How to draw a Pussy Willow, Salix cinerea

31 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by Paula Kuitenbrouwer in Botany, Coloured Pencil, Free Drawing, How to draw.......

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Atenção plena, awareness, サティ (仏教), ითვალისწინებენ ნახაზი, ტირიფი, ヤナギ, ध्यान में रखना ड्राइंग, উইলো, สติ, ແຕ້ມໃຈ, Bî (dar), bewus tekening, bewust tekening, Botany, Catkin, Ciente de desenho, Conciencia plena, Conștientă de desen, consciente de deseño, Consciente de dessin, Consciente de dibujo, Cynffonau ŵyn bach yn egino ar goeden Salix purpurea, 留意描画, dbalý kresba, Dedalu, dikkatli çizim, Drawing, Върба, Имајући у виду цртежа, Тал, памятаць малюнак, eingedenk Zeichnung, 버드나무속, Free Hand Drawing, Gjörhygli, Helygen, Hoe teken je wilgen katjes?, how to draw a Pussy Willow or Catkins, Γνωρίζοντας σχέδιο, Ιτιά, 주의 그림, líníocht aireach, mapag-alumana drawing, medveten ritning, memor tractionem, memoras desegno, Memore di disegno, Mengingat gambar, mindful tegning, mindfulness, minnug teikning, свесни цртеж, съпричастни рисунка, учитывая рисунок, Oandachttrening, opmærksomme tegning, Oppmerksomt nærvær, osiers, Paju, pamiętając rysunek, Pile-slægten, Pleine conscience, Pussy Willow, S vedomím kresba, Saileach, Sal-Weide (Salix caprea), Salix, Salix alba, Salix arbuscula, Salix arctica, Salix cinerea, Salix daphnoides, Salix elaeagnos, Salix glauca, Salix herbacea, Salix lapponum, Salix matsudana, Salix myrsinites, Salix myrtilloides, Salix pentandra, Salix polaris, Salix purpurea, Salix repens, Salix reticulata, Salix rosmarinifolia, Salix starkeana, Salix triandra, Salix uva-ursi, Salix viminalis, sallows, Salze, sati, Saule, Söyüd, Söğüt, smṛti, Tietoisena piirustus, Tietoisuustaito, tudatában rajz, tynnu Mindful, وإذ تضع في اعتبارها الرسم, وعي تام, Vierslekta, Vrba, Wakiyazingatia kuchora, Weiden, Wierzba, Wilg, Wilgen katjes, Willows, Wjerba, zavedajoč risba, zehinli rəsm, 正念, 注意图, 注意圖, ווערבע, מיון מדעי, מינדפול צייכענונג, ערבה (צמח), ציור מודע, حضور در لحظه, صفصاف, طراحی و آگاه

(Pussy Willow, Salix cinerea, copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer)

‘How did you do that?’,

I was asked after showing my drawing of a Pussy Willow, Salix cinerea.

My answer is: go out in your garden, to your park or nearby woodlands and bring home a small branch. There is, to my opinion, no way you can really draw without having a ‘life’ model in front of you.

I admit there are things you can not draw without a reference photo, like a portrait of a historical figure or drawing a spring flower in December. But then there is a change that this drawing without a life-model will miss depth. There is simply nothing better that the real object.

Having a life object to study, bridges the distance between the artist and the object. This might not be important to everybody, to me it is. I need to study it in different light and different angles. The object will enchant me and that enchantment will be part of my motivation to draw.

For the pussy willow itself it is all about layering. As you will see, the pussy willow looks greyish-white but in fact it has many different colours of fluff. Under the fluff you will see blue and dark grey and more to the edges you find (depending on the light) white, yellow or light-blue.

To give the branch a real 3D feeling copy closely the exact positions of the pussy willows: some to the right, some to the left, some behind the branch and some in front of it.

Use the layers you see and than use blenders. I used Derwent Blender and Derwent Coloursoft Pale Peach C570. For highlights I’ve used an electric eraser to take away a spot of the layers to create a whitish area.

I hope this helps you and now go out and enjoy your search for a nice branch!

Paula

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite fine art cards of her drawings as well as reproductions, and of some drawings smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Maria Sibylla Merian and Frida Kahlo

29 Tuesday Mar 2011

Posted by Paula Kuitenbrouwer in On Art

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My daughter and I filled our art study hour with two special female artists.

We read and admired two small books with prints of Maria Sibylla Merian and I read aloud to my daughter Frida Kahlo (from the delightful Smart About Art series).

