Sarah
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Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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SarahParticipantThis exercise helped me combine the separate skills of gesture drawing, sketching, textures, shapes, etc.in reply to: Giving Your Drawings Depth #699015
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SarahParticipantThis was tough and took patience and a good eye. I didn’t scale it right for the paper, so I cut off the bird’s head. But it was really fun when I turned it over, and , surprise, it was a pretty good little bird! It helped me see the value in concentrating on shares, negative space, and proportions. On what I am really observing, and not what I think I should be seeing.in reply to: Drawing What You See – Upside Down Drawing #698046
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SarahParticipantI compared 2 plants growing next to each other at the root of a tree. Ferns grew out of mulch of oak leaves in the valley of roots. Moss grew on tree itself. The different growth areas may influence the characteristics. Fern: 5-8” stems with several dozen upturned flat blue-green elongated oval leaves growing alternately and tapering from narrower at both ends to wider in the middle. Growing out of soil....nutrients available from rich mulch. Fern did not grow where moss was. Moss: carpet-like 1/2” thick layer spread over square foot of bark with many varied shades of yellow green shoots tangled together...more surface area to trap water, etc. since it is growing out of bark? Moss did not grow where fern was. function...shape and number of leaves related to how plants collect nutrients, water, and light? change...these plants remained bright green in the winter forest...processing light energy all year long? scale...they are small plants compared to the trees around them. Do they thrive with more sun when tree leaves are down? quantity...small in size and number, but persist throughout the forest system...fern grew from rotting oak leaves, moss on the living tree trunk...what do they offer tree in return? Plants did not overlap into each other’s s territory. No moss under fern, no fern on moss. The plants all grew in one nook of tree root systems...what was the direction? Comparison made me look and think harder, and therefore observe more. I enjoy the sketching to focus my attention. I need to leave more room for notes, which I added after the sketch...maybe leave bigger area to do that as I think of things while I draw so I don’t forget. Quantitative data was all estimated...take a little tape measure. I think a big rough, kind of minimalist sketch with expanded views of interesting areas would work better than a detailed overall sketch. Use a slightly bigger sketch book. Add color to sketches.in reply to: The Power of Comparison #661735
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SarahParticipantI went back to a sketch of skunk cabbage that I had observed on 12/31/19. This is the first plant to come up in our wood but the sighting was earlier than usual. I hypothesize that it came up early due to a mild winter, or is it evidence of the bigger issue of climate change? The warm temperatures may make it easier for the plant to sprout because it doesn’t need to expend energy to melt snow around it (which I have observed previously). This raised questions: is climate change shifting growth patterns? How does the plant melt snow around it and will it grow faster if it doesn’t need to do that?in reply to: Noticing Themes in Nature #661558
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SarahParticipantThe techniques are helpful. Surprisingly, squint test really clarifies values., helping to sort out value differences from color differences. I never noticed the reflected light part of shadows. The shadowing will take a lot more practice to blend and catch subtleties, but the shading techniques help a lot. This is a start!in reply to: Illustrating the 3D World #658902
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SarahParticipantPhotos preserve a moment and all of its details for in-depth study. Drawing focuses attention on things that are of particular interest, and drawing lets you explore those while removing distractions. In this way, drawing sharpens attention to things that might get lost in a photo. It was easy to draw from the photo because the bird stood still! Details were easy to note and the source remained to compare and correct. It was still challenging to get proportions right. For instance, the legs are too long. I would probably not have noticed the subtle shades of gray and orange if the bird had been moving around. I think the movement and changes will make nature journaling more challenging, but will also make it interesting.in reply to: Jump Right in! #657795
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SarahParticipantin reply to: Jump Right in! #657793
Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)