drawings

Here in New England fall is a wonderful time to use leaves as inspiration for drawings and print making.

I do think that photos are the best way to capture the colors for a long period of time. But I can’t resist collecting a few leaves and bringing them back to the studio for inspiration.

Out of all the choices that I had, can you believe that I picked a simple yellow and brown leaf to use as a reference for my sketchbook drawing.

My plan was to fill a sketchbook spread with different variations, inspired by this one leaf. I started with an outline drawing of the basic shapes inside and out.

Then I filled the two pages with similarly shaped leaves overlapping in layering them. I use loose watercolors, markers, and gel pen. I hope I have inspired you to gather a leaf or two, and to make a sketchbook drawing to celebrate the autumn season.

Check out the online courses that are available as self studies.

What do we gain by drawing the same thing again and again?

• skills
• muscle memory
• a series of cohesive drawings

I can get bored with drawing the same type of images, but I see value in the process. It might even lead to mastery of a skill or subject matter.

Sometimes I get stalled by thinking that I need to vary the drawing. But I have noticed that when I give myself the space to repeat a drawing my skills improve.

Lately I have been drawing horses, flowers and trees. I have plenty of “bad” or less than pleasing drawings, but the value is in the process of getting the marks on the paper.

For example, often the horses I draw have legs that are too short. So instead of running out of room for the legs, I  can now draw the legs first or exaggerate the length of the legs.

I like to combine a little observation and a little abstraction. I do this a lot when drawing trees. During my daily walks, I notice how branches grow off the trunk.

Reminder, this month of April, the Monochromatic Mountains class is on sale for $50. Read all the details on the workshop page.