Peony is finished!

'Crinkled White' Peony, Coloured Pencil on Stonehenge, 20.5" x 5.5"

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Reveling in the sublime...that is what I was doing this morning. In past weeks I have been teaching on Saturdays. Ah, but not today. This morning I was up with the birds, brewed some coffee and sat at my drafting table, pjs and all. It was a gloomy, almost rainy morning and it seemed appropriate to put Mozart's Requiem on the CD player. Pure bliss. While I was sipping my coffee and enjoying the music, I tweaked the peony above. Please take into consideration that while I took many photos in different lighting conditions, I didn't get a photo that was quite true. The white is reading rather blue but I hope you can get an idea of what the work looks like. (you can click on the photo above to see a larger image) From here, the peony will go on my studio wall for a while so I can look at it from a distance and see if there are changes I wish to make.

This peony would have been done sooner but I have been busy with other aspects of my business. I have been teaching, negotiating teaching agreements for the fall (outside of my studio), advertising, writing my newsletter and setting up new classes. It didn't help that this was a rather large piece (for me anyway) and it had a lot of detail. I loved doing it though.

I am now thinking about the next piece. I have a busy week ahead. I am hoping to get the ball rolling with a printer for my line of reproductions and I have to be out of town to handle something regarding my Father's estate. Given my schedule and the fact that my last three pieces have been rather big, maybe it is time to do a small piece. The peony is 20.5" x 5.5".

The piece I did before that was Neptune's Leaves, 16.5" x 25".

Before that, it was the Swiss Chard Mosaic piece, 17" x 7".





Yes, definitely smaller and faster for the next one, maybe trading card size! :-)

After the blissful time time in the studio, my husband and I and our dog went hiking for couple of hours on the Carp Ridge. The Ridge is a rugged, rocky, wild place just a few minutes from my home. Absolutely delightful. Those words at the top of my blog, "add beauty to your life", well that is how I strive to live. I hope you have found a way to add beauty to your weekend. Now, I shall head off to look through my reference photos to see what art might be next.

new peony piece and art to share

'Crinkled White' Peony, reference photo

copyright Teresa Mallen

Peony WIP, 20.5" x 5.5", Coloured Pencil on white Stonehenge paper

Copyright Teresa Mallen

Here is a work in progress image of my newest piece. The photo reference was taken last summer. We moved last year and 2008 was my first summer here. I had no idea what plants would come up in the perennial bed. I had lots of wonderful surprises. Several varieties of peonies appeared much to my delight. I did a quick search online to see if I could determine what variety this one could be. If you like peonies, I recommend a visit to peonies.net as they have a lovely catalogue you can scroll through. I believe the variety in the photo is 'Crinkled White' (they spell crinkle with a K but that sort of thing bugs me so I am using a C).

As you can see in the lower picture, I am cropping the piece such that only a portion of the peony shows. I am focusing on the lovely yellow stamens. The photo doesn't show much but I feel like someone who has had to run across town in order to get to the starting line of a marathon. My running across town being all the work I have done to create the line drawing - and I haven't even started the marathon! Today I transferred the line drawing and I started finding my way around the stamens. I am placing in my darkest values so that I have a road map of sorts in order to orient myself.

In each piece, I look for something that will be challenging. In this piece my challenge will be to draw the stamens (done) and to colour them in such a way that the individual stamens are distinct and that they have a strong three dimensional quality.

I am delighted to be back working on Stonehenge. My last two pieces were rather large and they were on sanded paper. There was so much pigment flying around that I felt like the Peanuts character Pig-Pen. I am enjoying the subtleties that the layers of colour give on this paper. Downright yummy.

I have art I would like to share with you. One of the nicest benefits of blogging is that I have had the opportunity to see wonderful art and to make friends with other artists. Christine at Creative Life Studio is one these friends and I would love for you to see her latest piece. Click here for the link. To really appreciate the drawing, click on the image in order to see a larger version. For me this piece has that something special that artists hope for. I see a lot of art that is technically well done. I also see a lot of art that I find very enjoyable to look at. But a piece of art that moves me emotionally isn't as common. Christine's piece is technically well done. She knows how to handle graphite! The image is composed well and the subject is appealing. Yet something else is conveyed. The control Christine used in handling the graphite yielded a tender mood to this piece. I sense the preciousness of this infant, his vulnerability and the love with which he is cradled in the hand. So allow me to add beauty to your life today by referring you to this beautiful art. I hope you are as moved by it as I am.