still life

This week's drawing project: a still life with plants and objects from my garden, in gouache and pencil. The assignment this week was to think about and list the things we know and love, with the aim of finding a more personal creative voice. As you know, I adore this sort of navel-gazing exercise, but the discipline of having to produce not one but three pieces of work kept me from completely disappearing up my own backside.

The second part of the exercise was to reproduce the image as a collage:

And lastly to consider the tonal values by limiting ourselves to ink and paper:

I found the second two pieces very challenging but have learned such a lot from persevering with them. Successes and failures in all three pieces, but that's the whole point... to learn. I think what is interesting is straightaway I kind of knew what I might use again, and what I definitely won't... collage is tricky and slow... ink is fun after a bit of practice.

29 comments:

hanmade said...

they are wonderful! :0)

christine said...

I like all three but especially the collage - there is something about it's colours that appeal to me most. Congratulations - an exercise very well done!

Vintage Tea Time said...

Oooh, I love exercises like that - used to do them at college many moons ago! They're all great - well done!

Tart said...

Deeply impressed at your eye for detail, tone and texture. The collage is particularly pleasing!

Marigold Jam said...

Sounds a really interesting course and you seem to be doing well with it all. Love all three!

Mag said...

How interesting to be able to study the results of your project, here! I have found a lot to like in each of the pieces. I'm not sure if I could succeed at something like that but I'm tempted to have a go.
Thank you for sharing this.

Lyn said...

What a good thing to do, very clever, I think they all have good qualities and like you say, it was a good peocess to learn.
love
Lyn
xxx

Karen L R said...

oh, all three are beautiful. i love the way you see things, and get them down on paper. just lovely.

Frances said...

Well, Sue, I like each of these pictures very much. It is interesting to have the sort of indoors bird's eye view of an array of interesting subjects.

You draw so very well!
Seeing the evolution of the images in each stage is fascinating to this viewer. I know that you have such mastery of subtle color/colourways, I wonder what would have happened if you'd had a bright color introduced into one of the stages? I almost typed states, rather than stages, thinking of how we printmakers manipulate our images through many artist's proofs.

I am so looking forward to your posts. You are inspring me!

xo

Unknown said...

I love these Sue you have a real talent. I have always loved your colour pallet in your other work - especially your crochet, and these are beautiful. inspirational even. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Unknown said...

I love all of them, such a beautiful arrangement.

caireen said...

these are amazing - very balanced, and considered -well done!

A time to dance said...

Beautiful...I love the last one....hope you are well...Helen XX

Gina said...

Fabulous. Love them all but the collage is my favourite.

ginny said...

these are so lovely. very inspiring. my favourite is also the collage. x

mythreetrees said...

I really enjoyed reading your blog and especially love the collage work in this post. Are you following set of exercises or is this self generated? Very inspiring!

Chrissie said...

all three are highly skilled and full of charm and a definite affection for the subjects, and I'm drawn back to the collage each time.

Vivien said...

I much prefer the first one, which has more mystery than the others. It's a very good aesthetic and definite painting.

Gilly said...

I like all of them, but the collage has a bit more "zing". The ink one reminds me of the drawings you find in old books of objects observed, perhaps on an expedition.

The colours are very "you".

rossichka said...

What amazing results! I suppose you are delighted by yourself and the course. Do you see each others' works? Do you comment them?
I like very much the idea of recreating certain objects, using different art techniqies! I liked mostly your last work! The collage looks like a photo... Good luck, Sue!:)

Reading Tea Leaves said...

I admire all three. They are delightful and I love their aesthetic quality.

It seems like an excellent course Sue.

Jeanne
x

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

I love all three artworks - the first being the favourite because of the way you have captured the streak of sunlight.

sue said...

All three pieces are gorgeous, my favourite is the collage, like Christine I love the colours!
Looks like a great course, really unleashes the creativity!

Anonymous said...

I was so excited to see these! There is so much to like about the first painting - the patch of light, the pencil texture, the colour palette...
And what a great idea to try the same still life 3 ways - I think I might give that a go sometime. Love it :)

Acornmoon said...

I like your painting very much, especially the colours you have chosen. Very Scandinavian looking. I shall resist the temptation to say that it would make a great textile!

ljw said...

Those are lovely pieces of work. Still life I think requires a particular skill which is apparent in your work.

JP said...

they are all so great - clever you

Jackie said...

Oh Sue! I thought the top one was another artist you were illustrating, perhaps Mary Fedden, and then I realised you did them. You have such a lovely style. The palette is so calm and still and yet they have a quiet vivacity..does that make any sense?
I loved the snowdrop garden too, as well as your words on the Pre Raphaelites v Pierre Bonnard.

Celia Hart said...

How did I miss this post...

Love these! I neeeeed to do more drawing instead of thinking!

Celia