Wednesday, August 5, 2009

A new (to me) tree



So this is from a tree that I've been watching all summer that's growing at the edge of the woods next to our house.  It had tiny little flowers on it in spring, but I didn't think they were that exciting.  Now it has little round berries on it that start out green and turn shiny black.  I looked it up and it appears to be a cascara or Rhamnus purshiana (had to cut and paste that - my Latin spelling is not so great).  I like the groups of berries and the angles of the leaves...it looks very graceful to me.

I was trying to find a way to incorporate a little more color into a strong drawing without taking away from the drawing too much and this is what I came up with.  I like it - what do you guys think?  I'd like to try this again, but I have to say I do still love my plain pencil drawings too.  I think drawings are looked down upon a little bit and I want to change that :)


5 comments:

belinda marshall said...

i really like them ~ especially how they are not 'coloured in' with colour. i know what u mean re drawings. i have been feeling the need for just drawing lately but always feel that they should have colour too.
your pencil drawings are very refreshing.

Janelle said...

Thanks, Belinda! I'm sort of on the fence about color/no color sometimes. I liked this drawing before I added the watercolor so it's always a little daunting to start adding color and maybe ruin it :)

freshlychopped said...

i really love the colors! your pencil drawings are fantastic as is too. i can imagine how scary it would be to mess one up. i'm going to start doing more originals so i have a feeling i will be in the same boat as you shortly. : )

Janelle said...

Thank you, Leah! I love getting feedback from other artists I admire :)

Good luck with your originals...just don't overthink it! I'm trying to remember to scan the drawings before I add anything else so that I'll have at least something to show if the color doesn't work out. I just get excited and forget to stop and take it to the computer.

freshlychopped said...

lol, yeah, that's always a problem when creating. you get so excited and absorbed that you forget to do the important things. i'll let you know how it goes!