I promised to start one since we're not all just bird-loving artists. Birds are great, but we all have other passions. :)
Since many of us love and are inspired by nature, this thread is for any artwork related to all things wild and untamed, be that fungi in dappled woodland light, the patterns of rock fissures, moths, bluebells in spring, etc. There are no rules (art, rules?) but there should be some recommendations, as follows:
This is a fun thread.
This is a fun thread, not just for finished paintings, ready to mount and frame.
Any medium, any size, any format, anything goes.
(I'd prefer no pets please, but this is a personal preference. Feel free to ignore me.)
To start, inspired by the little squirrels that came this morning to enjoy some seeds in my garden, here's a charcoal sketch in my sketchbook.
'Catch me if you can!'
Poppies, WC. Not sure I pulled it off, not enough contrast perhaps.
Daisies, WC. Slightly overworked the flower.
lovely flowers - lovely, fresh and bright - and beautiful colours. Elle, have you come across the blue Himalayan poppies? I think you would love them.
thanks for your comments - my "ferns" were actually the rowan leaves - might need to work on them! the rowan is a beautiful tree, common in Scotland - and with a lot of history/folklore - also birds love the berries en.wikipedia.org/.../Rowan
see my photos on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/maggyn/
one from my art class today - not wildflowers I'm afraid - hope this is okay for this thread - the flowers were fresh not artificial! acrylic paint and graphic pen
My mistake, I call everything a fern. :) And yes, we do have rowan I think locally. And indeed i have, the Himalayan is an eyesore beauty. Will you be doing us the pleasure sometime?
And I love your flowers, it's a gorgeous still life and naturally would be even more delightful in full colour.
I'm not really painting flowers differently when i have learnt so much since summer. It's a real bummer/annoyance/nuisance, but I am working on evolving since I have learned so much since then. Will get the thinking cap on.
Look forward to your next offering, and mine.
thank you elle for your comments - I've attached a colour version of the same tulips - it is a lovely 3 hour class (great going during the day - such luxury after having to rush to evening classes- which are only 2 hours) - so managed 4 drawings/paintings. this one below is also in pen and acrylic.
not sure if I could do justice to a Himalayan poppy! love seeing them en masse.
not exactly a challenge but I here is one of my photo of a meconopsis in case you want to draw one (and I might too soon)
does anybody else want to draw/paint this poppy?
You're giving me a challenge for sure...! I could upload you the only himalayan poppy I have ever painted with pencil lines visible. I don't think you'd recognise it as something I'd post.
And you even know the botanical name. :) That is a gorgeous flower, was it taken in Scotland? I suspect they grow only on the same latitude as the Himalayas.
And I do like freeness of your marks in the ink and acrylic sketch, they seem to blush at me. The composition is nice too, almost wilting, almost happy to be still standing. And four painting/drawings is a lot to do if you put all your energies into each piece, and I agree they seem long but are luxury when you get so much done. No excuses art! Those breaks are useful too.
It's funny how topics/themes are catching. I've been practising tulips too as a result.
Tulips, WC on paper.
I can't remember if I've ever drawn a Himalayan poppy - certainly not successfully! yes, that one was in Scotland - in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens (which is gorgeous) - but they are not uncommon in gardens - especially over the west coast (e.g. Crarae/Arduaine - both beautiful) - we actually used to have some smaller ones in our garden but they have long since given up unfortunately.
love your tulips - very light and airy - and very pretty - again a bit chinese brush art in style?
I found an old photo of some irises in a garden which inspired me to do the following small sketch - wc wash with artist pen on top of the wash
As for your frilly irises, I see I will have to browse through all your lovely photos... that free pen style you have really suits the way they move in the breeze.
I am not one to bypass a challenge, so my poppy is below but not of your photo. It's much 'nicer' IMO than I would have done a year ago so I love its free expression. Initial wash took a few seconds, the fiddly definition bits took most of the time spent on it. Typical! Looking at it, I would have removed most of the stamen bits.
And yes, I love the freedom of the brush when it comes to painting, so chinese freestyle art is a major influence in my stuff now. There is so much life in their art, what subject does it not suit?
You are lucky to know so many flowers. The amount of times I have spent painting flowers I have never seen is unthinkable - part of the reason I stopped for a while. It's impossible to know something without ever having seen it! This summer was the first time I spotted californian poppies and hollyhocks in someone's garden, I was terribly embarrassed standing there taking photos. This year I am on the hunt for delphiniums, snapdragons, irises (!), the list goes on....
Himalayan poppy, WC
a lovely Himalayan poppy - and I like the stamens - gives a nice focus to the picture. thanks for your comments on my irises - these shots are not online - it is a really old print I found from the days before digital! re flowers, if you have a chance you should go round any garden open days near you (as well as botanic gardens and stately homes - they usually have nice gardens) - we have a separate society in Scotland but here is the English one http://www.ngs.org.uk/ - some may object to photos, but I suspect most will be quite happy nowadays - especially if you ask/give a donation! would probably be different if you were going to sell the photos etc
I mostly paint things I've seen - either from real life (e.g. real flowers) or from photos I have taken - maybe I need to widen my horizons!