Friday, November 14, 2008

Beetle



It is raining today, and a carpet of soggy brown leaves covers Ben's grass, the driveway (after being blown clean yesterday) and the deck.  But hey, it's no problem at all for me to find something to draw. Anyone who has been to my house or studio knows that my windowsills are filled with nature's  goodies.  All I have to do is decide if the subject will be animal, vegetable, or mineral.  No need getting cold and wet if you don't have to!  

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5 comments:

Jo said...

Helen,
Your drawings are magnificanet and your blog incredible! Congratulations!

Jo

Anonymous said...

I came across your blog by chance and I just wanted to say how much I love your nature journal pages. They have really inspired me to have a go myself. Would you mind saying what materials you use? What I mean is do you use a particular kind of pen and what kind of paper do you use? I assume that the colour is watercolour. Thank you for posting these so others can enjoy them - I really do find them to be food for the soul and they really have cheered me up! I shall look forward to more entries over the coming weeks!

Alex

Helen said...

Alex - Thank you so much for your kind comments! Here is the info you requested: Most of the time I use a Pigma Micron pen, size 005, with archival ink, and 140 lb cold press watercolor paper in a spiral bound field notebook made by Canson (Montval Field Watercolor Book). You are right about the color - it is applied as a light watercolor wash after the drawing is complete. The pen is permanent so there are no worries about the lines running.

Remember that there is no right or wrong in a nature journal. Just draw whatever is interesting to you, and most of all, have fun!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for replying. I've jotted it all down and will be heading to the art shop this week!
Love the buckeyes by the way - over here (in England) we call them conkers!
Alex

Helen said...

Ha! I love that name! I guess it comes from that fact that one falling from a tree could seriously conk a person on the head. I haven't experienced that ...yet.