Haceta Light House - Oregon

"Joseph01" from ArtPapa.com shared a photo of a beautiful lighthouse with me. It is called the Haceta Light House by Florence, Oregon. THANKS JOE!

I started this drawing as a drawing demonstration at the local art store. They were having a grand reopening this weekend (Sept 7-8) and asked me to participate with a book signing and conduct drawing demos. I had a great weekend meeting a lot of nice folks! And even sold a few books!

Old Weathered Barn

I have continued to work on the grass and the left side. I think I need to add a worn path the barn door on the left as well as develop the tractor road in the foreground more.....

It's coming along nicely. I have just a bit of the grass and the background trees to complete and it is almost done!

I have been very busy at work, so my progress on this drawing has been very slow. But it is progressing well.... I blended the sky with a very light tone. This allows the whites on the silo to be the whitest part of the paper..... I am adding a tractor path to the barn and opened the doors. A few minor changes to enhance the overall composition.

Mike Mac was gracious enough to allow me to use his photo for this scene. The original photograph can be found on his Ohio Barns website:

http://www.ohiobarns.com/miscpages/weatheredbarn/wb13.html

This big beautiful barn has so much character with the ivy growing on the barn as well as the decorative louvered windows. This one just called out to me to draw.

Adam & Andrea

I think it's done! I have lowered Adams bangs and defined the area on the right side of his face.

Here is a big jump from the last scan to this one. I didn't want to stop and scan! There might be some minor tweaking to do but I do believe it's almost done!

Adam's face is very angular. It makes it much easier to get shadows and placement! I will be softening them up yet. But it's coming along.


Okay, with the help of my son, (he has an excellent critical eye) I am attempting to get Andrea look a bit younger and more of a likeness....

I continue to bring 3-dimensionality and form to Andrea's face. I am going to move over and start on Adam's features as I want to build both faces tonal features as consistently as possible.


I start by creating a very light outline of the facial features of both Adam and Andrea. This is used as a guideline for placement and positioning of the features. I start with a 2B .5mm mechanical pencil and create the eyes. I use the 2B lead to shape and shade the form of her face. Using a chamois I smooth out the graphite and then lift out the highlights with a kneutgummi eraser. This eraser is much softer that the Blu-tack that I typically use. It lifts the graphite much easier and works well for this feature.

This is Adam and Andrea.

Tiger Lilly

I think this is completed! It is easy to overwork a subject like this, so I am going to stop before I lose the freshness. The background is left very rough and gives just the impression of stems and leaves.

I am working my way around the flower. I have to concentrate on making sure the pedals flow consistently and smoothly to the center of the flower. Not always easy to accomplish. I have had to make continual modifications of the white seam as well as the edges of the pedals to to keep the flow looking natural.....

I erase the white seam of each pedal with the white eraser. I then start working in the detail of each pedal using a F .5mm mechanical pencil. The subtle changes of values is important to create depth, while keeping the velvety texture. I work the background at the same time as I draw the pedal. I will be keeping the background blurred and indistinct.

It might seem odd to draw a flower in graphite. The brilliance of color to represent the subject matter is tempting. I feel flowers are an excellent subject matter to explore in graphite. The soft gentle pedals against a textured and abstracted background lends itself well to contrasting textures, light and shadows and the whole gambit of drawing exploration.

Flowers can be treated as studies, still lifes, or incorporated into landscapes. The possibilities are as endless as the varieties themselves.

To create the soft look of the pedals, I use the same technique as I use for skies. I cross-hatch the pedal using HB lead, then chamois the area smooth. I erase the over-smear to a crisp edge using a white plastic eraser.

Red Rock Canyon

I have been requested to post some detail shots of the tree.
So here are a couple of close-ups:









I'm not sure how much farther to work this drawing. I have a feeling I am finished, but I will let it sit for a few days and see if anything calls out for more detail. ENJOY!

I've worked some more on the background mountain range. It's tempting to put more detail in but it really needs to remain fairly non-distinct. The branches on the ground are also slowly taking shape as well.

I am working the background in before I get to the edges of the tree branches. I want to make sure the background is going 'behind' the tree. You can see the background bushes increasing in size adding depth to the scene. I have also sketched in the branches laying on the ground. This tree is so hardy...even the broken branches are still green with needles.

I am starting to lay in the background. Using a 4H chisel point clutch pencil, I start layering the desert ground. With a F .5 mm mechanical pencil I start to draw the small bramble bushes in the background. I have darkened the branches in the the shaded areas and it seems to be helping to bring life to this unique tree.

I am ever so slowing making my way through the tree. This is very time consuming as there is so much rich detail I don't want to miss! I have been working on this drawing off and on since January. But in the last 3 days I've made a bit of progress......

Last fall my husband and I vacationed in Las Vegas. While Vegas didn't hold much interest for me with all it's neon lights and gambling, we spent a couple of days outside of town. Red Rock Canyon is just 15 minutes west of Vegas and is truly a beautiful wonder to behold. This cedar tree is not very tall - perhaps 10 -15 feet, but what a rustic character it is!! I start the drawing by lightly cross-hatching a layer of graphite using 2H down for the sky. I then chamois this smooth. Using a white eraser I lift out just a hint of clouds. I start the tree's needles at the tip and am concentrating on the dark sections. I am using negative drawing to 'draw' around the trunk areas, leaving them white.

Tennessee Barn - Continued

It' s been a while since I've had the opportunity to work on this one. I think I am done with it but the grass may need just a touch more...

Hawthorne Tree Study

This is a Hawthorne tree that resides in North Yorkshire England. My good friend, Mike Sibley, was so kind to take photos of some local trees for me. It is a small tree but has so much character with it's old knarly bark and knots and distinct leaves with small red berries.

This was drawn on Arches Watercolor paper, hot press. Size is approximately 9x12".