Pittosporaceae

Pittosporaceae

Medium: Watercolor pencils & watercolors

Size: 9x12 inches

I was originally going to work on my companion piece to Nocturne today, and I did get a good start on finalizing the sketch, and then laying down the first wash. But the wash was taking a long time to dry, so I decided to scratch my botanical illustration itch. Been a while since the last piece. 

Snagged a few samples from my yard, since I really liked the woody seed pods of this plant.

 

After sketching, I very roughly colored with watercolor pencils, getting the basic colors blocked. Yellow veins, Greenish tones for most of the body of leaves, with some blue highlights.

Then I took a wet brush and painted all the areas, keeping the light/dark areas mostly separated to avoid too much blending.

After the water:

When that dried, I started going back in with watercolors to get more subtlety to the coloration. I like that the watercolor pencils add another layer of texture that feels organic and fitting to the subject matter, which is why I use it a lot for these types of works.

Tummy growled. 

Food break.

Yes, that is my fox plate staring at you with leftover Chinese dim-sum on it.

Break done, back to work. More layers of watercolors painted onto the lower dark glossy leaves.

I constantly refer to the sample when drawing. There's something about having a specimen in hand that you can turn around and examine from different angles, and really get in close to see the fine webwork texture of veins in the leaves. I've tried drawing botanical pieces from photos, but I always feel like I'm missing stuff that the camera didn't capture.

Went back and forth with watercolors and watercolor pencils, working in more depth of color.

Mixing a nice deep green....

Towards the end I add very select touches of highlights with a white gel pen.

And blend that in with a wet brush.

And for the very final step I use a fine lined neutral-toned gel pen. I like this moss green in particular, but I've also used browns and grays in other pieces. I like the sort of graphic quality it lends to do select outlining.

Beginning of year sale

Beginning of the year SALE! 30%-65% off original prices!
LOTS of pieces recently added to this list. There are very limited quantities of them left, so once they are sold out, they will no longer be available. Orders will be first come-first-served, and I will try to update the status of available prints frequently, but some items may sell out before I can update (in which case you will be contacted and refunded).

Dreamsign

Dreamsign

Size: 14x14 inches

Medium: Mixed

For detail closeups & prints ($16.95), -click here-

"Dreamsign" -- the elusive anomaly that a dreamer can learn to use to gain lucidity. It is a moment when clarity pierces the fog. Ironically it is often in the form of the nonsensical and out-of-place. Suddenly the fabrications of the mind become apparent as such. Exhilaration and control take the place of fear, anxiety, or confusion, and perhaps carry over in some small measure to the waking. Muhru is dreamsign. The sound of his wings beat like a pulse through all dreams, and he is the guardian of the thin line the separates the knowing from the unknowing.

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Some of the in progress photos:

I have long wanted to revisit this concept from earlier 2013. The first piece was a very impromptu painting that emerged from the ink and paint splatters. I wanted to retain that dreamy emergence aspect of it while developing it more though.

Initial brainstorming and sketching.

Finalized sketch. I didn't do any pre-sketching for the background -- I was going to let that develop organically.

 Had an idea to make the key a little bit 3-dimensional. Originally thought to get out my paper clay and mold some of that, but it would involve opening a whole package for just a tiny bit of clay, and paper clay tends to dry out very quickly once the air-tight package is opened. So I went for just very thickly applied watercolor ground. Tried it out on a test scrap of paper first and was pleased with the results, so then I went ahead with it on the final painting.

Applied gold leaf to the raised key.

Adder Stone

Adder Stone

Medium: Mixed

Size: 12x16 inches

Prints: 8.5x11 inch ($16.95) available -here-

An adder stone that has a naturally occurring hole in it. Such stones were thought to grant magical powers to the bearer, among with was the ability to see through fairy illusions, but also sometimes invisibility, defense against the evil eye, and curative properties.

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Sketches and the process:

 Initial sketches and brainstorming that I did over Christmas while away from my paints and desk. I did a lot of thumbnail drawings in my sketchbook.

This was the initial finalized thumbnail I arrived at. It was only when I was just about to start the meticulous finer sketch that I noticed the figure was almost exactly the same pose as the one in a painting I did in 2012 entitled Firefly Hunters.

So I had to rethink the composition a bit and came up with this instead:

 

First layer of paint to create a base layer of texture.

After that dried, I sprayed fixative so that I could retain the lovely ink textures. Then I started back in with a large flat brush with opaque white watercolor ground, and also started adding tints of color to various sections.

After the main areas were blocked in, I could take smaller brushes and pens and start to pull out the fine details in the background, starting with the background trees.

Started adding more contrast in the foreground elements.

And getting more detailed.

Nocturne

Nocturne

Size: 15x19 inches

Medium: Watercolor, ink, metallics, leafing

Detail closeups, and prints ($16.95 & $26.75) available here

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The original painting will be on exhibit and for sale at Krab Jab Studio during the month of February for the Faery themed group show.

 I feel like I've been wandering through this forest in various paintings in the past few months. I've skirted the borders of these woods, catching glimpses in one painting or another of the golden core tucked in the boles of the trees. So it was time to explore further under those tangled dark branches.

One of the inspirations for this piece was a photo I took of a sycamore at Gilroy Gardens earlier this year. It's actually made of 12 (I think?) grafted trees.

Some initial brainstorming sketches I did while away from my desk over Christmas. At first I was planning to have other nymphs bathing in the pools as well.

The finalized sketch prepared for painting.

And then the tortuous early stages. It's terrifying to meticulously sketch out a piece filled with fine details, and then to pour paint and ink all over it in a big ugly mess. The pencil lines are still there, very faint, buried under the ink. When I do this technique, I have to spray fix the pencil ahead of time or else I run the risk of completely obliterating all that work and ending up with no guidelines.

After letting the large splashes of ink and watercolor dry as a base coat for an hour at least, I can go back and work in details, pulling shapes and forms out of the mess of texture. I use a variety of mediums at this point.

Doing this stuff is my favorite part. I love finding the textures and pulling out form from the random chaos of separating pigments.

I use gel pens to do some finer white highlights and details.

Hrafnagud: Raven-God

Raven God

Size: 11x7.5 inches

Medium: Mixed

For detail closeup pictures, and prints ($16.95), -click here-

One of Norse god Odin's many names: Hrafnagud, Raven God. For his companions Huginn and Muninn. They fly out across the world at dawn and return to him in the evening with information of what they have seen.  

This original will be on exhibit at Krab Jab Studio in Seattle, WA in the "Quoth the Raven" group show taking place from January 11 - January 30.

Magpies: Six & Seven

So, I've arrived at the end of my seven magpies. But I'm having so much fun and loving this series, that I want to do more! Extended versions of the rhyme are more rare, and you don't usually hear past 7. So now I'm trying to decide which of these to go with:

Eight for heaven, nine for hell,
And ten for the devil's own sel'.

or

eight for a wish,
nine for a kiss,
ten for a time
of joyous bliss.

Very different imagery to go with one or the other.

The entire series can be found here: http://www.shadowscapes.com/line.php?line=34

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Six for Gold

Seven for a Secret Never to be Told