Strathmore online class: lesson 3 part A

The first part of lesson three is to use ink for the sketch.  I do this a lot, so decided to try two slightly different approaches on what I inked.

For the first I began by placing a pencil sketch of a Cherokee Rose branch on the page.  I went over it using a superfine tip Pitt artists pen, and erased the pencil.  I used plastic wrap with some very wet paint to create the background on this sketch.  Finally I added color to the rose using my Koi field watercolor kit and Niji large and Koi small water brushes.  The background turned out a bit dark, but I think the texture fits the feel of this sketch well.

For the second sketch I did a quick pencil sketch of an old birdbath in the backyard that in spring is surrounded by a succession of different flowers.  The early spring daffodils have faded and been replaced by bluebells.  I inked only the birdbath and statue, then painted the back ground.  I used a large flat Niji water brush for the fence and bluebell leaves.  Once the background had dried a bit I used a large round Niji water brush to paint in the bluebell flowers with a mix of blue and purple and the birdbath and staute with green and black.  The green is for all the moss and algae that have colonized the bowl and statue.  The text on the page refers to Anne Bronte's poem "The Bluebell", which is actually about the native English Bluebell not Spanish Bluebells but still seems to fit.  Below is the poem and finished sketch.

     A fine and subtle spirit dwells

            In every little flower,

Each one its own sweet feeling breathes

       With more or les of power.

       There is a silent eloquence

          In every wild bluebell

 That fills my softened heart with bliss

      That words could never tell.