The eyes have it

Happy New Year!  Hooray it's only January 3rd and I'm back at the drawing table!  Today I'm beginning a series of graphite drawings for your viewing pleasure.  January to me is cold and bleak and the colors come in shades of grey.  So why not spend some serious time with grey and see what we come up with?  I do love drawing with pencil -- you can achieve an infinite range of nuance and subtlety going from silvery white to practically black .  I promise by the end of this little exercise, you are going to love the color grey, and perhaps January won't seem so bleak after all!



So why eyes?  Not exactly botanical!  Well, these are my eyes, and I'm rather fond of them.  Yesterday, sweet daughter Katie gave me an eye makeover, which required us to take a hard look at my face for an extended period of time.  I don't stare at my face often (hence the need for the makeover) and I was reminded what a beautiful thing eyes are. 

I remember drawing my eyes years ago when I was back in school.  Today, staring into my little mirror, I found those same eyes residing in an older, wiser face.  The CoverGirl look is long gone, as little lines and wrinkles establish themselves.  (These eyes have seen a thing or two!)  It is way more fun drawing older eyes, I must admit.  There's more character to them, and I can blame all the imperfections and asymmetry on age, not my pencil!

In portrait work, it is the eyes that nail it, if you ask me.  Capture the eyes and you've got the person.  I think I came pretty close in this sketch . . .  I have to say it was disconcerting to look down at the paper and see me staring back! 

I'm organizing a new schedule for myself here in the new year (aren't we all?), which should result in more frequent blog entries.  Check back often, and see what I'm up to!
Enjoy, and best wishes for an abundance of good things in 2012! 

Watching

For those of you who haven't given up on me entirely, I thought I ought to check in and let you all know I'm still here!  In mid-November, we celebrtated Henry's 18th birthday, which coincided with a trip to New Haven to see Andrew, followed by a quick visit to see Dartmouth College, followed by Thanksgiving, followed by a big music event at the high school which I helped to coordinate, followed by college applications, followed by houseguests, followed by . . . let's see . . . getting ready for Christmas!  Not a lot of quiet time to paint or write!

Yet my eyes are still watching, looking, seeing beauty even as winter settles in.  The leaves are now all down and brown is the faithful, ubiquitous, solitary color that must sustain us until spring.  The landscape is dull, and one might think of it as dreary and depressing.  This balmy weather we're having isn't helping.  But I think of it differently.  Look past the browns of the earth.  Look up!  Look at nature's architecture that is only revealed in winter.  I love looking at tree branches against a sharp blue sky.  It takes my breath away to think of those massive limbs over time arranging themselves to maximize exposure to sunshine.  Grabbing their piece of the sky.  Remember in first grade when the teacher asked you to draw a tree and you drew a straight brown stick with a green ball on top?  How different it truly is in nature. Every limb describing its slow, arching, stretching movement towards the sun.

Yes, winter is static.  Quiet.  Seemingly dead.  But watch for the signs of life.  They are still all around us.  This winter I'll show you what I mean, so stay tuned!

One Leaf a Day Challenge - #9

 Well, yesterday was a bust!  Too many things going on . . . we are in the college application season, after all!  I started this yesterday, but couldn't finish it until this afternoon.  Sometimes I think it is intersting looking at something colorful that is rendered in black and white.  How well do the colors 'translate'?  Can you guess that this maple leaf is mostly dark red, with areas of lighter yellow?  The challenge in drawing this leaf with a pen is that I am trying to express several different things (contour, color and form) using only black dots.  Can you tell the difference between a shady area and a red area?  It is not that easy!  Still, it makes a nice drawing, don't you think?

One Leaf a Day Challenge - #8

Well I am barely making it under the wire here with this one.  Let's just say it took WAY longer than I thought.  Sometimes I get going in the wrong direction with a painting and then I have to backtrack and try again.  Or sometimes I just can't get my brushes to cooperate.  Or the paper is too dry or too wet.  I know I have a nice image and I know I can do it; I just have to keep going and pray that the tide will turn eventually and a beautiful thing will start to emerge.  In this case, I was using too much Indian Red, which was browning out the wonderful colors.  But I think I salvaged it.  What do you think?

One Leaf a Day Challenge - #7

Woa! This is going to take a little more time!  And a bad photo to boot.  Hang in there with me . . . this is going to be gorgeous.  Tomorrow.

One Leaf a Day Challenge - #6

So is there anything more graceful in nature than the leaf of a Japanese maple??  This is my favorite tree in the fall.  (Well, I'd have to say it might be my favorite anytime of the year.)  The colors that burst out of this tree like a flaming sunset over the Pacific are truly breathtaking.  From sun-kissed orange to deepest burgundy and everything in between.  Even in an unexceptional year, as far as color goes, this tree takes the blue ribbon.  What really sets this tree apart, though, are the shapes of the leaves.  They each have the requisite five lobes of a generic maple leaf , but the pointy fronds and curly-ques and delicate tendrils that spring from each lobe makes each leaf unique.  Standing next to this tree, trying to pick a sample for my post, I was overwhelmed with the variety.  So today I'm sharing a line drawing I did of one leaf, and perhaps tomorrow I'll chose another one to paint.  That way, you can appreciate the graceful shape and the vibrant colors of this magnificent fall specimen.

One Leaf a Day Challenge - #5

This is a redbud leaf.  It seems sort of funny to me that the redbud leaves in fall are not red, or pink, or any other reddish shade.  Of course, the tree is named for its gorgeous mauve blossoms which pop out all over the tree in spring.  This variety is called "Woodland Pansy" and is identifiable by its leaves which start out scarlet, turn maroon as they mature, then turn green as spring gives way to summer.  The Woodland Pansy redbud is a highly fashionable tree, for sure, changing her 'look' with each season!