Week 10: Taking in the view
Good to see a few of you taking up the challenge this week - I had 4 submissions come in late yesterday. Understandably the cold weather has put people off sitting outside to draw, but using their own photos and memories some lovely work has been produced. Starting with:
MP: Lake Wendouree
MP says she enjoyed a sunny blue day at Ballarat and the reflections of trees on the clear lake water caught her eye. She hasn't used mixed media, but this excellent colour pencil work was created using 300gsm Canson HP paper with Prismacolour watercolour pencil washes and dry over drawing. I love the composition of this work, beautifully balanced with a lovely 's' shape that leads your eye into and around the drawing, focussing on the naked, bare branches of the winter trees. The deep hazy blues of the trees in the far horizon creates a sense of depth. The build up of colour layers in the blue water and greens of the foliage work well and shows MP's ability to handle the medium. MP tells me she had a few difficulties with the work, but these are resolved creating a very pleaseing work she should be proud of.
'Lake Wendouree' by MP
Silke: 'Staffelberg' Hill
Silke has taken her inspiration from a photo she took when visiting family in Germany while on a hike up to the top of Staffelberg Hill with her sister. She has used Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils wet and dry with details sketched in using a Uniball Micro gel pen. We look out from the top of the hill to neatly plowed fields, a town in the distance on the left. Your eye travels to the right to the far mountan clothed in green to see a distant Schloss (castle). Finally a blue sky studded with clouds. The foreground detail and figure has been accentuated with the black pen bringing them clear to the front and in our veiw. This detail helps to push the recession of the valley and distant hills. Another evocative work from Silke - don't you all just wish you were hiking that hill now in the summer sun?
'Staffelberg Hill' by Silke
JD: Wilsons Prom
One of my very favourite places in the world, Wilson's Prom is the subject of JD's sketch. Using a photo from a recent visit she has created this work in her 200gsm Windsor Newtion visual diary using Faber Castell and Rexel watercolour pencils and a Artline 200 fineliner pen. This is a fairly quick sketch, but JD has done a wonderful job of capturing the essence of the scene. I particularly like the strong graphic desgin of the rocks on the right - these rocks are so typical of the Prom. The distant islands work well and the quick washes of blue pencil create just the right amount of feeling in the water. I am not too sure about the black outlines on the clouds - and perhaps a heavier weight pen on the foreground grasses is needed. But those rocks are so well drawn I can ignore the clouds! I would love to see you do an expanded study of those rocks, JD!
'Wilsons Prom' by JD
Jean: Cliff face, King George River
What a beautiful drawing this is Jean! Jean's inspiration for this work is a photo of the cliff face taken by her husband while they were both on a Kimberly King George River cruise last year. There is an amazing amount of colour, texture and details in this work. Jean has used a variety of mediums - her words:
'I used Bockingford 300gsm cold press paper and the initial drawing was with a Derwent 4B Sketching medium wash pencil, which I then washed. I then used a mixture of Derwent Graphitint and Inktense, with some Staedtler Mars Lumograph pastel pencils, Adel black and brown Fineliner pens and a white gel pen.'
This work is almost abstract in design, but it is a totally natural form. The cascading green foliage brings a softness to the hard edges and rock strata - as well as introducing some contrasting colour. It would be good to see something introduced into the work to give us an idea of scale - a climber on the rocks, a nesting bird or the like. Without that reference it is hard to tell how large the cliff is.
A very beuatiful drawing, Jean. Don't forget to sign it! And frame it and show it!
'Cliff face, King George River' by Jean
*REMINDER* Monday night classes at the Victorian Artists Society resume July 13. Places are limited due to Covid 19 so contact VAS today and sign up if you wish to join in!
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