Cay Denise

Today's effort is based on a lovely photograph of Dorothy Height taken in her older age.   The sketch was done with mechanical pencil (HB core), pupils highlighted with a white Signo pen, and certain areas filled in with watercolor.  Some additional small embellishment was done with a silver Pen Touch marker. What I like best is having been able to work with the lines of her face and capture a sense of older age.  Overall I'm quite satisfied with this work.  

It has taken me about four days to work through the process, that involved doing two pieces, to get this result.  The piece is based on a digital or painted image of an African woman.  The creator's name is unavailable. The first part of the process involved a sketch done in mechanical pencil (HB core) filled in with watercolor.  That medium did not work well for the piece.  That is because the skin color was too hard to mimic with watercolor in addition to the needed shading.  So, I gave up on that piece--keeping it as a learning reference. The second effort finished today was also sketched with mechanical pencil (HB core) and has been painted in with acrylics.  Some eye work and other line work has been done with black Muji pen, and the decorative body lines were created with a neon yellow Sakura Gelly Roll Pen. That Gelly Roll Pen was the only type (of my water-resistant, permanent and water-soluble pens with fine nibs) that could create the color intens...

Thursday's effort was based on a painting by Jacometto Veneziano titled 'Portrait of a Young Man' dated 1475-1480. The sketch work was done with mechanical pencil (HB core), the pupils were darkened with a Muji pen and highlighted with Signo white pen, Japanese watercolors were used for color, and a silver PenTouch marker was used for the jacket enclosure. Of course color-wise, the original painting doesn't look nearly as colorful as this one.  I added the reddish purple for the background and did a bit of gradient work at the bottom--adding light blue for the second layer instead of more reddish purple.  

Today's effort is a sketch based on Richard Westall's painting titled 'Emma Hamilton as a Bacchante' dated 1805.  This was done with mechanical pencil (HB core) with Signo white pen highlights on the eye.  The biggest challenge was with face and keeping the features small and doing them in a way that they look like the painting.  Overall, I'm satisfied. Update:  Added the scarf behind her which I neglected to do earlier.      

I love this post by Sara Genn who writes about the phrase "Do It Now" (DIN), something Paul McCartney's father said to him many times. If you don't do it now when you have the dream or vision, you probably won't do it.  Procrastination quickly rears its ugly head and alters the dream or vision of something delightful into something not worth the time to do.  You lose your energy from the ideation that sparked it. After reading the article, you can find the song Paul McCartney wrote and recorded about DIN on YouTube. https://painterskeys.com/din/

Today's post reflects a multi-day effort creating my version of a portion of the painting titled 'Bianca' by William Holman Hunt dated 1868-69. Day 1 - the sketch outline was completed Day 2 - face shading and some shoulder ruffle shading was completed Today - sketch was tweeked and piece was painted (except for face, neck, and top of chest)   Tools used included mechanical pencil (HB core) for the sketching and acrylic paints. Before painting anything, I decided to use acrylics thinking it would look better than watercolor.  Now after completing it--I know that was the right choice.  I'm very satisfied with the effort, have learned some things, and am feeling more brave in trying out new ways of working with paint to do garment shading.  That's a big step!

Today's effort is a bit different than my practice has been this year.  In early December, I started a fun mandala with birds that has been undone since then.  I painted in the owl and added some 'soil' under the Blue-footed Booby today to complete it.  This has been done with acrylics, and some marks with black waterproof pen. For me, I get such a sense of curiosity from the bird images.  In fact, when I look at it, I feel like I'm looking up from being in a dark cavern to an opening above me and they're looking down at me.  Does that come across to you?     I think this is so whimsical and may even frame these friends to (continue to) watch over me while I work!  (Wouldn't this be fun if the frame were hung from a flat ceiling?)

A tutorial was published by 'My Modern Met' on 2/17 of how to draw a bee in 14 steps (article author was Margherita Cole).  Recently, my first try wasn't quite 'right'.  Leg spacing/placement was an issue.   The second try came out better, though I just reviewed the instructions to see if it covered adding a middle leg on the opposing side.  They say that you're to put them in, but the final drawn example shows a five-legged bee -- just like mine.  Regardless, I appreciate the tutorial as I never thought I'd draw a recognizable critter like this.

