Eleanor

I truly believe I applied most, if not all, the drawing techniques that I've learned in this class!  I especially was aware of proportion and negative space with this drawing.  I feel very good about how far I've come in the last 10 weeks since I have never attempted to draw artistically previously-"no talent" is no excuse when you have some techniques to practice.  I want to work on developing my own style, to be effectively give the impression of the image that I want to preserve without getting bogged down in the detail, shading and dimensionality are goals, as well as being more subtle with my paint colors and values.

I have never seriously used watercolors before other than as a kid.  I've never felt like I had a good eye for color so I felt a bit intimidated getting started.  It was easier than I thought, I think because I got so involved in the process - studying my subject and then playing with the mix of colors.  I really wanted to focus on the birds that have returned to my backyard this spring.  The weather has been so terrible the last few days that they mostly disappeared, so I just looked their pictures up on the Cornell website.  I was pleased with the colors I ended up with, though I wasn't so sure about them at the time.  Knowing where to start was a challenge, that is, I wondered about which initial color to use and whether to start light or dark and go from there.  Focusing so closely on the colors made me realize that there was a relationship between the colors in the palette.  For example, I started with my brightest color and then worked on the more muted colors, and as I did this I found that I wanted to add the color I had previously created to the color I was creating as it was closer to what I needed than what was in the paint set.  Nature had a plan for these birds, I guess!

Themes seem to pop up with everything I look at!  The overlap of themes was overwhelming at first, but I decided to just roll with it - nature isn't black and white, after all.  For example, when comparing the size and location of two groups of similar ants, my possible explanations and further questions involved form & function and systems & energy flow.

1)  I felt intimidated at first drawing from the photo, but relaxed when I realized the bird was not going to fly away and that I could take my time. It was challenging to get proportions right and to capture the essence of a living creature.  The easiest thing was making observations. 2)  I would not have noticed the details on the branches, eg the lichen and mosses.  I also would not have been as aware of the subtle colors on the bird and leaves.  I think this makes a difference when nature journaling because it exercises observational skills leading to questions, the next drawing, getting lost in the moment, etc.