When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them". (Nikki)

"...the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life". (Jackson Pollock)

"Trust your intuition, it's just like goin' fishin'; you cast your line 'til you get a bite." (Paul Simon)

colored pencils

Salt Spring Island Fog

Monday, July 14th, 2008

                  Salt Spring Island Fog, 18 x 24 inches pencil, eraser, dry pastels, colored pencils on paper, framed size 28.5 x 34.5 inches.

Salt Spring Island Fog 18 x 24 inches graphite, eraser, dry pastels, colored pencils on paper, framed size 28.5 x 34.5 inches, accepted for VAST’s 2009 Calendar. All accepted original works will be displayed, meet the Artists and purchase a signed calendar (or more!) November- December, 2008 at The Chestnut Tree in Denton, TX.

Post-dated Note: Article published in the Denton Record Chronicle, Entertainment section February 8th, 2009

Windswept, NC (phase 2)

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

                            Cypress, Kitty Hawk, NC - work in progress, phase 2  Cypress, Kitty Hawk, NC - scanned detail; accurate colors (work in progress) 

Windswept, NC Cypress, Kitty HawkOuter Banks - 24 x 18 inches Pencil, Oil Pastel, Watercolor pencils (mixed media experimental, work in progress).

Low light conditions today, so the photo, above left, is dark.  I find that manipulating colors and contrasts digitally to correct them never works for these type of drawings, so included are two scanned portions showing accurate colors.

                    Cypress, Kitty Hawk, NC - 24 x 18 inches Pencil, Oil Pastel, Watercolor pencils

Plans now are to erase some of the color, then see what happens when painting lightly over some of the watercolor-penciled areas; there will be some resist because of the oil pastel base. I don’t mind taking this drawing beyond this stage because while portions are intersting, the cypress alone is not enough compositionally as I had hoped; it’s rather boring on its own. Some hints of background or interaction with another element is necessary, and once I drew the fence in, am disappointed with it in there now that I see it.

Windswept, NC – started

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

                               Cypress, Outer Banks, NC - work in progress

24 x 18 inches Work in progress: Sculptural, windswept cypress are common ornamentals in yards along the Outer Banks, North Carolina. This started as a pencil drawing, then felt I’d been playing it too safe lately, so added some energy and a few problems to solve with the use of oil pastels, which were mostly scraped away before continuing with watercolor pencils. Hoping to see the effects or textures created by mixing oil and water mediums.

Salt Spring Island

Friday, January 18th, 2008

                   Salt Spring Island, B.C. - 16 x 22 inches pencil, eraser, dry pastels, colored pencils 

Salt Spring Island, B.C. early morning - 18 x 24 inches – pencil, eraser, dry pastels, colored pencils on paper, framed size 28.5 x 34.5 inches. Drawing details:

                   Salt Spring Island - bottom left detail

                            Salt Spring Island, B.C. - detail    Salt Spring Island, B.C. - detail

Credit to my Dad, Jim Drury for the photo references.