Today's effort was based Karl Joseph Stieler's "Portrait of Therese Alexandra Freifrau von Tettenborn" dated 1815. The tools used include mechanical pencil (HB core) for the sketch work; Japanese watercolors for the background, garment and cap; Stabilo PointMax colored pens for the cap band, and white Signo pen for the pupil highlights. The eyes are a bit off in terms of angle compared with the painting, but they still look ok.  The headband is also a bit off at the ends.  Aside from those two things, I didn't decorate the cap which is actually more of a scarf wrap in the painting nor were the folds in the garment added even though there is a hint of them.

The Week 10 lesson was from Jennifer Bonneteau titled Silly Selfies.  In working from an altered selfie (photo below), I used Sharpie permanent markers and alcohol inks primarily to have fun -- attempting to capture the essence of that altered colorful selfie.  The second photo is the result.  There is a lot of cross-hatch and stipple line work in it, and it is the first time I've worked with Yupo paper in this way.  This brand of paper has a very nice and smooth surface - great for alcohol inks.  

Tonight's effort is my version of Joseph-Siffred Duplessis' "Portrait of Benjamin Franklin" that was painted around 1779. He looks a tad younger in this and maybe a bit less stout than the portrait, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind being either one. The image was done with mechanical pencil (HB core) with some help from my new 4B pencil.  The eyes were filled in using some Derwent water-soluble pencils and a spot of white Signo Pen was added for the highlight.  The background was done with Japanese watercolor.

This is a great SAQA Textile Talk with Judith Content, Fiber Artist, about her pandemic project titled 'Ephemeral Land Art'! Judith has worked with the Shibori dying process for decades and primarily works with silks having created beautiful Shibori-dyed, silk kimono-like fiber art. For her latest project over the last year or so, she did no dying.  She used her dyed silk scraps to create unique installation art that emulates rocks, mushrooms and jellyfish.  Taking them to the beach and other outdoor areas, she installed and photographed them. The work documented through photos and videos is mesmerizing, and her slide show and talk below is very engaging!

This is yesterday's and today's effort of sketching Francois Gerard's 'Madame Recamier' dated 1805. It has been done with mechanical pencil (HB core) and white Signo Pen for the reflection in the eyes. I'm really liking the intimation of fabric draping, the seat cushion shading, the body pose (especially the neck and chest where there is a twist at the waist), and the arms/hands that seem to be in good proportion to the body.  The most challenging part were the eyes and mouth/lips, and that may have been because of how small they needed to be.  The eyes are likely still a bit too large -- but after all the tries, I'm resting my effort with them and am accepting the mouth/lips as ok. This was a lesson in doing more than a face and capturing a pose of the full body--which I don't normally do, and I did it!! My process started with the columns first, then the feet progressing with the garment all the way to the head plus adding the cushion and chaise frame ...

I recently purchased a package of new pencils with a range of 'leads' and am learning about them and pencil history.   Pencil 'leads' come in a range.  They are typically categorized as H (hard), B (soft; darkness), F (sharpens to fine point) or HB (hard and black).  For the H and B pencils, there can be a number, added to the letter, that distinguishes the hardness of that 'lead'.  H (hard) leads make lighter lines while B (soft) leads make darker ones.  In addition, the higher the number for the H lead, the harder the lead and the lighter the line.  For the B lead, the higher the number, the softer the lead and darker the line.  In terms of the history of graphite used in the core of pencils, here are some key points: A major graphite deposit was discovered in England in 1565 Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon Pencil graphite has no lead  Pencil cores are made of purified graphite power + kaolin (a clay binder) Hard pencils have about...

The sketch I posted yesterday, I've been working on today.  It is based on Rossetti's "Proserpine" dated 1877 and is now done.   The sketch has been painted with acrylic paint including glazes using the same.  The pupils were filled in by black Muji pen, and the white highlight was made with a Signo pen. I like how the ivy and its background creates interest, the pomegranate and her hand holding it, and her mouth/lips that look closer to Rossetti's muse who modeled for his piece.  The only thing I may change in time is to add strokes in the hair to show its waviness.  With or without them, I'm satisfied!  

For the last couple of days, I've been doing some practice work based on a sketch/study by Dante Gabriel Rossetti of his muse that he did for one of his paintings.  The first two images below were the result.  The darker one was done with a black Stabilo Aquarellable pencil and then activated with water.  The pencil was difficult to work with, and I wasn't able to get the detail I wanted.  That effort, I consider to have been unsuccessful while it informed me that I don't like that pencil to work with -- at least not right now.  The second one with the watercolor framing the face was done with a combination of two mechanical pencils (one with HB and the other with 2B lead).  This was a bit better, but in both images I couldn't get the 'Rossetti style' mouth/lips right.   My effort in the bottom photo was based on the actual painting Rossetti did -- that his study had been for.  How did I figure that out?  Because as I started drawing her...

