Wednesday 27 November 2013

Dark and moody teal vase composition (or not)

Last night as I was trying to get myself and Alexander to sleep, I got a picture in my head for an acrylic painting.  Actually, it was more a 'colour composition'. I bought my mum this teal vase for her birthday last week and I really love this teal colour lately.  The vision was of it in amongst one of those old fashioned style still life paintings with a dark and moody background and a voluptuous soft pink peony spilling from it.  Whether I'll ever actually paint it is another matter. Alexander and I have a long way to go I think before I'll be able to get the acrylics out and paint a picture without Alexander deciding he wants 'pick up' and me abandoning the acrylics to dry up on the palette and the tubes with their lids off for a week.  But this 'composition that never was' situation has been happening quite often lately so, as it was still in my head this morning and Alexander was having an extended snooze, I got my sketchbook and tried to bring the idea into the world just in case...

But as Alexander kept sleeping, and as I actually had some Promarkers in the right colours, the quick composition sketch became quite involved! Had I set out to make a proper job of this I would of course have dealt properly with the stem in the water which I have completely forgotten to 'refract'. This is the problem with me...I don't learn...it wasn't all that long ago I spent ages drawing that purple straw in the glass of fizzy water where the straw was all zig-zaggy from the refraction. But I find when I draw out of my head rather than observationally, all I know to be true just disappears. I could draw a thousand relatively cat-like cats from real life but then draw one from my imagination and it look like a ball with sticks hanging out!
Equipment: Berol Italic pen (I stole the idea to use a pen like this from the fabulous Jodi Wiley (thank you for the inspiration, Jodi), A5 Hahnemuhle sketchbook, Promarkers.

8 comments:

  1. I just found you on Creative Every Day and love your drawings particularly you with the long tail. Even though the days may feel really long, this baby time will go by really fast and then there's lots of time for painting and figuring out how to entertain yourself. Thanks for sharing your joy.

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    1. Thank you Barbara. I have a bit of a fear that by the time I have time to start painting again, I will have forgotten how to! It was funny that being pregnant actually gave me more time and opportunities to draw and paint than I had ever had before!

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  2. popping up from CED, I love your painting, there are so many details and I love the way you drew it.

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    1. Thank you. As always it started off really simple and I couldn't help adding more and more to it.

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    1. Thanks Rachel. I've bought a nail varnish in this teal colour now too, I'm so obsessed with it!

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  4. creative and colorful pen and ink art work ~ lovely ~ thanks, carol, xxx

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    1. Thank you Carol. I wish I could get so much colour and boldness onto every page in my sketchbook!

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