A small journal drawing in Polychromo coloured pencils.
2020 Christmas Card
Procreate
It has taken a while to get back to Procreate. It was so much easier and quicker this time around.
I am using an old stylus and from what I understand, it is not as intuitive as an Apple Pen. Look forward to upgrading in the not-too distant future.
This is my first attempt using Procreate. It took three days to create this artwork. Being too excited and impatient, I did not take enough time to research the available online tutorials and skipped over some of the valuable shortcuts; for example, I did all the colouring and filling by hand. I knew there was an easy way, but found the whole process so meditative, I wanted to continue as I was going, it was so enjoyable.
The other important thing I overlooked was not locking the layers as I worked and I had to start from scratch a few times. The illustration could also have benefited from exploring the settings for the brushes and smoothing some of the lines.
Random artwork
Natural History Illustration 101
NewcastleX: NHI101x Drawing Nature, Science and Culture: Natural History Illustration 101
This introductory course in Natural History Illustration is offered by the University of Newcastle. It is an online, six week course, focusing on botanical illustration and animal study and anatomy.
The course is available for a very low price (around $50 Australian) if you desire a certificate on completion, or is offered free if you just wish to participate in the assignments and take part in the online forums. Either way, it is very worthwhile.
I enjoyed the exercises and the positive feedback provided by the other students. It is a very friendly and supportive community and I learned new and valuable skills. The time passed so quickly and I would like to explore this field further.
I saw the rock (top left) at Surf Beach on Phillip Island and I would just clarify that I observed the rock and photographed it. Of course I did not remove it from the beach. The colours were stunning and it caught my eye – it was exposed on the shore line at low tide. I may attempt painting it in colour some time.
I chose this gorgeous little numbat for my final piece. Photographic reference was kindly provided by Western Australian wildlife photographer, Rob McLean.
Field notes
This beautiful little banksia was growing very unassumingly in the Coles Supermarket Car Park in Cowes. I parked right alongside it – the leaves were touching my driver’s window. The banksia was in several stages of growth, from the unformed, smooth young cones depicted at left in the above illustration, to budding cones and to the mature cones depicted on the right.
Scratchboard
Italy – June 2019
Public latrines at Ostia Antica which took hours to find – but I was on a mission; a pilgrimage, after seeing them on Mary Beard’s program on Ancient Rome.
Acrylic pour
Scratchboard workshop
Jan Lowe is a very talented local artist who conducted our Scratchboard workshop. Here is a link to her website: https://www.janlowefineart.com/
Elephant what?
My son gifted me this little 100mm x 100mm drawing pad made from elephant dung which he picked up in Thailand whilst on holiday. I have finally made use of it and will do a series of drawings and hopefully my creativity will improve, using this lovely material. I am already inspired, so here are some of my first attempts.
