Tags
botanical drawings, Canson XL Mix Media paper, chipmunk, general's graphite sketch pencils, Kathleen A. Renninger, Pages from a Nature-Lover's Diary
- The Story Behind the Sketch:I recently had my kitty out in the yard on the leash, when I spotted a rather interesting-looking weed growing by the shed. What had caught my eye was the way the leaves came off the stem, in a sort of spiraling form. Luckily, I’d grabbed my sketchbook before going out. While my furry companion lounged in a patch of catnip nearby, I tried to capture the essence of this engaging weed.
- The Technical Stuff:
Paper: Canson XL Mix-Media tablet. Sketching materials: General’s 3B graphite sketch pencil. (This paper works fine for pencil sketching too. It does seem to be a good all-around multi-media paper.)
My Experience in Doing this Sketch:
Depending on kitty’s whims , my time was likely to be pretty limited, so I attempted to do only a contour drawing of the weed–in other words, one in which only lines are used to define the shapes, rather than areas of tone. It wasn’t as simple as it seemed to capture the unusual shape of the base of the leaves, but it was absorbing and enjoyable, and created a pretty good record of the plant itself, which I later looked-up. I believe it’s a type of Sow Thistle, Sonchus Oleraceus.
Today’s Excerpt from ‘Pages from a Nature-Lover’s Diary”:
NOTE:
All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2014. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.
JSD said:
It’s lovely!
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K.A. Renninger said:
Thank you!
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elenacaravela said:
You did capture it! Much like a carousel, this weed!
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K.A. Renninger said:
Thank you! Yup—-although it’d be a pretty nondescript weed if you saw it out in the field among other plants, standing alone like that, it’s beauty was obvious.
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lewisvarga said:
Weeds make such interesting drawings, nice
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K.A. Renninger said:
Yeah; it’s too bad people automatically rip them out of their yards because sometimes they are more interesting than the cultivated plants—at least to draw.
Thanks for your comment!
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K.A. Renninger said:
Thanks; I agree. Weeds need to be given a second look!
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Mary said:
Love weeds used as art, they make the best subjects! This is really wonderful work.
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K.A. Renninger said:
Thank you so much, Mary!
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K.A. Renninger said:
Thank you so much, Mary!
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