In detail we studied the many fine lines in Merian’s botanical drawings: her drawings show so much patience and diligence.

We read that Frida Kahlo suffered serious health problems and had to stay in bed long periods of time. Her mother provided her with some paints and brushes and put up a big mirror in the canopy of her bed. Frida could look up and see herself. Many self-portraits followed. Kahlo has said, ‘I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best’.

It is quite an understatement to say that life was different to Maria Sibylla Merian. At the age of 52 she sailed with her daughter into a brutally dangerous, exotic and swampy Suriname to study the wonders of nature. Taking into account that Merian lived from 1647 to 1717 you can picture how brave that was for a divorced woman.

Frida Kahlo did travel too. She and Diego Rivera went to San Francisco, New York, Detroit, Paris and met Pablo Picasso. Frida died at the age of 47 in 1954.

Studying these artistic women made my daughter and I see how strong both were. Merian overturned many conventions at her time: as if being divorced wasn’t enough, she also travelled with her daughter alone to South America and (and oh, how shocking!) she collected bugs.
Merian’s work was and still is admired by many.

Frida dealt with her bad health and physical limitations bravely. Would you be able to paint after 32 operations and wearing a corset?

My daughter and I enjoyed our art-study hour of these two very different artists that had an unstoppable desire to draw and paint in common.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

P.S. my daughter’s art blog is here

Cultivate Mindfulness through Mindfully Drawing

19 Saturday Mar 2011

Posted by Paula Kuitenbrouwer in Botany, Coloured Pencil, Free Drawing, Illustration Friday

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Atenção plena, awareness, サティ (仏教), ითვალისწინებენ ნახაზი, ध्यान में रखना ड्राइंग, สติ, ແຕ້ມໃຈ, bewus tekening, bewust tekening, Ciente de desenho, Conciencia plena, Conștientă de desen, consciente de deseño, Consciente de dessin, Consciente de dibujo, 留意描画, dbalý kresba, dikkatli çizim, Имајући у виду цртежа, памятаць малюнак, eingedenk Zeichnung, Gjörhygli, Γνωρίζοντας σχέδιο, 주의 그림, líníocht aireach, mapag-alumana drawing, medveten ritning, memor tractionem, memoras desegno, Memore di disegno, Mengingat gambar, Mindful Drawing, mindful tegning, mindfulness, minnug teikning, свесни цртеж, съпричастни рисунка, учитывая рисунок, Oandachttrening, opmærksomme tegning, Oppmerksomt nærvær, pamiętając rysunek, Pleine conscience, S vedomím kresba, sati, smṛti, Tietoisena piirustus, Tietoisuustaito, tudatában rajz, tynnu Mindful, وإذ تضع في اعتبارها الرسم, وعي تام, Wakiyazingatia kuchora, zavedajoč risba, zehinli rəsm, 正念, 注意图, 注意圖, מינדפול צייכענונג, ציור מודע, حضور در لحظه, طراحی و آگاه

Butterfly Card Set

(Spring Blossom with Blue Sky, coloured pencils & pastels, Paula Kuitenbrouwer)

How to cultivate mindfulness through mindful drawing? This is what I do. I select the right materials and choose an object for drawing that inspires me but not overly. Too much passion easily leads to frustration. Paying attention to light is important. Although I like to sit in the garden on a sunny day, I don’t like to glare annoyed at an approaching overcast because that certainly isn’t meditative. Last, I keep my concentration high, but my expectations low. Practice makes perfect and it takes time. After I have done some drawing, I put it away. I postpone judging my work. Later I see if my work falls in the category ‘exercise’ or ‘exhibition’. How do you cultivate mindfulness, calm or happiness through drawing or painting?

Paula

Koi Carp

Paula Kuitenbrouwer sells exquisite original art work (drawings and paintings), fine art cards, as well as larger reproductions, and smaller business-, gift- or mummy-cards. See Purchase in the header for what is available as well as the price list. In case you like to commission Paula, contact her at mindfuldrawing@gmail.com

Dark or Light Backgrounds?

