Kookaburra Illustration Drawing

I have just finished this drawing of a Kookaburra.

Again it is drawn using light washed of watercolour and many many dots made with a fine nib rotring pen.

It is a drawing I started last year and is part of my mission to complete unfinished projects.

I am still carving one of the unfinished projects in my linocut work but am still keeping it low profile until it is completed. But it is exciting and I am hoping to get it completed in the next couple of weeks.

I am also designing a few new things. I have to take regular breaks from carving lino and so am mixing it up a bit with the illustration work, new designs for linocuts, some extension design work in relation to more commercial projects like cards  and drawing. It sort of suits me to work this way in many respects I just need to be careful to aim to complete work as well as look at all the new possibilities!!

Waratah Illustration – just finished!

I have just finished this illustration of a Waratah – Telopia speciosissima. I know back to waratahs again! But the two local plants have put on a real show again this spring and I just couldn’t resist.

In this particular illustration I have used a very light wash of watercolour and use fine dots (many many many fine dots) with a Rotring pen to build up the image.

For those that may be interested in papers I have used an antique white rag based acid free watercolour paper. I like this paper with its slightly rough texture – it is cold pressed watercolour paper and so has a ‘bite’ on its surface. The hot pressed papers I mainly use for the linocuts has a smooth surface.

On the RSI/arm/shoulder/neck pain front – I am carving lino again but the advice from the physio is ‘pace yourself’ which is incredibly frustrating but I guess not as frustrating as 2 months without carving and not doing much else. Just need to keep up the exercises, pilates, anti-inflammatory meds, posture correction and warm wheat bags!! But still some progress forward is something to be grateful for.

Now onto a bit of carving this afternoon I think….can’t say what yet…but it is getting there albeit slowly….

Hawk Moth – Coequosa australasiae

A hawk moth – I am pretty sure it is – Coequosa australasiae - found locally.

Unfortunately I think this moth was at the end of its life when found – it can barely stand – but a gorgeous specimen.

I am hoping to get a few more photos and maybe complete an illustration. If you look carefully you can see a small flash of the bright orange on the underwing.

I have been meaning to set up a night lamp and sheet to do some ‘mothing’ – inspiration from Duncan over at Ben Cruachan Blog. Although often seen as not as ‘pretty’ as butterflies moths are simply gorgeous with a velvety flannel look about them and the pattern work on their wings is spectacular. I have a few more photos of moths I have taken in the past 12 months so may post them over the next little while.

Of course my encounter with the Hercules Moth added to teh moth inspiration.

I do intend to buy the CSIRO book on Moths of Australia to help reference them.

…and as usual have small thumbnail designs drawn up and brewing in my brain…illustrations and linocuts…and….

…and….need to finish current projects…then again I could just get distracted by something new…again….

A list of current linocut projects…and becoming ‘unstuck’

Sherrie York over at Brush and Baron is also Stuck – it is a different stuck than mine – whilst she is looking for the next image I have spent months (and in some cases years! lol!!) creating images to work on and am now stuck deciding which one to work on first!! I could work on these designs and ideas whilst not being at home (a sketchbook can be taken along with me) but have not the time to carve or print. So consequently many ideas and projects all at various stages of development. So my ’stuck’ is just finding the motivation/focus/headspace to actually get on with at least one of the projects and complete it!

I have been re-organising – well at least making some attempts to re-organise my workspaces (typically I have 3 much to  my husbands frustration!!) including the boxes and piles of drawings, prints, photographs etc etc etc… Actually in fact I have filed my photographs in their respective boxes but not as yet updated the database.

So in the hope that by making a list of my current/future projects that this may help find a path forward and actually start!

I decided to write the list here – that way it is officially ‘on record’ and hopefully this will give me a bit of a shove forward!

So here we go – THE LIST!! it should be noted however, that this list does not include the numerous small sketches and design plans for a variety of other projects…sigh…any suggestions which first?? lol!!

Kookaburra Illustration

Barn Owl – Linocut Design

Tawny Expressions – Linocut Designs

Emu Head – Pre Linocut Design

Seven new wildlfower designs as part of the Design Art series – Linocut Designs

Australian Wildlife Alphabet and Australian Wildflower Alphabet

Linocut designs for a posters (incomplete as yet!!)

New Zealand Falcon Illustration – Framed

New Zealand Falcon

Just got the latest New Zealand Falcon Illustration (Pen & Ink with Watercolour) back from the framer.

A simple dark brown timber frame and double paper coloured matt.

