'pearl etta' ~ watercolors, graphite and colored pencil on arches drawing paper

i drew pearl etta while looking at this painting by irina korsakova;  within minutes she was a (mini) woman instead of a child, though,  and little boots seemed like they'd just look so good!  she's up there because her dress is pink, which fits in with this post...  otherwise i've been drawing and painting a lot;  getting to know dura-lar and arches drawing paper. 

once in a while as i'm scrolling through my tumblr dash,  i think about why i like some paintings and not others. there seem to be many factors,  but one thing that will almost certainly make me adore a painting is the presence of pink.  so, for a little something different, here are some of my recent pink favorites...

August Macke ~ Rosa Azalee

 Henri Lebasque ~ Seated Nude Woman 

 Edgar Degas - Avant l’entrée en scène

Henri Matisse ~ Geraniums

Sano di Pietro ~ L’Ange de l’Annonciation 

(did they really have neon pink paint in the 15th century?)

Marjaana Savander ~ Karhunruusu oljy kankalle

 Kees Van Dongen ~ The Pink Hat

 Suzanne Valadon ~ Still Life with Flowers and Fruit 

 Edouard Vuillard ~  Nu couché

 Paul Klee ~ The Garden in Hot Weather 

 Gabriëlle Münter ~ Blumenstilleben

 Louis Michel Eilshemius ~ Snake Dancer

it wasn't easy to pick just twelve...

: )

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“The justification of art is the internal combustion it ignites in the hearts of men and not its shallow, externalized, public manifestations. The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.”

~ Glenn Gould

watercolors, gouache, colored pencils and graphite on arches drawing paper

lately i've been feeling like this...

watercolors, colored pencils, gouache, acrylic paint and graphite on arches drawing paper, 4" x 6"

but also like this

 watercolors, colored pencil, gouache and graphite on arches drawing paper, 4" x 6"

and definitely this...

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'to paint is to love again' ~ henry miller

a happy, happy me yesterday...  new paint, beautiful paper, a gigantic collection of colored pencils - everything! pales in comparison to the joy of this for me... 

and to draw in the sun is the best!   i took this pic to show you my setup...    that's my homemade colored pencil box that i've had for almost 2 years now.  it's been a great way to carry pencils around,  first and foremost because it keeps them off the ground.  i try to keep them in the box at all times because once they hit the ground they begin burrowing towards the center of the earth.  and because they completely fill up the box, they don't bang around in it;   i haven't found lead breakage to be more of a problem than with the ones i have at home.  originally i wondered if it was too extravagant to have a box of colored pencils for walking that duplicated the ones at home.  the definitive answer to that is 'no!'

all of that stuff (book, pencils, and sharpener) stays in my walking bag so i never have to wonder if i've got everything when i head out...

prismacolor pencils in sennelier journal, 4" x 6"

i drew the little girl (inspired by a kiki smith drawing) and rosebud on another day; yesterday i drew the face and flowers on the right...

watercolors, colored pencil, graphite, and soft pastels on arches drawing paper, 9" x 12"

this is how the sheet of arches drawing paper in the last post ended up.   all of that color makes me smile...  : )

it's almost over, but happy love day...  and may every day be a love day...

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“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could."

~ Georgia O'keefe

tombow marker, watercolors and colored pencil in stilllman and birn 'gamma', 4 x 6

thank you for the smile making words you left on the last post...  : )

i drew the face above at the same time i drew 'the unbearable lightness...' face, but i didn't paint it for a few days (heh, i was distracted by dura-lar and arches drawing paper).  i used a black tombow dual brush pen to draw the outline, and then used watercolors and water to spread the ink around.  even though the ink had been on the page for a few days, it was still completely soluble and moved around as if i'd just put it there.   i really, really like this pen and thank tammie for turning me onto it.  the tombow number for this color is N15.

sumi ink and watercolors in my 'daily book'

back to sumi ink...   i like to use ink to work looser if i start feeling too detail oriented, although, lol, i think i'm pretty hopelessly detail oriented.   the other thing that's freeing is to paint faces without drawing in the outline of the head - let the shading of the face determine the outside edges...

colored pencils on dura-lar

a darkish picture of a piece on dura-lar.  i can say unequivocally that it's the most perfect surface for colored pencils i've ever used, but, i haven't used acetate so it may be better or just as wonderful.   it's super smooth and you can keep adding layers of color...

watercolors and watercolor pencils in my daily book

thinking about seed pods... and faces...

watercolors in my daily book

i drew these pods from online images...  thinking about what i've been learning in the botanical illustration book helps me at times even when drawing from pictures, although i have a strong urge to just make things look the way i think they should look!

watercolors, colored pencils, and soft pastels on arches drawing paper, 9" x 12"

this arches drawing paper has my heart!  oh my!    this is the third sheet i've worked on - i was working on the figure in the lower left when i took this pic.   i've decided to fill the pages up without thinking about 'composition'.  i just want to draw and paint on this paper - cover the surface...

the color swatches on the left were done with albrecht durer watercolor pencils, and they're nice on this paper, but regular watercolors are even more gorgeous.  the rose hips were painted with sennelier watercolors and in person they're vibrant.  also i love the way watercolors spread out and leave those beautiful watery edges...

and soft pastels, sooo beautiful on this paper.  i was practicing drawing the head at different angles.

if you have a suggestion for a particular brand of pastel pencils i'd love to hear it...  

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“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.” 

~ Robert Henri