This effort is an acrylic painting done Wednesday.  It is allegorical rather than a realistic depiction, and is part of my processing the unfolding situation with the invasion of Ukraine.   These are trying times.  That said, art as well as music, writing, collage, woodworking, etc. can be tools of expressing those things we find hard to put into words and move sad feelings from inside us (using our chosen medium) to create something constructive outside ourselves.  The intent of this piece is to convey contrast between a pastoral scene and a highly destructive event (in no specific location).  It is intentionally simple. In working on this, I used fluid acrylics which I haven't worked with in many months.  I forgot how quickly they dry out, especially when you're working with mixed colors.     

Thursday's effort is based on a painting titled 'Portrait of an Elderly Man' by Francesco Bonsignori dated 1487.  The drawing was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead), Muji black pen to fill in the pupils, and Japanese watercolors for the background and garment coloring (black and red, respectively).  The original painting is very dark and I wasn't able to see a distinctive hat on the subject's head though there apparently is one due to the way the hair is in the image.  So the background in this practice piece (that includes the area for a hat) has been painted black.  I'd prefer the black to be darker so the face stands out better, but I'm going to leave this one as is.   This 3/4 view of the face was interesting to do, since the neck has several folds due to the man's weight and age, and there are some prominent wrinkles, a dimple, and a face indentation to include.

Monday's effort was the drawing of a woodcut created by Melchior Lorck titled "Portrait of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent" dated 1559.  The reference photo is included with this post.  It is different than those I normally choose, but I like it.  Most of this piece was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead) and black Muji pen.  Additional tools used include a White Signo Pen to highlight the pupils and grey watercolor for the shirt. What I like about both images is how the different kinds of line work complement one another in distinguishing the different areas of the image, including the background.  

This has been a two-day effort--yesterday and today--and is based on a painting from what I believe was done by Fra Filippo Lippi in the 15th century.  The problem with the source is that there is only one person having posted a photo of it to Pinterest, and I can't find a legitimate source for it anywhere on the internet beyond that.  That said, it appears to be close in style to what Lippi may have done.  Regardless I really like the image. The entire drawing was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead).  The scarf lines were colored over with Signo White Pen, because I found that the pen ink acts as a resist to the watercolor, so it would show through after painting over the lines.  The hardest part was the scarf portion behind her that is the darkest part at the bottom of her face.  I used one watercolor for dark lines when painting it, and that color wouldn't blend after being applied.  So, the area had to be camouflaged to look more believable and f...

Last night's practice was doing a watercolor face to figure out skin tone color-mixing for a new piece I'm working on.  That new piece may end up being done with acrylics due to the challenges with detail work in watercolors. Tonight's effort is a fun drawing of a face with my new Blackwing (Matte Black) pencil and mechanical pencil (HB lead).  Additional tools used were a PenTouch Gold Pen for the caps on the teeth and a Signo White Pen for pupil and teeth highlights.  The background, clothing, hat, and ornamentation has been done with watercolor.  The grey shirt is not uniform in color, but hopefully the eye isn't drawn to that but rather is drawn to the face first followed by the hat and/or beadwork.

Wednesday's effort is based on a painting by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson's 'Portrait of Jacques-Joseph de Cathelineau' dated 1822. I chose this piece to work from mainly to see if I could draw the eyes so a sense of roundness to the eyeball comes through, since the glance of the subject is to his upper right and the face is at the 3/4 position.  I'm satisfied with them knowing that with more practice -- drawing this particular glance and position will only improve.  The drawing was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead) and a Signo White Pen was used for the pupil highlights.  The face is actually shorter in length than the one in the painting.  But as I said, I was more interested in the eye work on this one.   What I particularly enjoyed was coloring in the garment with my Japanese watercolors.  I loved the ensemble the subject was painted in, and the color choices I made work well.  

Tuesday's effort was based on Ceruti's 'Portrait of a Smoking Man in an Oriental Habit' dated 1740. The face was drawn with mechanical pencil (HB lead) and the rest of the piece colored in with Japanese watercolor.  The original painting is an older man while this one looks younger.  But I like the face just the same.  