New Zealand Falcon – Wildlife Illustration

New Zealand Falcon 2 Illustration

I have recently completed another small wildlife (fauna) illustration of the New Zealand Falcon. This is another ‘head-shot’. Beautiful birds – we saw them up close at Wingspan outside Rotorua in New Zealand last year.

New Zealand Falcon 1 Illustration

Drawing – mistakes, learning and practise

As I noted in the original posting of this drawing “it is not quite right!” I can see that it isn’t and posted it anyway to highlight that things go wrong. The secret is to be able to see the mistakes and then either fix them – or as in the case of this drawing which was beyond ‘going back’ noting what was wrong and possibilities in ‘fixing’ it. You can be sure that the next time I draw an emu I will take the ‘wrongness’ on board and seek to remedy it.

However, the wonky ‘wrongness’ goes with my image of these quite odd and unusual birds! This could be exploited to emphasise the ‘personality’ of the bird – especially from an illustration perspective. That being said, the purpose of the image and what an artist was trying to achieve is important – if you want to have a scientific illustration of an emu’s head this drawing simply would not do! My aim was simply to draw an emu’s head and play around with a few ideas – there are aspects to this drawing I like but I also do like to ‘get it right’ in relation to things like his beak!

This is such an important thing for art students to understand – many students give up with the cry “I can’t draw” because they instantly want to be able to create realistic lifelike drawings around the 10 – 15 years age group without any practice. They will often carry this notion throughout their lives. When this just doesn’t happen then the “I can’t draw” and the giving up happens. I always say if you can put a mark on a page you’re drawing! You may not be a Picasso but drawing is a skill that you can learn if you choose to pursue you can improve and sometimes may surprise yourself by actually succeeding.

Drawing is a process of visual memory – the more you draw a particular subject and commit it to your visual memory the easier it becomes to draw each time you approach the same or similar subjects.

I make the analogy with learning the scales on the piano – they can be boring, definitely repetitive but absolutely necessary – understanding scales and keys in music is a core skill in playing any instrument. Repeat drawing a subject matter gives you an increasing knowledge and ease with the subject matter.

I believe repeat drawing a subject matter and the ability to draw is a core art making skill. That is not to say that those who have not pursued this skill are not able to still produce wonderful work but having a strong base of drawing or draughtsmanship generally gives you a greater toolbox to draw upon in developing arts practice. It is also a lifetime skill that I don’t think ever ends – improving ones ability to represent a 3D subject in a 2D form and then being able to extend beyond the representational into abstraction or design work is intriguing and endlessly challenging!

Copyright – Lynette Weir

Illustration…Current and Past

In elaborating on the previous comments about developing arts practice and learning from mistakes and past work…there are these 2 works.

Today I have just completed this Tawny Frogmouth Pen and Ink with Watercolour Illustration - or drawing – the second is probably one of the least successful illustrations/drawings from 21 years ago – a Seal in pen, ink & watercolour pencil….

I must say the seal makes me cringe these days but it does, I hope, clearly show the progression!

Making mistakes in artworks…art diaries, journals, sketchbooks…

It can be important in developing your arts practice that mistakes are normal and can in fact be quite positive!!

In trying to represent the idea we have in our mind and then representing that idea in our chosen media, we can have feelings that range from frustrating to ecstatic (when it actually works!). Many, many times things just do not go well for a variety of reasons and as frustrating or disappointing it may be ’starting again’, backtracking a little or even discarding the whole idea is also part of the process of creating artworks.

The most important aspect of all of this is the process of learning and developing your arts practice – even if the work is discarded it is important to note ‘why’ and perhaps ‘how’ you’d do it differently – this is the most important aspect! I was told many times in art college – keep all your drawings so you can see the developments. This becomes impractical but I do actually still have ’selected’ drawings from that time.

The development of art diaries, journals or sketchbooks are extremely important in developing your arts practice – it also gives insights into the thinking and working behind your works. It also gives you the opportunity to document mistakes, the learning and hopefully moving forward in ability.

It was said to me 10 years ago by an experienced and well known artist that “if you continue in your arts practice, you will look back in 10 years and you will be able to do so much more than you could back then and be able to see your development”. This is just so true! It is clearly illustrated by my HSC major works from 27 years ago…and my more recent initial new work in the field of pen and ink illustration.

Processing your mistakes can at times be even more important than producing the artwork…

Copyright – Lynette Weir

HSC Major Works from long ago…Drawings…Illustration

A  blast from the past – whilst cleaning up today I came across all my old HSC Drawing Major Works from *cough* years ago…(1981). They are a mixture of watercolour pencils, coloured pencil and (rotring) pen and ink. I must say looking back some were more successful than others…