This page is getting fuller by the day! What started off as semi-circular botanical motifs has taken a direction of it’s own. Oh, the starting shape is basically the same – an arch. But some of my arches are now tall and thin!
They’re not all botanical anymore either. Some feel distinctly mechanical, others more coral-like. The more semi-circular ones look like fancy fish scales. The tall and thin ones look a bit like feathers.
Hence the name change. However, what is the same is the idea of exploring patterns/basic shapes and seeing where that leads. What happens is the page becomes filled with lots of variations on a theme. Like here.
I enjoy these more abstract motifs, lots. They’re fun to do and the only limits are your imagaination and/or creativity.
I didn’t film all of the new motifs being drawn, but here’s today’s vlog.
At the top of the photo is the almost completed sketchbook page for the recent seed pod pattern explorations.
I’ve gone a bit wild with colour! I wanted to see how using graphite under-shadowing worked with Ecoline Watercolour Inks, and to see how that ‘stained glass’, fragmented background would work.
I think, going forward, I need to think more about using different sets of colours for the background and motifs. I don’t know though for sure. I do like this kind of background though.
I’ve not added pattern to any of these background sections…yet. Maybe I’ll look at that in the coming days.
At the bottom of the photo are the motifs I drew in today’s vlog. These are all based on circular/semi-circular kinds of pods, capsules, designs. Some are quite architectural in feel, but also work as botanicals.
Yesterday’s realisation that the bigger seed pods reminded me of the photos taken of horsetail plants by Karl Blossfeldt. He believed that “the plant must be valued as a totally artistic and architectural structure.”
I tend to agree with him! I often describe winter as the season where nature shows off the underlying architecture of the natural world. we can see the support structure of trees and other woody plants. Land that was hidden by foliage and flower is revealed, showing how the swathes of trees follow the contours of the land, it’s streams and rivers and so on.
I don’t like the cold of winter, nor the short days. The limited sunlight tends to lower my mood a lot, and a sunlight therapy lamp is needed on may days to stave off creeping depression and despair at my abilities. But I do like being able to see that architecture, the way the patterns in the world are so different. That makes up for the short days!
It’s hard not to see how architects of the past must have been influenced by nature. The soaring columns with arched ceilings in gothic churches and cathedrals look so much like stone trees.
It’s no wonder, when I think about how much I enjoyed exploring Blossfeldt’s work, amongst others, when I started my artistic journey around two decades ago, that I can see their influence in my work.
I took a break from drawing Adorable Dogs coloring templates (nearly all done, at least in sketch form…) to do some art just for fun. And that means, at this moment in time, seed pods. The three to the top right are today’s creations.
I couldn’t remember what plant they reminded me of. I thought mullein, but that’s not right. The closest I could figure out is Banskia seed pods, and these may be a very stylised interpretation of them. But not the stems. Weird stems are my own imagination in overdrive.
Of course, the drawings need shadow, colour and highlight to bring them to some kind of life. So, as I’m enjoying using graphite pencils for shading and watercolour pencils to add colour so much, that’s what I did.
I also tried adding some black line patterns to intensify the contrast and add interest to some of the shapes that make up the pods. That was just to see what happens. After all, this page is part of a sketchbook full of pattern explorations. It’s about giving myself permission to experiment, not to have to finish anything. The end result, I hope, will be something I dip into for inspiration at times when I don’t seem to have much of it.
It’s taken me a long time, but I’m starting to appreciate how important open space is in a drawing. I completed a drawing at the weekend. I hadn’t left much in the way of open space and it just felt really cluttered and confusing. So, progress made!
Even though I knew I wanted to leave some open space, I still needed to make sure that the other collections of seed pods and so on felt like they worked together, that there was a flow and connection. So, I tackled that in this video too.
I knew I wanted to put some texture and pattern in the background. So, I used a white Sakura Souffle pen to add some simple, fairly airy patterns.
Now, I just need to decided how much of this drawing to complete. It’s an exploration of patterns and techniques, a sketchbook page. It’s freeing to accept that I can do as much, or as little, as I wish to this page. It’s a chance for me to practice and experiment with different media and techniques with no pressure on creating a polished, finished piece of art.