Monday's effort was my take on Giacomo Ceruti's 'Portrait of a Country Woman' dated 1730.  The drawing was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead) with pupil highlights done in Signo White Pen.  The background, hair and garment have been painted with Japanese watercolor.  The scarf, done in pencil, has a bit of colored pencil added from Caran d'Ache Supracolor IIs (gray and light blue). In this drawing, the head ended up being cropped like an earlier one but this time because the face outline was done too high on the page for the full hairstyle.  What I'm happiest with is the ear (shape and shading).   

Thursday's effort was based on Ghirlandaio's 'Bust-Length Woman Wearing a Coif' dated 1489-90.  Ghirlandaio did his drawing with black chalk on cream-colored paper.  I've done mine in black Muji pen on sketchbook paper.   What I've said before is that once you've committed a stroke in pen...it's there and not going anywhere.  In this piece, there is depth/form in the face.  However, the areas of her head and the coif are much more unclear.  Those marks are quite busy and there are a range of different ones that don't blend well to create continuity with the face portion.  The head and coif are also in values that are too dark and light.   This is a face in 3/4 orientation, and that in itself was a valuable study to do.  

Yesterday's and today's efforts are based on Domenico Ghirlandaio's 'Portrait of a Lady' dated 1490.   Yesterday, the pencil drawing was completed though colorless, it didn't look right.  So today, I painted it in with watercolor.  The face, neck and hand have intentionally been left in pencil.  Only the pupils have been colored in with black Muji pen and white Sharpie was used to highlight them, and a ring on the hand was painted with watercolor.   I'm pleased with the watercolor except for one area that is a rework.  This medium is finicky, but it can yield beautiful softness and gentle transitions.  It was captivating to see the changes as different colors were added.  I love the simulated mountains and the red dress as well as the flower and leaves. Note:  Additional face shading and hair work has been done and the newest version is the bottom photo.

Today's effort is a drawing based on Pierre-Auguste Cot's 'Portrait of a Young Woman' dated 1869.  The face/body have been drawn with mechanical pencil (HB lead primarily with some 2B lead), white Posca pen for the pupil highlights, and the areas surrounding the image were filled in by activated Caran d'Ache Supracolor II watercolor pencils with the beige from Japanese watercolors.  In drawing the face, I started with the ear first going down to the chin and then up to and around the head to complete the outline.  Next, was the hand that took a number of tries.  The first few resulted in fingers and a hand that were much too large for the face.  This version is much better and the hand's pose--believable.   I also experimented with fringe, and with patterns in the various 'cloth' elements to suggest folds and the discrepancies in the connections of the pattern that result from one fold to another.  Doing shading and highlights of multiple folds is...

Today's effort is a drawing based on George Gower's 'Sir Thomas Kytson' dated 1573. The face was drawn with Muji pen; shading was done with mechanical pencil (HB lead); pupil highlights were done with white Posca pen; the garment first layer was water-soluble crayon and second layer was black Posca pen decorated with gold PenTouch marker and Golden's Iridescent Pearl; and, the hair and aubergine color framing the face was done with watercolor. There are a couple of lines that don't belong, and the neck is a bit too big in circumference.  That said, overall I'm satisfied with the result.  Plus, I'm learning more about how to draw the neck ruffle--not that this one is perfect--far from it, but it is a bit better than others I've done.

This effort is based on Botticelli's 'Head of an Angel' dated 1495-1500.  It has been done with mechanical pencil (HB lead) and white Posca Pen for the pupil highlights.  I also used a new Artist Chamois to smudge some of the pencil marks, and it worked beautifully! This was an interesting project in that I started drawing the image from the left shoulder down to the left hand and then up.  By the time I reached the neck, there wasn't enough room for the head in full even with the face tilt.  That's why the crown of the head and hair is outside the paper frame.  Also in my drawing, the figure looks more female than the painting -- that figure looks more androgynous or could be male.   I have some work to do in being able to draw draping with more realism (e.g. the fabric the angel is holding).  For this piece, I tried a couple of different ways to represent it--neither worked well.  That means some fabric drawing studies under different light...

Today's work is from a reference photo of a painting from 1633 of a young woman.  The painter is not identified. This was done with mechanical pencil (HB and 2B lead) plus white Posca pen for a few highlights.  The garment has a lacy design even though it may look like armor instead.