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Deborah, nice drawing of this branch. I like how you observing some of the little knobs and imperfections on it. You are starting to get some good 3D form, with that highlight toward the left side of the branch, and then getting darker on the right. Very good! From the placement of the highlight, it looks like your light is coming from the upper…[Read more]

Thanks so much for the feedback

This is beautiful! You captured the essence of this scene perfectly. I feel like I can even smell the air. The only thing I would suggest is to carry the blue sky over to right a bit. Also, there is a skinny white rectangle on the lower left. I’m guessing you are going to paint something there? This is such a gorgeous painting. I just love it, and…[Read more]

Thank you so much again. I enjoyed doing this and it does sort of look like the forests I visited. Yes, I need to add something to the white rectangle. And good point about the sky, I will add some ultramarine blue on the right – I think I started with cobalt blue (or was it phtalo? Gosh, can’t remember now) on the left and then gradually changed…[Read more]

Renata, This is fantastic! Your addition of the petals showing how the stamen are attached is the perfect way to balance out the composition. Wonderful choice! And it give us great information about the structure of the flower, and adds wonderful interest. You captured the shine of the petals beautifully. The text is great. I really like how you…[Read more]

Thank you so much, Pam! I wasn’t sure about the writing, need to practice that – it’s much more difficult than it appears. Wasn’t planning to add colour to the graphite parts. Do you think I should? I also considered doing a graphite version of the whole tree somewhere but now there is no more space…

This is wonderful. One of my favorites of yours. I love that Wendy commented that it feels like its moving under the water, and then we found out that that was your goal! The addition of those shells are great. I love how the different elements interact with one another. Bravo!!!!

I love the additions to this composition! It helps to balance it out, and helps the eye move around the page. And I like how you have that fruit in the upper right pointing to the focal point. It’s such a lovely drawing.

And, almost forgot. Some seeds please 🙂

Yoo hoo, what a party!

I just love this Dolo. So happy.

I haven’t done a lot of colored pencil work since the last webinar. I’ve mainly been doing plant exploration in the field with a micron pen and then adding a bit of watercolor when I’m back at my desk. I think these field studies will be useful when I’m ready to do more polished compositions in the Draw Botanical method.

I love this page, Maureen! The flowers are so graceful and light – and the notes and sketches make for a very engaging composition!

Thank you, @renatafp!

This is wonderful. Sketch pages like this are so wonderful and useful. I have a sketchbook that I’ve been meaning to use more. You are inspiring me!

Thank you, @pgthompson! I wrote a bit more about my sketching/plant exploration process here if you’re interested https://www.maureenclaremurphy.com/blog/drawing-a-line-through-july I’m also planning on doing some sketching the Thursday before Wendy’s workshop if you or anyone else is up for joining me. 🙂

The model for the three prior drawings of the apple.

Here is my exploration of the Nightshade Family. Almost finished. What makes a nightshade? Do you know?

I just flipped to the solanaceae page in my nature journal to remind myself of their key characteristics — they have five united sepals and five united petals, sometimes in the shape of a star (hence the “sol” in the genus name). They usually have five stamens, sometimes united and the stigma often has an enlarged, round tip.

This composition is amazing and so enjoyable to look at — how did you decide on the scale of the various elements? Some things seem bigger than life-size and other elements seem smaller.

So beautiful!

@maureenclareSometimes I enlarge a flower to show detail but otherwise all elements are lift size. When I enlarge I include a notation showing that it is enlarged