Today is the third session of work on this drawing. I’ve added some more ornate seed pods, based on the same simple form as the original ones, and some foliage. Here’s the link to today’s video.
I wanted to see how Graphitint pencils worked with the Albrecht Durer water colour pencils. Mainly, I wanted to see how the graphite in the Graphitint would add shadow to the colour. I did this on a couple of the new flowers at the bottom left. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on, but it’s something for me to experiment with more.
I had a ‘ta-da!’ moment as I was talking about where to place the next collection of motifs. I realised that I do think about this, very quickly and not in words. There’s some kind of analysis that goes on that I don’t quite catch, probably because it is in symbols/abstractions rather than words. Having to put words to the thoughts and decisions I was making had two effects. One, my thoughts were slowed down. Two, the words let me realise that I do think!
I’ve mentioned this before, but there seem to be two styles of inner monologue – one is in words, the other rather abstract. Apart from my inner critic, my thoughts tend to be of the abstract kind it seems.
“As in, some people’s thoughts are like sentences they ‘hear’, and some people just have abstract non-verbal thoughts, and have to consciously verbalize them And most people aren’t aware of the other type of person.”
mymodernmet.com/inner-monologue/
I certainly have to consciously verbalise my thoughts, either by writing or by having to speak them out loud. The weird thing is, I’m often not aware of any opinion or idea or thoughts I have until I do verbalise them. That means I constantly surprise myself!
Anyway, by making YouTube videos, I’m having to vocalise my decisions and thought processes as I draw and that means I’m becoming more aware of what is going on in my head, well in terms of putting words to it. So, this ‘ta-da!’ moment is one of many I’ve had whilst being an arty vlogger. That is a very valuable experience for me.
So, this drawing is coming along quite nicely I think. I’m really enjoying these times to experiment and try stuff out without being invested in a finished, polished artwork. I’ve finally found a way to give myself permission to try things out when I think of them, without worrying about whether they work or not, whether I spoil an artwork or not. It’s a very freeing experience for the hyper-perfectionist part of me.
All the patterns in my sketchbook, and the arch, are variations of a basic grid pattern. A pattern based on Romanesque architecture – something I really, really love.
As I filmed the drawing of the arched patterns, I made many ‘mistakes’, which I worked with to create more variations.
Adding shadow to the central border in the arch really brought it to life. Something that made me smile, a lot. In fact, working with geometric patterns, especially ones that remind me so much of the architecture that I love, made me smile a lot.
It’s amazing how many patterns that are distinctly different can come from the same basic architecture of the pattern – the pencil grid and the initial zig-zag shapes in this example.
I do hope you have a look at the video and have a go at drawing along with me.
The page of Eetings is complete, for now, so time to start looking at some new patterns!
My next page is going to be filled with border patterns. You can see I’ve used many border patterns in the work in progress. Quite a few are found in Romanesque architecture, or Early Celtic art.
As I use arched border patterns a lot in my art, I thought it would be nice to show how I draw them in my next series of pattern explorations.
So that is what I did in today’s video.
I don’t know what’s up with me today, but I’m more scatter-brained and wittery than usual.
In the video, I show how I’ve added colour to more, but not all, of the Eetings.
The sketchbook page for pattern 1 is filling up nicely! Some more variations added today. The pinky-purple and greens look nice together, adding a kind of playful feel to the drawing added today. Joining the motifs in a Morrisseau tangle pattern way also adds interest and plenty of spaces that may be begging for colour and/or patterns! Who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Here’s the video/vlog that shows the addition of the next bits and pieces of this page.
Sample is quite an apt word as this drawing does remind me a bit of an embroidery sampler. It’s been a while since I last designed one of these, and it’s always fun to do.
This kind of sampler template is perfect if you get overwhelmed by the thought of completing a full sized, intricate template. As this one is split up into small sections for you, you can spend as much, or as little, time as you wish adding colour.
Art is the Adventure 