Tag Archives: foliage

Questionable Quandary

July 2, 2019 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Hurray for spell check! Otherwise, I would have misspelled quandary. Thank God for the blessings of our digital world. Some of those blessings I’m not so fond of, however.

But I digress. This blog is about art, not the information age.

So, now the quandary.

My latest drawing came out very well, in my opinion. Here it is:

As I drew it, I had this flash of inspiration…..or not. I kept envisioning the drawing as this above. Tendrils like roots surrounding like a frame.. I don’t know, did I see something like this somewhere? Am I unknowingly plagiarizing some artist’s work. Also, is it something my father would have called “artsy craftsy”, his cleaned up version of “artsy fartsy”? When I look at the small sketch I wonder if I like it better.

If I had taken this, and drawn the foliage completely on the rectangle, would that have been better? It’s what I envisioned originally, and gives the look of a miniature jungle. Truth is, I like them both, but only time will tell which I prefer.

So, a couple of years ago, I was griping about how boring drawing foliage is. No more! After the grey dark winter (and the grey dark spring), bring on those leaves! I will never complain about foliage, again.

The drawing that made me curse leaves and plants was this one.

So, I guess for a few months at least, plants and foliage is the trend. After all, plants and foliage is one of the reasons I left New York City for Connecticut.

So, what’s next? I take photos of ideas I have, and the idea for the next drawing reminds me of this:

After all, the grass is always greener in the next drawing.

Patience, my dear, patience

July 12, 2017 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

I’ve actually found something that’s more tedious than drawing a lot of dots….drawing around a lot of dots. The dots in question are meant to be clover, and the around, grass.

It’s a shame I had to throw out so much of my old artwork. No space, no time to move it. There are some pieces I miss especially. One of them was a drawing of trees on a lake, but in such colors that it reminded you of a cloudy day. A moody, cloudy day.

As well as the Japanese paintings that my sister described as a rainy countryside, I find I have another association with clouds and rain. It’s what I expect England to be like. I’ve never been there, but I know the type of weather she’s famous for. Indeed, the literature that I’ve read, set in England, is made more romantic by the moody mist. I see King Arthur and Robin Hood, going through landscapes of green and gray.

So, finally I have duplicated the feeling of the old drawing I lost in time. Cloudiness and romance together as a serendipitous combination. Here goes:

Zentangles…Or, Why Didn’t I Think of That?

August 21, 2016 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

A while ago, I talked about coloring as a type of meditation. Then I remembered, there’s another art based one..zentangles. While we were browsing at Michael’s, there were books on it featured. In case you never heard of it, this is the website: Zentangle

In short, it’s a type of doodling that incorporates mindfulness. Sort of like my hooky-doos. You don’t know what I mean by hooky-doo? Here’s a couple of examples.

Those are abstracts..again from the Namaste series. Here’s an example of Hooky-doos in my representational work.

Anyway, Zentangles became a thing…so, why didn’t I think of that. Not too late, maybe I’ll start marketing my hooky-doos as Koan-Go-Rounds. Let’s not forget the mindfulness aspect.

Speaking of Zentangles, this is an excellent segway into a work-in-progress detail of my current project. Foliage again …so much foliage. This shows, much like zentangles, the mindful doodling I do, when I’m drawing. So, a sneak peek:

By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea…..

August 20, 2016 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

Not exactly the sea, it was actually the Long Island Sound. My friend and I went looking for rocks for Danbury Rocks and made a day of it. First we went to the art supply store, where I spent too much money. That’s easy, I’m like a child in a candy store, there. Then we drove to the shore.

Gathering stones was fun, as was soaking in the saltwater.

Anyway, back to reality and doing artwork…when I’m really supposed to be doing housework.

I’m going through some old drawings to see how I’ve handled foliage in the past…I came up with these…

I tried to find an ocean picture…but this is the only one that I still have:

Oh, yes and the winter beach I did earlier this year.

so thanks for enjoying this trip down memory lane with me…I’ve got to get back to work!

In the Details…

August 5, 2016 roxannebaldwin Leave a comment

So, I’ve settled into a comfortable routine with this drawing. Here’s a progress shot of a detail,

Here’s to show you…an image a long time ago, that I’m trying to improve upon. Light through the trees is not particularly a paradise image, but it is hopeful.

Coloring is the New “Om”

June 6, 2016 roxannebaldwin 2 Comments

Recently, there has been a trend using coloring for an adult as a type of meditation. I’m not opposed to this, it just doesn’t work for me, I find it tedious. Also, even as a child I was unable to keep within the lines. For those who find it helpful, sounds good to me, go for it!

Anyway, I do have meditative spells in my artwork. Frequently I come up with a design that needs coloring, and it is meditative to me. Or I have a portion of my work that requires just doing abstract shapes in a repetitive fashion. All of these are calming and encourage introspection.

Here’s an example: I was talking about the drawings I want to create from the pictures I took of a park, the other weekend. Here’s a detail of what I’ve done so far:

So, thanks for reading.

I’m going to do some artwork now. Ommmmm……..

Roxanne Baldwin's Artsy Blog