The Heron

I finished "The Heron" this evening.  I had been working on it for a few days on and off.  It started from a photograph I had taken of a heron at the Cincinnati Zoo.  He was in an enclosure so there was no natural background to include. Due to the lack of background interest, I had to come up with my own.  This is something I haven rarely done, of have done successfully.  I did a lot of research into marshes, herons in marshes, and reeds vs cattails.  I had to figure out my horizon line and the light source.  I ended up doing this piece backwards (I didn't think it all the way through).  I didn't complete the background at all before I drew in the heron and cattails.  So that was a challenge.  Working with a light source that I determined would be behind the heron, I adjusted my cattails accordingly, and rather successfully.  However, as I looked it over I realized the lighting didn't match the heron's.  This was the lighting issue I had mentioned previously.  This was corrected by just making the heron much darker than I originally rendered him. My next major challenge was water.  I have never sketched water before.  Again, I went back to researching images of marsh water and other graphite drawings.  I think it came out alright.  Probably the least successful element of the piece I think.  Overall, very happy with my heron and I hope you enjoy it as well.

"The Heron"
16x13
 Graphite on Strathmore 80#

Unlikely

Sometimes you just have to MAKE yourself do it. I've fussed all day about what my next project should be. The lobsters are almost done, just waiting on a critique from a friend. I've googled and I've googled, not finding anything inspiring. I revisited some familiar and favoritie artists. Like previously mentioned, Emily Carr is my latest muse. I would LOVE to learn how to paint like her. Granted I have to learn how to paint first. That will have to wait though. The local art center, The Dahl, in Rapid City offers classes. Of course, the painting class is pretty much over, so I'll have to wait until after the holidays.

In the meantime...

I've determined what I need to do to help me refine and refresh my skills. I'm going to have to do some reproductions of works that I admire. Maybe through them I will be able to try different techniques. However, there is one medium I am pretty good at. Graphite. So why push myself into the unfamiliar when I'm getting back in the swing of things?

While taking a break from looking for inspiration I found it. In high school, we had an art assignment where we took a photograph and camoflauged it using multiple patterns virtually obscuring the image. The piece I completed acutally won an award. I was flipping though the pages of "O" Oprah's magazine when I found a really intersting hair advertisement. It's from this ad that I used to begin and complete my latest work.

This piece was completed on Strathmore 80lb drawing paper. Derwent Drawing Pencils (F, H, 3B) were used to complete the body of the figure. Sharpie fine point marker was used for the patterned hair.