Category: challenges

White on Black: White Cosmos flower drawing

Published on by kmgunnart2 Comments

This was my second effort for the recent black and white challenge, a single white cosmos drawing in white colored pencil on black paper. Simple and elegant, but simple is not always synonymous with easy! The foreshortening on the nearest petal was tricky at first, when I had tried this image before in regular graphite pencil in my sketchbook, but reversing the paper and pencil colors actually helped for this version, along with highlighting the white of the cosmos’ petals.

cosmos flower drawn in white pencil on black paper
White Cosmos, 12 by 9 inches, white pencil on black paper, original SOLD but prints available

If I were to redo this in color, I would only be adding the shades of warm yellow for the center, and some green for the stem, as the petals rendered beautifully in just white on black. When I first finished this drawing, I wasn’t certain I had the look, but now over a week later I can say I accomplished it, and am pleased with it. It has an ethereal quality to it.

Purchase links

The original is now sold locally, with the buyer stating she will gift it to her father, who has just started painting, as inspiration. If you want an art print of this white cosmos drawing, either smaller or larger than the original’s 12 x 9 inch size, those can be ordered through my Pixels subdomain. For apparel and accessories with this image on them, check me out on RedBubble.

While I experimented with the bald eagle head for the third day of the challenge, I returned to the theme of white flowers for the remainder of the challenge where I actually drew something. More on that in the next post.

Bald Eagle head study in white on black

Published on by kmgunnart3 Comments

A head study of a noble bald eagle, worked in white colored pencil on black paper. This is actually the third in my white-on-black series, and the only bird in the series, and is itself a continuation of a page from my sketchbook (if you want a print of the sketchbook page, grid still on it, I have that uploaded to my Pixels store here). As a shortcut, I transferred the outline over to my black paper, and while I am extremely pleased with how the eye turned out, I am not so sure about the rest of the drawing. I just cannot pin down what seems off to me, though I do know exactly what I did that made the eye suddenly look so lifelike, so on that point this drawing is a success.

head study drawing of a bald eagle, 12 x 9 inch
Bald Eagle, white on black 9 by 12 inches, $80 USD (available)

Thoughts on this drawing

Not every image is suited to being rendered in white on black. Some look better as black on white, and others just don’t look right either way. After doing this in white on black, I decided I would rather have done it in charcoal, preferably on a warm white or sand-beige toned paper, with white pastel pencil to do the highlights. This being a strict black and white challenge meant I’ll have to get around to that idea later. This drawing did convince me that my white-on-black is best suited for white flowers with strong shadows, so that is what the others (save the last) are. I still really like how the eagle’s eye turned out, a week later. I suppose an all-white bird might work with this style, so that is something to revisit later perhaps.

The original of this is available, if interested you can purchase through Daily Paintworks. Prints are at my Pixels store, while apparel and accessories are up at RedBubble.

Magnolia bloom in white on black

Published on by kmgunnart1 Comment

After the blue-feathered bird series, I shifted gears as the next art challenge was black and white, or greyscale in photo editing terms. No other hues, not even hints of actual color other than black, white, and the neutral greys in between. I did not start out with a particular theme-within-a-theme, but I did end up staying in one major category and did all seven challenge pieces with white colored pencil on black paper.

First drawing: magnolia bloom in mostly shadow

I started out with a lovely reference photo of a white magnolia bloom in mostly shadow, with just the furthest forward petals hit by sunlight. While I’ve wanted to draw this image for a while, I knew I didn’t want to do it in the traditional black on white paper. Since I had been experimenting with colored pencil on black paper, and laying down a white layer first (see A Single Candle and Christmas Candle) I knew as soon as the theme was announced that this would be my first work.

white magnolia flower drawing in mostly shadow, with sunlight hitting the edges of the petals
White Magnolia, 12 by 9 inches white colored pencil on black paper, original available, $80 USD

I actually had to use two different brands of colored pencil to get this effect, but I had just bought five new white pencils that work great for laying in most of it with a more translucent white. (The two brands are Dick Blick and Prismacolor.) The really fun part of these pieces was that instead of working to darken in shading, I worked to bring the lights lighter as needed.

