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!

An Article for Colored Pencil Magazine

A couple months ago I was asked to write an article for the August issue of Colored Pencil Magazine. It was such a surprise as well as an honor to be included in a publication that is just brimming with beautiful art and information for the colored pencil artist and lovers of the art.

Gerbera Daisy, step - by - step

Gerbera daisy

Colored pencil - Polychromos and Prismacolor

From flower - 

to sketches - 

adding color, layer by layer - 

to finished drawing -

January Journal Entries ~

Flowers on the windowsill ~ Birds at the feeders

In Edith Holden's nature diary she included poetry and other writings. Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening has always been a favorite of mine. The fox sparrow in the corner was inspired by a flock I had seen at the edge of our woods on a foggy afternoon. My first time spotting these little cuties. 

The Journal Project Begins~

Toward the end of 2016 the gallery owner where I show my work shared a book with an artist friend and I. It was a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  The author and artist of the book, Edith Holden, kept a diary of the year 1906. She included nature notes, poetry, personal thoughts and beautiful paintings of the natural world around her. Well, both my friend and I were inspired and each of us went home to order copies of our own.We had decided to take on the challenge of creating our own Nature diaries. 

My hope is that this project will keep me drawing more frequently and provide a place to explore new subjects. Also, with a new grandson in the family, I'm thinking of leaving something from "Gramma" to future generations that might encourage an appreciation for the natural world around them. 

So, we begin. I plan on posting the process along the way with selected entries. Hoping to finish well in December! And I hope you will enjoy it too.