09 Wednesday Mar 2011

Posted by Paula Kuitenbrouwer in Art Class, Beautiful, Beautiful Dutch, Books, Botany, Color Theory, Coloured Pencil, Composition, Dutch Golden Age Floral Painters, Dutch Golden Age Floral Paintings, Floral Composition, Flowers, Musings, Observing colours, On Art, On my desk..., Paula Kuitenbrouwer, Teaching Art or Art Class

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17th century, Art-cards, art-kartice, arte-txartelak, Atenção plena, awareness, Álainn ealaíne cártaí, Âge d'or de la peinture néerlandaise, オランダ黄金時代の絵画, サティ (仏教), ითვალისწინებენ ნახაზი, ध्यान में रखना ड्राइंग, सुंदर कला कार्ड, हस्तनिर्मित पोस्टकार्ड, จิตรกรรมยุคทองของเนเธอร์แลนด์, สติ, ແຕ້ມໃຈ, Beautiful art-ბარათები, Beautiful art-kartu, Beautiful Art-kort, Beautiful celf-gardiau, Bela arte-cards, Belega arto-kartoj, Bella art targetes, Bella arte della cartolina, Bella arte tarjetas, Belle art-cartes, bewus tekening, bewust tekening, Bukur art-kartat, cardiau post â llaw, cartões postais artesanais, cartes postales faites à la main, cartoline fatte a mano, cártaí poist lámhdhéanta, Ciente de desenho, Conciencia plena, Conștientă de desen, consciente de deseño, Consciente de dessin, Consciente de dibujo, 留意描画, 美しい芸術カード, 美丽的艺术卡, Dark or Light Backgrounds, dbalý kresba, dikkatli çizim, Drawing, Dutch Golden Age painting, Золотий вік голландського живопису, Золотой век голландской живописи, Имајући у виду цртежа, Красивий арт-карт, Красиво изкуство картички, Красивый арт-карт, Лепа арт-цардс, Открытки ручной работы, Прыгожы арт-карт, Сликарство од холандското златно доба, Убава уметност-картички, памятаць малюнак, паштоўкі ручной работы, eingedenk Zeichnung, el yapımı kartpostallar, Fermosa arte cards, Frumoasa artă-carduri, Güzel sanat-kartlar, Gjörhygli, Gražus menas Atvirukai, Gyönyörű art-kártyák, handgjorda vykort, handmade pocztówki, handmade postkarten, håndlagde postkort, håndlavede postkort, Ilus kunsti-kaardid, incəsənət-kartlar, 수제 엽서, Όμορφη τέχνης-κάρτες, Γνωρίζοντας σχέδιο, 아름다운 예술 카드, 주의 그림, kartolina handmade, kézzel készített képeslapok, Krásný art-pohlednice, Krásny art-pohľadnice, kuns-kaarte, Kunst-Karten, líníocht aireach, Lijepa umjetnost-razglednice, mane bildkartoj, mapag-alumana drawing, medveten ritning, memor tractionem, memoras desegno, Memore di disegno, Mengingat gambar, mindful tegning, mindfulness, minnug teikning, рачно изработени картички, ручно разгледнице, ръчно изработени картички, свесни цртеж, съпричастни рисунка, учитывая рисунок, Oandachttrening, opmærksomme tegning, Oppmerksomt nærvær, Painting, pamiętając rysunek, Pintura barroca als Països Baixos, Pintura del Siglo de oro neerlandés, Piękna sztuka-kartki, Pleine conscience, Pulchra es-cards, rhoncus postcards, ruční pohlednice, ručne razglednice, S vedomím kresba, sati, Schöne Kunst-Karten, Skaisti mākslas-kartes, smṛti, Smukke kunst-kort, tarjetas postales hechas a mano, Tietoisena piirustus, Tietoisuustaito, tudatában rajz, tynnu Mindful, وإذ تضع في اعتبارها الرسم, وعي تام, Vacker konst-kort, Vakker kunst-kort, Vestfirskt póstkort, Wakiyazingatia kuchora, zavedajoč risba, zehinli rəsm, 手作りのポストカード, 正念, 注意图, 注意圖, גלויות בעבודת יד, יפות אמנות כרטיסים, כאַנמייד פּאָוסטקאַרדז, מינדפול צייכענונג Prachtige Kunstkaarten, ציור מודע, שיין קונסט-קאַרדס. Handmade postcards, بطاقات بريدية اليدوية, جميلة أحدث بطاقات, حضور در لحظه, زیبا هنر کارت, طراحی و آگاه

I have been exploring the ‘Colored Pencil Painting Bible: Techniques for Achieving Luminous Color and Ultrarealistic Effects’ by Alyona Nickelsen with much interest. As a consequence I’ve done some thinking about dark and lighter backgrounds.

