Illustration Friday: "Garden"

"Walking at Pemberley"

Inspired by a request from an online art friend, this was drawn with a 00 brush and Speedball Super Black ink on Canson Illustration paper.  I drew it quite fast;  as usual I was running late for Illustration Friday!

Illustration Friday: Sharp

"The Flowered Gown"

I thought this week would be ideal for another figure drawing/historical fashion combination illustration so that's what I created.  Originally I intended it to be funny, which in a way it is, but not in the silly way I originally imagined.  I worked harder on it than I had planned and it took on a life of its own.  So I decided against giving it a funny name and present it here as "The Flowered Gown".

I used Higgins Black Magic ink drawn with a Hunt 102 (crow quill) nib on Arches Aquarelle watercolor paper.  The watercolors are from my mixed-up collection of Grumbacher and Winsor & Newton.

Here are the reference photos I used:

The figure drawing site I used is here: (Link)  The site seems to have changed or is being reconstructed because as of the time of this post it doesn't work properly for me.  I'm including the link because the site has been great to use in the recent past and I'm sure it will again soon.  It's weird that the pose is a big Viking guy and I wanted to draw a woman, but the axe was perfect for this week's "sharp" theme and I liked his expression.

The site I used for historical fashion is The Metropolitan Museum of Art's site here: (Gown Link).

Thanks for visiting!

Illustration Friday: "Vacation"

I'm so late on this that there was no time for ink to dry before painting on it!  So I shaded it with lines instead.  This was drawn with 0 and 00 brushes and Speedball Super Black ink, which is easy to find and I think makes nice lines.

Illustration Friday: "Ruckus"

Illustration Friday: "Jagged"

Illustration Friday: "Peace"

This piece is graphite on Bristol and in a slightly different style than I usually use.  But I loved drawing this.  Working on the details and shading while listening to my current music favorites was very relaxing!

Illustration Friday: "Repeat"

"Come Along!"

I love using black watercolor wash on pen and ink drawings!  For this I used Higgins black India ink with Grumbacher Academy lamp black watercolor on Canson watercolor paper.  Canson is nice watercolor paper because it has just enough texture to be interesting and take an ink pen gently, but not so much that it overpowers the drawing in a photo or scan.

I added another view of the art because it's small and this photo shows the size well.  It's an ACEO.

Illustration Friday: "Beard"

"Our Tree"

Illustration Friday: "Temptation"

"The Open Gate"

Illustration Friday: "Twisted"

I'm posting a photo of my illustration and not a scan this week.  My scanner is bad I think, but whatever the reason, my scans just don't capture the colors of watercolor properly.  Photos seem to do much better, even when they are taken with a phone as this one was!

This piece is very small at 2.5"x3.5" ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) size.

Illustration Friday: "Exotic"

This is a late post for this week's theme but it took me a while to come up with an idea that I liked!  I've wanted to do some illustrations of world dancers for a while, so here's a quick one of Russian folk dancers, inspired by the 2014 Olympics in Russia.

Illustration Friday: "Disguise"

I was thinking about this week's prompt, "disguise", and watching the State of the Union Address last night.  This is what I drew in my sketchbook.  Does it work for the theme?  I'm not sure really, but there's just something about it that I like.  I left it as a sketch because I like the unfinished quality of it.  And somehow the stuff on the other side of the paper showing through a little seems to work as a vague sort of texture.

Illustration Friday: "Beginning"

Illustration Friday: "Search"

I took some pictures as I worked so I could post a few progress shots:

Illustration Friday: "Creature"

"Mind Over Matter"

It's great to participate in Illustration Friday again!  Sorry it's been so long.  This drawing was done with pen and ink on cream-colored drawing paper.

Illustration Friday: "Hybrid"

Fog

                                          The fog comes

                                          on little cat feet.

                                          It sits looking

                                          over harbor and city

                                          on silent haunches

                                          and then moves on.

                                                                    -Carl Sandburg  

Illustration Friday: "Surveillance"

I'm a huge fan of the (sadly cancelled) Showtime original series "The Borgias".  It's like a really great historical fiction book come to life and is, well, eye candy in every way.  It makes me want to draw every character and facial expression, not to mention the beautiful lighting, scenes and costumes.

Since I've been dying to do that, I chose a scene that would fit this week's IF theme, took a screenshot on my desktop, and sketched from it!  This is Lucrezia Borgia as she stands on a curtained balcony above the hall where her suitors are being presented, observing them.  Holliday Grainger is the actress who brilliantly plays Lucrezia, and this scene can be found in Season 2, Episode 6.

I have not decided if I will push this further, or if I will go on to sketch more faces instead!

Illustration Friday: "Tension"

I wish I could spin some meaning into this, but in reality it was just about procrastinating, doing a fast sketch for fun and drawing thick lines with my brush pen!  It felt great.  When I realized it would work for Illustration Friday, it was a nice little bonus!

Illustration Friday: "Egg"

Illustration Friday: "Eye Glasses"

It seemed to me to be time to draw a duck!  To fit this week's theme, I had to give him some glasses.  But I think I forgot to tell him what to do with them!  This guy is a "tiny", what I affectionately call my 2.5" x 3.5" art cards, in ink and colored pencil.