Bunny

"Bunny"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

It's a little late for Easter, but in keeping with the blossoming of spring.  I'll soon have a little more time for in-depth drawing; this was another thirty-minute sketch.

At Dusk

"At Dusk"
graphite and camera filter
small leather sketchbook

I've been very busy lately, mainly because I've begun riding and working with horses again, but I took thirty minutes to do this sketch.  It's been staying lighter and lighter out when I leave work, and I love to watch the changing atmosphere as I drive to the barn and then to home.  Sunset (and sunrise) never loses its magic for me.  I especially like tree limbs silhouetted against the gloaming sky.  This piece ended up with a slightly melancholy feel to it- the barren branches, the thin horse- but it could also be hopeful, as the growing season finally begins.  Things could look up for this pair yet, and I guess that's really what I'm getting at.  I'm working on an old rescue horse, hoping that we can fill her out again and make her suitable for light riding, and while I'm sometimes looked at askance for not choosing a fancier, younger, stronger animal- I believe in this horse, and I believe that we can develop a good relationship and improve both of our qualities of life.

Lehigh River on the second day of spring

"Right Bank"
Nikon D300

On the second day of spring, I decided that I would go up to the highest point I could find to take a picture of Easton in the snow.  I got those photos, but while crossing the Lehigh River to drive up the mountain, I was struck by the calm beauty of the snow-laden trees reflected in the water.  For the first time in a while, I was driven by impulse to find a place to park and walked back onto the bridge for these shots.  It was cloudy, cold, and serene, even with traffic whizzing behind me.  I think that I will be listening to my intuition more frequently from now on.

"View from the Bridge"
Nikon D300

Red-winged Blackbird

"Red-winged Blackbird"
gel pen and red Sharpie
small leather sketchbook

I heard the "konk-a-ree!" of a red-winged blackbird as I walked my dog in the morning.  It was thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit, warm enough for me to wear a hoodie instead of my winter jacket.  The sun actually felt warm on my face.  Starlings, cardinals, finches and sparrows sang and called.  When I heard the redwing, I was transported back to one of my childhood homes, which had a small wetland ecosystem in the back yard.  Each spring, hundreds of red-winged blackbirds would nest in the cattails and puff out their feathers as they called.  I loved to look for the stately males on the tops of the reeds, trees, and telephone poles.  Wings and tail are fanned, beak opened wide, as they claim their territory.  They are one of my favorite harbingers of spring.  Shortly after I heard the blackbird, I saw yellow crocuses about to bloom on a sun-drenched southern slope.  Warmer weather and the growing season are indeed almost here.

My drawing's proportions are a little off; the body of the bird should be a little more slender and his beak shorter and thinner.  I was very pleased with the hatching effect of my pen, but the shoulder patches were too white and flat in comparison.  There happened to be a red Sharpie marker on my desk, so I took a risk and used that to shade in the bird's namesake.  I'm pleased with the overall result.

Floral studies- pansy and crocus

"Crocuses"
gel pen
small leather sketchbook

Dreaming of spring, I thought of the flowers that I would like to put in my garden.  Crocuses shall have to wait for planting until the fall, but I'm looking forward to adding some bright, early splashes of color with pansies.  I've done a pansy study before from the flowers in my mother's garden, and doing this drawing took me back to that moment in April sunshine.  When it's cold, smells are dampened, but when the first warm spring winds come, the air is alive with rich soil and heady chlorophyll.  My favorite spring scents are lilacs and hyacinth.  Although snow is falling (again), the first green shoots will soon push through the thawing earth.

There was no preliminary sketch in pencil for either of these drawings; I simply took my pen, began with the basic shapes of the flowers, and added detail.  I have a tendency to vertically elongate my subjects, especially as seen in the pansies below.  A lot of (out)lines were used, giving these more of a design quality than realism per se.

"Pansies"
gel pen
small leather sketchbook