Barn Commission

I believe this one is ready for a signature. I have laid in the grass and the lane gently curves into the picture...leading the viewer right into the scene. The tree shadow blanketing across the lane adds interest as well.

This is coming along nicely. I have the fence lines in and the driveway is starting to take shape. The grass is slowly taking form as well. The foreground tree on the left wraps the scene nicely together.

I've got the garden planted! This sure brings back memories of all those garden fresh vegetables...cabbage, carrots, beans, tomatoes and corn. I've started on the fence work and the lane as well....

I've drawn in the silo. It has a metal dome with lots of sun reflection. The silo itself is a brick one. Consistent with my approach, I do not draw every single brick. Instead I draw just enough to give the impression of bricks. I am careful to indicate a curve to give the silo a cylindrical shape. I continue with the trees in the background and the shed to the left of the building.

There is a maze of fences to decifer in the front part of the barn. I will have to look closely at the photo reference to see where they go.....

The barn is next... I have added just a few wispy clouds in the sky. Just enough to add interest, not enough to compete with the rest of the scene.



Since I am left-handed I work from right to left. For me that is a natural progression. It might seem a bit backwards to most people. I have decided to include just a few of the round hay bales but they disappear into the trees on the right. The background tree line and field are added as well.

I start by creating an outline of the barn and surrounding elements. I then create a smooth, toned sky.....

The size of this image 17.5 x 10".

I enjoy doing commissions for people. But when the subject matter includes a old family farmstead, it is even more enjoyable. This one is no exception!

My client provided me with a couple of photos of a barn. She is giving this drawing to her mother for her 75th birthday. What a beautiful barn and a wonderful gift....

Here are the two reference photos that I am working from. The panoramic is of the barn just before it was torn down. The black and white is how they all remember it looking like. I will be combining elements from both images to create an image from the past.....

Tennessee Barn

I've had to set this drawing to the side for just a bit, but promise to get back to it soon!!!

Fellow artist, Gregg Stone, shared a wonderful photo he had taken of a Tennessee barn. I've been itching to draw it ever since he sent it to me. This drawing is currently on my easel while I have been 'meeting the public' at Barnes & Noble.

Barns in Iowa don't weather (age) like this one! This has such rich beautiful darks. It's the darkest I've ever attempted in a drawing. I have much of the barn face completed and will be starting on the background soon!

Enjoy!

Barnes & Noble Display

Here is my display at Barnes & Noble! I plan on returning in the evening to take more photos so I don't get so much glare on the artwork glass. But I couldn't wait to post some photos.

Lessons at WetCanvas!

Well, it's official. I will be conducting a series of drawing lessons on Wetcanvas.com starting January 11, 2007!!! I am really excited about this opportunity!

Many artists are intimidated at drawing landscapes. By breaking each component of a landscape down into smaller pieces, anything is possible! We will start by exploring skies. Then we will learn techniques on how to draw rocks, water, grass and trees. We'll finish up by combining all of these components into a complete landscape.

Come join us at www.wetcanvas.com in the Drawing & Sketching forum. See you there!

Happy New Year!

It has been a great year and I am really looking forward to what the new year has in store for me! It is New Year's Eve... my son is home from Houston, Tx and has a number of his friends over celebrating.

And I'm cloistered in my studio drawing......rocks. Yup that's right. I am doing a rock study for a rock tutorial. Thought I would share! I have the rocks completed, now just have to finish the ripples in the water, and some grass and leaves.

Polk City Barn II - Commission

I believe I've got it finished. The textures are rich in this cluster of farm buildings which make this an interesting drawing. The overall tones are darker than many of my previous drawings. This is something that I am working on to build richer, darker tones....

I'm cutting this close. I am trying my hardest to get this done before Christmas. Here's an update!

I continue to work on the buildings. The brick building has been challenging as I create brick textures while not attempting to draw each brick meticulously. I used a 4H chisel point clutch pencil to give an overall tone to the buidling and then using a softer lead (2B) I create areas of brick details.

The tree is starting to emerge on the paper. I want the tree to feel like it is engulfing the building as the branches stretch themselves over the grainery shed.

I have continued to work on the tree as it branches out behind and over the front of the building. This is the most interesting part as the shadows dance over the building that is tucked inside the branches. I am using a 4B and 2B .5 mech pencils to get these rich darks. The highlights are lifted out using the blu-tack.

The detail of the tree foliage is built up with multiple layers of graphite. I use a scribble pencil stroke to create the leaves. Using a battery eraser, I restore the lighter branches and then darken the edges "underneath them".

I will continue to 'built' and 'erase' the leaf bundles to create depth, texture and values of the leaf bundles. The branch is drawn around (negative drawing) leaving it white. I will come back to it later to create more form.

I have created the outline of the buildings and have shaded in the sky tone. This 'toning' of the sky will allow a broader range of values to be captured in this drawing.

This is a return to a previous commissioned subject matter I did for a good friend of mine. She was thrilled with the rendering I was able to produce. The first commission was a challenge since I had to use 5 different photos and piece together the image. You can see the first drawing at: http://www.dianewrightfineart.com/commission.htm - called Polk City Barn.

Since then, she discovered another photo of the barn with additional outbuildings. This one is no less challenging as the photo had 2 vehicles and 2 kids in the foreground.

With the help of Photoshop and a piece of my previous drawing, I was able to piece this composition together. Here is the original photo and the Photoshop enhanced image that I will be using for this drawing:

Evening Shadows

Here is a quick study (less than an hour) on clouds in the early evening just as the sun is thinking about setting. The clouds are backlit by the sun and are darker than the sky. The trees are mostly in shadow and most of the details are subdued. This is a small drawing only 4.5" x 7"