Saturday, September 27, 2008

Peonies in Vase


peoniesinvase, originally uploaded by janpope.

I'm participating in the virtual sketch for September. The reference was such a lovely floral that I couldn't resist. Besides it gets me back in the sketchbook after a summer of gardening. If you'd like to see a more detail image, you can look at the Flickr version.

The original reference was provided by Sharon on the Virtual Sketch Date blog. There are links to a larger image on Flickr. This photo had such great contrast that I knew it would make a great black and white image. I'm thinking of doing this in pastels as well.


19 comments:

Grangry said...

Very nice Jan. I'm going to have a go at using graphite - I didn't know until recently that it isn't the same as pencil!

Unknown said...

Nice sketch,love the flow in the petals :)

Kari Gibson said...

oh, lovely drawing, you did a great job with the petals, managing to keep them perfectly light.

susan said...

Jan, this is beautiful...I love the frill you put on the petals--adds to beauty and daintiness of the flower.

Jan Pope said...

Thank you all for you nice comments. I'm really trying to do some drawing every day. It is one of those things that improves the more you do it. Florals are one my favorites.

Stacy said...

Jan, I like how you defined and detailed all the petals. The frilly edges look so nice.

Regina Calton Burchett said...

Hi, Jan - This came out really nice - I like the contrast you have. Is it all pencil? I'm thinking of trying it in pastels also!

Jeanette Jobson said...

You've done a lovely job on this reference. The graphite really brings out the detail.

Jan Pope said...

Regina - it is nearly all pencil, I used a pure graphite pencil to darken some area, and a brush to get the shading a little more subtle. And a kneadable eraser - I can't do any art without that. I would suggest that if you're going to try this in pencil, convert the photo to black and white. Then ramp up the whites and blacks That's probably obvious to all of you. -Jan

Rose Welty said...

Look at those petals! WOW! Nicely done.

Ann said...

This is so nice. Lovely!

Jennifer Rose said...

lots of great detail on the flower petals, great job :)

Kathleen said...

love the frilly petals great sketch

Sharon said...

Lovely shading on those complicated petals.

Gail Bartel said...

love the detail you put into the petals, great contrast in your composition, one of my favs

Jo Castillo said...

Great sketch. Love the detail but also the simplicity of it somehow.

Melissa Muirhead said...

That is really lovely.

Paulette said...

Lovely and free flowing!
You were right about the black and white.

Quilt knit said...

I love graphite, so you have taken my heart!

Sherrie Roberts