Gardening Season

Tags

ball point pen, Canson XL MULTIMEDIA PAPER, cucumber, garden journal, gardening, graphite school pencil, journaling, plants, prismacolor colored pencils, rabbit, squirrel, Tombow watercolor markers

Notes and sketches on this year’s garden

The Story Behind the Sketch:

This year my hubby & I planted more veggies & many in containers. Being novice gardeners, we have had some disappointments, as well as  successes—but in any case, it’s been an adventure, watching how the seeds or plants have grown & are forming their fruits. It occurred to me that I really ought to be keeping records, both for the sake of getting better results in the future, and simply for the enjoyment of it. Keeping written lists or charts is okay, but I figured I might as well take the opportunity to do some sketching with it.   

The Technical Stuff:

Paper:Canson XL Multi-Media tablet.  Sketching materials:  prismacolor colored pencils, ( & various other brands), ball point pen, graphite school pencil, Tombow watercolor markers.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

I had been fascinated with the cucumber vines all along; they have a grace which I had not expected; their flowers and tendrils adding interesting shapes & curves.

I like this paper. It is much nicer than what I think was the former version, Canson XL watercolor paper. It’s a very bright white for one thing. ( So bright, that the white Prismacolors look cream-toned on it!)

I’ll add photos to my journal, and once it’s all assembled, I should have a record of this year’s gardening experience that not only reflects facts and and figures, but the beauty and fascination I found in these growing plants.

 

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Today’s Excerpt from ‘Pages from a Nature-Lover’s Diary”:

Rabbit and Squirrel Face Off

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pages+from+a+nature-lover%27s+diary&sprefix=Pages+from+a+natur%2Cstripbooks%2C328

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.

A Page from My Diary

Tags

artwork, botanical drawing, colored pencil, crayola colorerd pencils, drawing, money plant, prismacolor, Prismacolor pencils, sketches, sketching, Tombow watercolor markers, ULtra-Color pencils

Page From Nature Diary

The story behind the sketch:I kept a nature diary faithfully for eleven years. Of course, at the time, I had few friends , little social interaction, no email, no computer, and wasn’t concerned with having an income. ( Things do change.)

In recent years, my entries have been sporadic, but at least there may be  some continuity to the one above. This  drawing of a Jack-in-the-Pulpit was done  last summer. Now this summer I have been taking photos of another plant in its various stages. At present the berries are turning  form pale green to bright red; would make a luscious watercolor.

my experience in doing this sketch:

Running off the page didn’t bother me, as my main focus was on the glossy green seedhead. I found I just couldn’t get the highlight I wanted on those “berries” , (partly because the paper is cream or ivory-colored, ) so resorted to using white-out. But hey—anything goes.

The technical stuff:

Prismacolor, UltraColor, & Crayola pencils, as well as Tombow dual-ended watercolor markers,  were used to add color to the outlines made by  a  standard #2 pencil. And then , of course, there was the white-out.  Paper: Masters Touch spiral-bound sketchbook. Sold at Hobby Lobby. A pretty versatile paper, although the ivory color does make high contrast difficult.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2012. 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.