I wanted to paint on the deck today, but let it go until too late in the afternoon: the clouds are back. Nonetheless, I did manage to get in a 30-minute session outside painting an iris and a rose I picked in my yard today. (The rose is a McCartney tea rose; if you ever see this variety--get one! My plant is leggy--I'm an inept pruner--but produces huge, extraordinarily fragrant, velvety, Barbie-pink blooms.)
Irises I continue to struggle with--though the one in the middle here is my best yet. I think maybe I see too many: too many folds, too many shades of red-blue-purple, too many intricacies--looking in, through the petals ...
I need to do some Emil Nolde-ish irises to break out of my too careful approach.
I wanted to keep this sketchy, and not lose so much of the drawing, but, I overdid it ... I like the subject though, and with some adjustments, I think I can do it again.
I put the drawing in just because I think it's nicer than the painting; for some reason, the composition seems to work better when it's only lines ... BTW I drew this watercolor pencils, a small set I found in the closet (I lost my more extensive set--which was in a really neat canvas roll-up thingy I bought separately; but I haven't seen one in any of the catalogs recently, so if you know where I can get one, please let me know; so much easier that carrying those tins they come in) on my trip to NM; I think some TSA officer must be an aspiring artist!)
I agree, that middle iris is the best. I think they're all lovely, and the rose, wow. Thanks for showing the drawing by itself too.
ReplyDeleteDo you know about Dick Blick for art supplies? http://www.dickblick.com/
what a beautiful post. One of your best. No hesitation in the drawing. That would be a fine piece in and of itself.
ReplyDeleteIgnorance is bliss as I look at your irises and think they look just like the ones in Ruth's herb bed. Your half painted sketches remid me of the unfinished painting of George Washington. Did he die or something?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ruth. I'll check DickBlick.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes feel pulled between drawing and painting; maybe that's good--hopefully one benefits the other.
I have been realizing more lately--no doubt in large part from looking at your photos--that what I need to do is not draw or paint more, but look more, see more!
Hi Bill. Thanks so much. Funny you say "no hesitation," because I did appraoch it as a contour drawing, trying to keep the line moving from shape to shape without too much plotting.
Thanks Don. I'd say Ignorance is bliss in a lot of ways! ;-) Sometimes I wish I could go back to when I first started painting watercolors and unlearn all I've "learned"! I don't know what happened with that Washington portrait--it's a great one; something to Google!
It's a very good drawing, Laura but I love what you've done with the added watercolour. Just enough of it and not overworked. Lovely.
ReplyDelete