished at last!