I haven’t actually sealed this yet – I had been toying with the idea of putting a color layer on some of these – but that can be accomplished in a day, so if anyone wants the original, you can purchase through Daily Paintworks. If you want this image but smaller or larger, you can order a print at my Pixels store, while apparel and accessories are at RedBubble.

Scarlet Macaws have Blue Feathers Also

Published on by kmgunnartLeave a comment

I am finally finishing up my six day blue-feathered bird series from the other week, with a pair of scarlet macaws. Personally, I’ve always thought we should call them rainbow macaws, because while most of their feathers are a lovely shade of scarlet red, they also have bright yellow, vivid green, and brilliant blue feathers, as you can see from their multicolored backs. They are certainly one of the brightest colored parrots.

Rainbow Macaws, a pair of scarlet macaws sitting on a branch with a green background
Rainbow Macaws, 11 by 14 inches acrylic on paper, original available, $140 USD

I was extremely pleased with how the tree limb perch came out, although getting the scarlet red with shading was a challenge. In retrospect, I think the green background is not quite right, and probably needed to be toned down a bit more. The birds themselves look more Impressionist style than realist, but since this was for an art challenge I had a (self-imposed) time limit on how much I could fiddle with it. Being the last day of the art challenge, I was not inclined to drop out to fuss over it. As usual, prints are at my Pixels store, while swag and accessories are at RedBubble. If you are interested in the original, you can purchase easily through Daily Paintworks.

Thoughts on this art challenge

I have to say that I am loving these art challenges organized on an art forum that I participate on. I particularly love the themed challenges, as it feels more like a group activity, instead of just me as a solitary artist trying to capture fleeting images from my mind. I remember that one semester of drawing I took in the autumn of 1991 in Texas, where there were about forty of us situated around the large room, all drawing the same objects in the center, but from forty different angles and by forty different hands. I like to listen to an art podcast while doing it, which reinforces that feeling, as we used to discuss the drawing subject while we did it.

I have finished another art challenge, seven days with the theme of “black and white,” and will be starting a shorter three days (“anything goes” non-theme) tomorrow. I may even get caught up over this week, as I am planning to redo at least two of the images I did for the black and white challenge, in color on stretched canvas, but in a different aspect ratio – 8 by 10 inches instead of 9 by 12 inches all the black and white drawings are.

Stay tuned for the next two challenges!

Blue-Feathered bird series: Peacock Portrait

Published on by kmgunnart4 Comments

Continuing the blue-feathered bird series I completed the other week, this Peacock Portrait is the fifth acrylic painting. A close-up head study of this beautiful crested bird, I feel I was able to capture a small (but significant) bit of why I love to look at these birds. Yes, I know they can be noisy, but they really are pretty and make a challenging subject to draw or paint.

Peacock Portrait acrylic painting
Peacock Portrait, 9 by 12 inch acrylic painting on primed paper, $100 USD (shipping extra)

Thoughts on Peacock Portrait

This is actually the first time I have attempted to draw or paint peafowl, believe it or not. This was part of the six day “blue” themed challenge, so something about an art challenge feels like permission to try things I might feel intimidating; permission to push my boundaries and try new subjects and media. The part of painting a peacock that feels most challenging is trying to capture the elusive, shimmering iridescence of the feathers, without going too far and having your bird look more like sunlight sparkling on water.

Purchase information for this painting

This painting scanned nicely, so if you want a larger print you can get that through my Pixels store. If you want it on some RedBubble swag, the scan works well there also. The original is 9 inch by 12 inch unframed, and if you want that, you can puchase via the page at Daily PaintWorks, which uses PayPal.

I’ve made up some graphics for social media showing this in a frame on a wall, and it looks fabulous. While I wouldn’t have white walls or furniture, that setting actually shows off the vibrancy of the acrylic paint. I certainly would do a neutral color frame, and this grey has just the right hint of blue to be perfect. The mockup image is courtesy of Pixels, where you can get that exact frame.

mock-up of Peacock Portrait framed and on a white wall
Peacock Portrait framed and on a white wall