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~