Menagerie of Creativity » Flora

Ladybugs on Daisies

Alicia — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:28:53 +0000

I have had a thing for ladybugs lately. Not sure why. I used my brush pens for this one. I haven’t used them in a while, but I was in the mood to do something fast and loose.

This is 7×5″ watercolor and ink on paper.

Here is a close up.

Here is another one I did with the brush pens a while ago.

Mushrooms Usually Sleep at Night

Alicia — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:35:46 +0000

There have been a lot of mushrooms in the woods lately. I like this one because the colors are nice from far away, but then there are some small critters so you have to get close to see what is going on.

It’s 7×5″ watercolor, ink and colored pencil on paper.

Here is a close up of all the commotion.

Green Eyed Snail

Alicia — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:47:57 +0000

The colors look fairly close to the real thing on this photo (at least on my monitor). It’s a 7×5″ watercolor and ink painting.

Here is a close up of the snail so you can see her pretty green eyes.

Bird on a Sunflower

Alicia — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:45:06 +0000

Water Lilies with a Frog

Alicia — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 01:34:04 +0000

This is 7×5 inches.

Photographs from the NC Botanical Gardens

Alicia — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 23:48:13 +0000

I love my macro lens. The last photo is my favorite. The botanical gardens had some plants with great personalities.

Another Day at the Duke Gardens

Alicia — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 15:24:30 +0000

I went to the Duke Gardens with my camera over memorial day weekend. I didn’t stay long because I had already gone for a long walk and the sun was intense. But, it was still a productive trip, I learned that herons are not very photogenic. The below photo is the best one I got.

House Sparrow in Pencil

Alicia — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:35:50 +0000

7" x 5" | Pencil on Paper

I only had two goals yesterday. First was to take some photos of butterflies and second was to do some pencil drawing; both were completed.

The female house sparrow you see was inspired by a photo I took in Washington DC April 2009. Somehow she seems to be an expression of how I have been feeling lately, but I won’t elaborate on that.

Butterflies are surprisingly difficult to get good photos of. Here are a few of then decent ones I caught. I wasn’t particularly happy with any of them, but that might be a sign that one of them should become a painting. Generally, my paintings are inspired by photos that are not particularly good. I almost never want to paint a great photo, because it is already in its ideal form.

I also discovered a vine down at the end of my driveway with some really neat flowers.

As always, I had to snap a few of the dog. Phoenix is really photogenic. Chewing on sticks in the backyard is still one of her favorite things to do.

And finally, I think this next one is my favorite photo of Phoenix ever. I particularly like it in sepia as seen:

On the easel: Unfolding White Flower

Alicia — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:54:16 +0000

This is the first painting I’ve done in 2010 that is larger than 5×7. This one is 12×16 oil on canvas. I am mostly done, but I do have one more session planned for the kind of tweaking that can’t be achieved wet on wet.

I am happy to be getting faster these days. I used to spend a lot longer working out details. Partly I think the figure drawing class I took helped, and partly just experience.

The inspiration flower came from my back yard. Not sure what it is so if you recognize it let me know. I enjoy over saturating and adjusting colors in my paintings as you can see. It’s fun.

I feel kind of cliche painting so many flowers…but they are fun and more importantly they are easy models to find, especially this time of year. Plus, flowers are pretty.

Hyacinth in Ink and Watercolor

Alicia — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:38:59 +0000

I drew a hyacinth with a cute little bee for a friend’s birthday. I used some watercolor and my Manga pen set (indian ink) and you might not be able to tell from the photo, but there is some metallic pen too.

Hyacinth and Bee | 5" x 7" | Watercolor and Ink on Paper