Drawing #100 - Suddenly Feathers

 An oversized card, this drawing is still probably bigger than the early ones. The scraps from a book had the words suddenly and feathers, but the feathers didn't survive the glue stick, but it's still the name. Really liked doing a color background with acrylic paint and a liquid gesso.

Drawing #99 - They Had Hoped

 Well, I'm back. The beginning of March was fabulous! I had a piece in a members' exhibit that opened the night of March 6 and that was exciting. Then I attended a two-day workshop in mixed-media collage over the weekend. This was wonderful and very stimulating. I did several pieces during the class and one small one I really like just after. And then the pandemic started shutting everything down. Somehow I've only managed to do drawings as birthday cards, one in May and one in June, since. Until now.

 The new drawing continues the previous numbering without counting anything from the time of the workshop. The beginning lines were from my memory of drawing drooping daffodils in the spring but quickly took their own direction. The collage uses parts of a page from my mother's accounting textbook, some from her elementary reader and a little from a nature magazine. The title is in the reader text but it could also have been "fear of trouble." The base is 14" x 11" Bristol paper that is sturdy and bright. I used ink, acrylic paint, colored pencil, and watercolor.

Drawing #98 - On the Rocks

My usual paper elements, ink, acrylic paint, watercolor pencil and colored pencil are joined here with a red thread. The title comes form the text of an elementary reader and inspired some  of the design. (And I didn't misnumber this but gave #97 to a drawing I started before this one but haven't finished). It is on 12" x 9" watercolor paper that was primed with a dilute transparent (and matte) gesso. Remember to click on the image to see it larger.

Drawing #91 - Loft and Swoop

Inspired by drawing at the natural history museum, this piece began on a watercolor block primed with liquid gesso, three colors of acrylic paint plus white. The paint was applied with a palette knife. I like the matte finish from the gesso. The collage elements include pieces from the falling apart copy of Tennyson's The Princess. A new effect comes from a pearlescent watercolor paint in the color blue silver. The paper is 12 x 9." I also used watercolor pencils. Looking forward to your impressions. And as always, click on the image to see it larger.

Drawing #85 Revised - Dragon Flight

I did a little more work on this larger piece with the embossed wallpaper and got an idea from my husband about it's having a bit of a Chinese look and a mention of dragons. That gave me a new name and a little more appreciate of the piece. See what you think.

Drawing #85 - Pretty Bird

This is a larger collage with the embossed wallpaper. It is a heavy watercolor paper 20 x 15 inches, the largest size I've used, and that only once for the piece called "Somebody's Mother." I added more collage elements in various shades of white then went to acrylic paint applied with a palette knife. After that I added more collage, more paint, some watercolor pencil and standard colored pencils. I'm not sure it is really finished, but for now I don't think I can go any further. The title is again taken from part of a page for a Third Reader. I think the embossing appeals to me as a substitute for my black ink lines, having instead white lines. See what you think.

Drawing #82 - Than Ever

Another sheet of colored letter-size paper is the basis of my drawing from life of our wonderful white azaleas beside the front steps. This time the subject is pretty clear but there is still room for your imagination to roam. I've also written about the flowers across the image in the usual decorated, not-meant-to-be-legible style. The end of what I wrote became the title because they bloomed so well this year, better than ever. The collage is from pictures with acrylic paint and watercolor pencils as well as ink.

Drawing #76 - Joyous

I added acrylic paints and acrylic ink to the collage I began in class. Only a very little else was needed, some finer lines and a little colored pencil. The deep paper color was probably the driving force but also the plant shape that was the underlying drawing. It is a happy little piece to me. The paper is 11" x 8 1/2".

Drawing #72 - Could Have Been Swiss

"Could Have Been Swiss" was done on my 9 x 12" sketchbook with acrylic paints, watercolors, colored pencil, collage and inks. The collage elements are old book fragments and a number of old Swiss stamps. My husband's paternal heritage is Swiss. Back in the day, before he and his brother turned 21, they could have applied for dual Swiss citizenship through their paternal line. That's if they had known of it and known the lineage back to Switzerland. Today the laws have changed and it is no longer possible and it was only for minors I believe. The stamps come from a mystery box my brother-in-law and I purchased on a lark at a stamp auction long ago. I feel the drawing is rather joyful, but does address things that might have been.