Mothers' Day Bouquets

The Homework Challenge

Last week we tackled Grisaille II: techniques to draw and paint monochromatic grey works with a color bias. We used photographs that were made to look like paintings from a calendar called "The Impressionist Camera". Hugely challenging, so work is being continued on the project.

 Three works - one complete and two in progress were presented for appraisal.

September: (Hugo Henneberg) Hill 1899) by Katie Bull.
Note how she capitalized on the rough side of MiTientes white pastel paper. 

May: (Bernard Eilers) Amsterdam 1901)  WIP by JoAnne Fossa.
Using only three pencils on blue toned MiTientes paper,
her challenge is to edit out the mid ground details

June: (Leonard Misonne) Children 1908) WIP by Linda Harvey.
Note Linda's preparatory work on the right side. She is using toned gray
 MiTientes paper.

This week there were several bouquets to choose from: Tulips from Xuan's garden, Lilacs from Cathy's garden, and the WBUR Mother's Day Bouquet from Cricket.

  

The demonstration was the use of water soluble colored pencils on canvas as an end in itself or to use as an under drawing for an oil, acrylic, or pastel painting. We used as inspirations, portraits of bouquets painted by Édouard Manet (1832-1883) at the end of his all too brief life:
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Édouard_Manet

Starting with a neutral gold pencil, the shape of the lilac bouquet was loosely sketched in; corrections made or  lines erased with a moistened paper towel. The drawing was gradually built up, adding color and opening it up with a brush. Three brands of pencils were discussed: the above shown Crayola, Derwent, and the Instructor's favorite: Albrecht Dürer by Faber-Castell. 

You could have heard a pin drop!