Swan Song

12/28/18 swan gourd

Remember this swan gourd I sketched for InkTober? Last week I noticed she was getting a little moldy, so I decided to sketch her for the last time before chucking her into the yard waste bin. I’m going to miss her; I have thoroughly enjoyed trying to capture her complex form.

This time I used a rainbow pencil, which made it extra fun. Last winter when I was on my minimalism challenge, I used a rainbow pencil for occasional touches of color, but it doesn’t really work for me as a substitute for a range of colored pencils. I find myself trying too hard to control which color I’m getting, and then it becomes frustrating. I’ve had the most fun using this pencil when I forget about managing it and just allow the colors to change as my hand moves naturally. I did, however, use the cooler hues on the darkest areas and warmer ones in the foreground without much effort.

Rainbow fun!