ONLINE ART COURSE – LEAVES AND FLOWERS ON GREY PAPER
The final module of the course!
I cannot believe I have just started the final module of this year-long course. How quickly the time has gone, and what a lot I have learnt.
After increasingly challenging projects in recent months, the first project of this module was pretty relaxing.
Drawing on grey paper
Up until now we have been drawing almost exclusively on white paper. The only exceptions have been the pastel pencil drawings which were on tinted paper. Drawing on grey or tinted paper does open up some interesting aspects, as you can actually add highlights, rather than just leaving the white paper to show through.
Phil, our teacher, recommended Strathmore grey tinted paper for this, either the drawing paper, or the thicker mixed media paper. Both have the same fairly smooth surface. Even without much tooth, this paper worked very well with pastel pencils. Using watercolour on the drawing paper would cause it to buckle if it got too wet, so we had the choice to use the mixed media version if we wanted. I decided to buy a pad of each, because I knew I would be able to use both types in future work. In the end I worked the whole project on the thinner drawing paper, being careful not to add too much water to the watercolours. The surface feels lovely and smooth, and I enjoyed drawing with pastel pencil on this better than on actual pastel paper which I find a bit rough, and the pastel pencils feel sticky on it as you work with them, which I find slightly unpleasant.
I have wanted to experiment with drawing on grey or tinted paper for a long time. There are lots of gorgeous examples of Zentangles done on it – I love the addition of white for the highlights. I am keen to try other styles of drawing in this way, too.
The first project – leaf and flower studies
I have mixed reactions to these small drawings. I really enjoyed the leaf studies, but not the flower ones so much. We were instructed to do the three leaves on one sheet, and the three flowers on another sheet. Each leaf and flower was done with a combination of different media, so that we got a feel of using different materials on this paper – watercolour, pastel pencil, ink pens and coloured pencils.
Leaf studies
I loved the style Phil chose for these, with the white outlines which made them look like cut-outs. Cut-outs are very popular at the moment in mixed media work and junk journaling etc. and I’ve seen a lot of examples. They are usually printed like this to make them easier to cut out. Originally I thought the white outline was a bit odd and I didn’t like the effect much, but it’s grown on me, and I think it works very well for our leaf studies on grey paper.
Leaf 1
This was my favourite of all the drawings. I love autumn leaves with their lovely colours and mottling and spotting. This leaf was done with watercolour and ink. Phil used a white gel pen for his outline. I have some of these but never seem to get on very well with them. For most of the drawings in this project, I used a fine white acrylic marker.
Leaf 2
My second favourite of all the drawings. Again, lovely autumn colours. This one was done with pastel pencils, and I used the white one for the outline.
Leaf 3
This looks very much like a bay leaf. I like the fact that there is some damage at the tip, which gives it more interest and character. This one was worked in watercolour and coloured pencil. Phil is very keen on this combination, and I must say it works very well. The coloured pencil worked over the completely dry watercolour softens any imperfections in the painting, and makes the colour more vibrant. You can also add details like leaf veining, and extra shading, etc. The coloured pencils work extremely well on top of the watercolour and I enjoy the sensation of working on that particular surface.
Flower studies
I really didn’t enjoy this part of the project so much, and was less satisfied with my results. Phil deliberately chose a colour palette across the three drawings that was limited to blues and purples, which was a nice effect especially if you wanted to keep this as a single unit and perhaps frame it.
Flower 1
We were instructed to add quite a bit of blue colour to the white petals of these daisies – quite effective, but rather different from the reference photo. This one was probably my favourite of the three. It was worked in pastel pencils.
I liked the way Phil instructed us to add a tiny touch of yellow to some of the lower petals to indicate reflected light from the flower centre. Adding this, and the blue and grey, really gave the petals life. I enjoyed drawing the flower centres too, with lots of small mark making with the pastel pencils to get the texture and dimension of that part of the flower.
Flower 2
This was my least favourite of the whole project. It was worked with watercolour and black and white ink pens. We had to paint the flowers a lot darker than in the reference and I think I made mine a bit too dark, losing some definition. It seemed to me that the addition of the white ink pen was gratuitious – simply because we were working on grey paper. It didn’t really give the effect of highlights, which I think would have been better with either white coloured pencil or pastel. I don’t think my white highlights add anything beneficial to this particular flower study! It was also a rather complicated drawing with lots of stems and I don’t think I really brought this off very well.
Flower 3
This pansy was worked with watercolour and coloured pencil, and again I enjoyed the experience. This one came out quite well, and I like the vibrant colour combination.
All in all I think both sheets came out OK, and it was interesting experimenting with the different media in combination on this interesting surface. It’s definitely something I want to pursue further.
Botanicals
We haven’t done very much on this entire course on botanicals. Early on, we did a sunflower in charcoal, but up until now, there hasn’t been much else as far as I remember. This is an area I want to explore, and to perfect my skills. A couple of months ago, when the end of the course was coming into view, I downloaded a couple of Domestika online courses so that I would have something to work on after the completion of this course. I anticipated feeling a bit empty when it was all done, and it is nice to have some further work to look forward to when the time comes. One of these short courses is on botanicals and I think this will fill the gap nicely, and be a good experience.
I am already thinking ahead to future creative plans, taking me into the New Year. More on this later.
