Just as I was looking for what to create next, nature gave me a job.
In an earlier post I wrote about searching through recent sketches for ideas. Then?a juvenile robin hit my window. We use window decals to discourage birds from flying too near, but sometimes it happens.
I was sad that I wasn't able to save him. However, I decided to draw him, so that others could appreciate his beauty.
Later,?a bouquet of ?sunflowers arrived in the arms of visiting friends.
They were the perfect accompaniment for the bird, with his orange-red feathers, and delicately spotted chest.
I love the prisms in my studio window, they discourage bird hits, and they also make it a little easier to work inside on a sunny day.
As I continued to draw, I needed more sunflowers. I found these fantastic blooms at our local Farmer's ?Market.
By the time the sunflowers started ?to droop, I was done with the initial?drawing. At that point, I began to work with pastel pencils, gradually erasing the graphite as I went along.
Pastel pencil is a new medium for me.
Part of the pleasure of trying something new is figuring out how to get it all to work.?It is the kind of puzzle I?love.
In this case, there were?many interesting textures: the soft, bright petals, the nubby seed head, the silky underside of the wing feathers, and the shiny beak of the bird. I went over each area several times, gradually getting closer to the effect I wanted.
Click here to see the finished drawing.
This is a detail of?Young Robin?in progress. The finished piece turned out very well!
Where?you can see this drawing?in person:
Four Alaskan artists,?K N Goodrich,?Mary Ida Henrikson,?Amy Meissner, and I have joined up to create this show:
Fragments of ?Time,?September 2 - 30, 2016. Opening September 2, 5 - 7 PM
Location: Leah J Peterson Gallery, Alaska Pacific University, 4101 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska.
In addition to this piece, I will be showing 3 other recent works. Please come have a look!
Now for?my?series?How it Looks in a Frame:?Page of Seashells,?17 w x 14"h, graphite?on paper.?To see it without a frame,?click here.
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