Where to begin …

… in the middle, as usual for me. I have been very busy with art, with designs, with trying new things. So much going on and the time has come for me to begin posting again more seriously.

Above is my take on an exercise in a book called “Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals” by Carla Sonheim. This is just the 1st exercise (plus a little, because I didn’t read well enough to realize that adding color is in the 2nd exercise). I am smitten with this book already!

The 2nd and third slides show part of the process. I chose an image of a tree in New York City that I’d taken a picture of some years ago. And, as you can see from the third slide, I singled out some interesting shapes in the drawing. Then, I turned the shape in 4 directions, and based a drawing on each. Since I have one and wanted the convenience, my projector was used to trace the basic outline shape into my notebook. Afterward, color was added with watercolor pencils, some of the lines were highlighted and a little crosshatching added. Overall drawing size about 8 3/4” square.

If you have a favorite, I’d love to know - please feel free to comment. Mine is the weird creature eating a chocolate chip cookie, but the owl-like bird is a close second.

This book is a wonderful way to jump start creativity and I highly recommend it or looking into her other books.

#watercolor #watercolorpencils #artPOP #blickartmaterials #leuchtturm1917 #sakuramicron #animals #imaginary #frixion #colorfulart #whimsey #sketch #notebooksketch #drawing #penandink #whimsical #imagination #drawingforfun #bookreview @carlasonheim