Monday 30 March 2009

Cloudscape - Willow Pond

Cloudscape - Willow Pond
coloured pencils on Arches HP
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

My Ecology Park Pond series continues. I've been trying to get to grips with clouds lately and can now understand why so many of Monet's later paintings in the water garden at Giverny involved an awful lot of looking into water - and reflections and the deep dark depths of the pond.

The thing is drawing clouds in water isn't like drawing clouds in skies. The ones in the skies don't butt up against deep pools with weed underneath. Plus the trees which touch the skies don't have ripples in them.

Then there's the whole thing about getting water to look like water.

Plus avoiding your clouds from beginning to look just plain grubby!

If all else fails you can always turn the drawing upside down to check it out and whether it works. The problem is it sometimes looks better upside down!

Cloudscape - upside down!

10 comments:

vivien said...

no I like it the right way up!

I generally like my reflections, like this, to be mainly reflection with no more than a third of 'reality' - the reflection is usually so much more interesting and abstracted isn't it?

This is nice and catches those vividly blue skies we've having and the chill of early spring.

Where are those paints? and linoprints? Show and tell!

Lindsay said...

I like how you have expressed a bit of wind ruffling the surface..not enough to create huge distortions and add alot of shine. Very subtle and lovely. Great depth of color too.

Jeanette Jobson said...

Great colours and shapes in this. I agree with Vivien, the right way up is wonderful.

Reflections really dominate in this and I can feel the wind rippling the water. I never seem to have water around me that is still enough to capture reflections really well. Its always blowing a gale!

Sarah said...

I like it the right way up and love the intense blue

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Beautiful!! Those blues have me drowning and they definlty refelct the crispness of the season.
ronell

r garriott said...

Really marvelous! I do love that it is 90% reflections.

Anonymous said...

I can feel the gentle breeze as it comes to me across the body of water, leaving those subtle ripples. Right way up for me thanks.
Have to say, with the strong breeze here today, you sure wouldn't want to try and capture the reflections!

annie said...

I agree, the right way up and showing the lovely reflections. I am in love with your Ecology Pond series.
annie

Making A Mark said...

Thanks for all the comments

Laura Frankstone said...

I missed this! I don't let myself get on the internet when I'm in the middle of painting (this is a problem, when particular paintings drag on and on), so I'm just now surfacing. I've been wrestling with the problem of reflections recently, so I very much empathize with you. You've done a superb job of rendering yours---and, oh, that blue sky! You have put us, your viewers, right there, in that chilly English spring day.
Excellent.