‘ (…) Busy backgrounds, filled with bright colours that compete with your focal point, will make your viewer tire quickly. There are a number of ways to avoid this potential pitfall. One of the most common solutions is to carefully consider the effects of negative space in you composition. Planned use of negative spaces can help to highlight your main idea- and in effect both unite and balance your composition’.

Nickelsen shows a drawing done by her with a black background and recommends; ‘ The strong black background creates a quite area, allowing the eye to glide playfully along the edges of the three pieces of fruit (….)’. I see this often: compositions with strong black backgrounds.

I see so many art blogs with black backgrounds and I am afraid I feel rather ‘negative’ when I see a potential lively background showed as a negative black space. It makes me think of what I have learned studying Golden Age floral art. The artists of that time started with dark backgrounds and it worked. Floral paintings were much admired. Nevertheless after a while lighter and deeper background became fashionable.

(Tulip, oil paint, by Paula Kuitenbrouwer)

I like to show a flower painting that has a dark background. The flower vase stands deep in the dark and there is a strong focus point. It is pretty but after a while you start to question: where is the flower vase positioned? I would like to walk around it, how would the back look? Wouldn’t it be pretty if the viewer (me) is able to imaginary walk around it without having the feeling to disappear into the night?

Here is a fabulous flower paintings by Jan van Huysum with a dark background.

A negative space works, but it has a limiting effect: your view is directed and focused yet lot of the painting remains a mystery and stays hidden in the dark. After seeing many black backgrounds, I like to see a flower bouquet in a large open space. I like to look at it from all the cardinal directions. Because I can not step into a painting I like the painter to suggest to me how it would be if I would walk around the flower vase and enjoy even the tiniest flower at the backside. Have a look at later floral paintings by Jan van Huysum that deliver that effect..

This bouquet is situated on a balcony and the viewer enjoys a view on a garden. And so it this painting by Jan van Huysum…

I agree with Nickelson that the eye needs a focus point. It need to be guided to the most outstanding or interesting part of a painting. But the mind can handle much more than a focus point; the mind likes to explore and wander. After being glued to the focus point my eyes need a horizon, a different perspective, a bit of an adventure. The Golden Age floral painters understood that and experimented with lighter backgrounds and far horizons.

The viewer needs a focus point, yes. But is he is also able to handle much more as long as the background is in harmony with the rest of the painting. Be aware. Don’t choose automatically. Consider all your options. Do you prefer darker or lighter backgrounds? And why?

Paula Kuitenbrouwer

The Zen of Seeing

03 Thursday Mar 2011

Posted by Paula Kuitenbrouwer in Books on Mindfulness, How to draw......., Meditation, Mindful Drawing, Mindfullness, Mindfully Drawing, Musings, On Art, On my desk..., Paula Kuitenbrouwer

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The Zen of Seeing
Seeing/Drawing as Meditation
Frederick Franck
Vintage Books
ISBN: 039471968

I read in the ‘Zen of Seeing, Seeing/Drawing as Meditation’ by Frederick Franck on the feelings Franck experiences at the beginning of a drawing session. He tells that at the beginning of a drawing session he is often in a state of agitation, even panic. His ‘Me’ is calming down as soon as he relates to the object of his drawing. Once he starts to ‘see’, the anxieties, memories, daydreams cease. Franck quotes the Indian philosopher Aurobindo, who was also a poet, mentioning that the consistent practice of an art in the end constitutes a kind of yoga.

I often feel the same. I plan an hour of drawing and as soon I have everything organized, I feel intimidated by the object that I plan to draw. That is because I look at all the different colours, the twists, and turns and the difference in structure and oh…there is so much to see and draw, will I be able to catch all I see?

Because of feeling intimidated, I consider easy ways out. Shall I make a photo and then study the lines? Oh, no. I dislike sitting in front of a screen, making photos or any other short-cut. I want to draw! I mean: really freehand drawing. The last thing on my wish-list for an hour of uninterrupted drawing is the use of a camera or a computer or any digital gadget. I want to sit and draw, and feel that timelessness that comes when you are absorbed in the process of mindfully drawing.

When I study the object, I bridge the distance between the object and me and the result is pleasing. I feel much better and up to the task. If I do not get ‘there’, if I do not get focussed, my drawing most likely ends up in the bin. This is of course nothing special.

All artists do something to get focussed. Do you listen to music that helps your to concentrate? Do you take a few deep breaths? Or you drink tea with dark chocolate? I can only draw when my beloved family members are relaxed and happy. Only then I can withdraw and draw.

How does this work for you?

Paula Kuitenbrouwer