Amaryllis, Part 2

 

1/11/24

With their blooming nicely staggered over the course of several days, all eight blossoms on my amaryllis are now fully open. The compositional challenge I mentioned in Part 1 became more challenging still as the blossoms got larger. A new challenge was showing depth – trying to indicate which blossoms were in front while others were behind them. Still using Derwent Inktense Blocks, I kept the more distant blossoms drier and therefore less intense. At times I was relieved that I had chosen to take a looser approach – all those foreshortened petals were extremely challenging to draw, and they would have been much worse if I had been trying for accuracy!

1/13/24 The two stalks started leaning precariously, so I tied them to a stake. I hope that's enough to keep them upright.

In the last spread, I wanted to show all eight blossoms, but the ones in back got lost, so I resorted to numbering them. Then I used the space on the second page to draw a closeup of the plant’s private parts and finished with a lettering flourish. I rarely give my sketchbook spreads a “finished” look, so it was fun to try this.

1/15/24

1/15/24

Speaking of loose approach, sketching the amaryllis has been an enjoyable counterbalance with the tighter, more accurate pet portraits I’m also doing. I really appreciate practicing both styles so that the choice is always mine to make.

Thank you, amaryllis and Susan, for the sketching fun and daily joy!