New Drawing and a link

{Claudio Bravo's Roses - graphite - 15 x 22 inches}

Hello and happy memorial day weekend!

Our weekend is going by so fast, that it feels like it be over too soon...

The drawing above is a copy of a Claudio Bravo drawing, I only focused on a portion of the original. Roses are a big challenge to me, the variety of form, the variations in value, and complex shapes all conspire to making it difficult to for me to simplify what I see enough to get it down on paper or canvas. So I decided to copy the master of beautiful roses {here is one of my favorite rose paintings by him} to learn a bit and begin to understand how utilizing value and line can work in presenting a very accurate representation of this complex flower. Part of my recent passion for roses induced me to plant three rose bushes near the driveway. I cannot wait until they flower!

Also lately I have been captivated by the recent paintings by Barbara Kacicek. Her ability to convey the rough texture of the stones along with the smooth skin of the pears is so inspiring. I like how hard the edges are in the painting, it almost makes it feel as if there is no air in the space of where the painting takes place.