Caesar’s Brother Iris

Caesar’s Brother Iris, 2013
Ink and watercolor on paper
6 x 4 1/2 inches

© 2013 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

One of the most beautiful irises I’ve ever seen is the Caesar’s Brother Siberian Iris.  It spreads quickly after the first year’s planting and does best in moist soil.

This tall and vertically spiky iris looks great planted in large swaths along a lake or other water feature, but is just as lovely in a landlocked garden.  I highly recommend it.

Watercolor Practice

© 2013 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Working on staying loose, wet into wet, and lost edges.

Entrance I

Entrance I, 2012
Ink and watercolor on paper
6 x 4 1/2 inches

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Recently, I’ve been researching pen and ink artists and their techniques more intently.  As part of my studies, I re-read a free e-book from Artist Daily:  Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques:  Drawing with Ink to Create Art with Strong Contrast and Surprising Subtlety.

The e-book offers a great deal of insight into how different techniques render different results.  Especially helpful is the explanation about the difference between the European and American pen and ink traditions. 

Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques gives examples of each of these styles, but there are two contemporary artists I study that illustrate the difference, as well:  Nicole Wong usually follows the American tradition, where her hatch marks run along the form to suggest volume.  Tommy Kane follows the European tradition, where he uses hatching and crosshatching around the form to model his images.

While I’m an admirer of the European tradition, I’m drawn to the light, fresh and (deceptively) simple look of the American tradition.  Neither style is better than the other, of course.  Whichever one an artist chooses to use depends on personal preference and the results he or she wants to achieve. 

I highly recommend the Pen and Ink e-book.  To download a copy for yourself, you’ll need to register at Artist Daily, but it’s free, painless, and you’ll have additional access to information that will enhance your practice and knowledge of art.

Patio Garden

Patio Garden, 2012
Ink and watercolor on paper
6 x 4.5 inches

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

I’ve been working on an intensive colored pencil project, so it was nice to take a break by doing something quick and loose.

Fuchsia

Fuchsia, 2010

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

I couldn’t resist photographing this fuchsia, with its vivid colors and elaborate folds.  These exquisite flowers remind me of Georgian ball gowns, complete with panniers and furbelows.

Viola

Viola, 2010

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

A couple of years ago, I finally remembered to photograph an out-of-the-way patch of violas while they were in bloom.  The viola is a humble plant, and some might consider it a weed because it’s so aggressive, but I always enjoy seeing these pretty little flowers in the spring.

I like how this photo showcases how elegant this modest plant can be.  I also like how the violets and blues of the single viola bloom pop against the rich green of its leaves.

Harbingers of Spring

Harbingers of Spring, 2012

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

The complements yellow and purple comprise one of my favorite color combinations.  The colors are so intense here because I was experimenting with the saturation setting on my camera.

In most of the photos I took with a high saturation setting, particularly those taken in strong sunlight, contrast was lost as analogous colors blended together.  Shot in the shade, this photo was one of the few I thought was a keeper.  Now I know just how far I can go with the saturation setting on my camera.

Pink Geraniums

Pink Geraniums, 2012

Ink and watercolor on paper

6 x 5 inches

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

While running errands recently, the weather was so nice, I decided to take a look at the garden department to see what was available.  They had some very tempting geraniums for sale, but I restrained myself from buying any.  As eager as I am to start on this year’s annual garden because of the unusually warm weather we’re having, I’m better off waiting until the danger of frost has passed and the garden centers have a wider variety of annuals for sale.

Daffodil Challenge

Daffodil Challenge, 2012

Graphite on paper

8 x 5 inches

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

In honor of the early-blooming daffodils in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ann Thompson Nemcosky issued a daffodil challenge this month.  This is the first time I’ve seen a challenge issued by an artist whose blog I follow, so I decided to participate.

The online art community is so supportive and inspirational.  I can’t wait to see the daffodil interpretations of the other artists who participate in Ann’s challenge.

UPDATE:  Ann has posted all of the daffodil artwork submitted for the challenge.  It’s interesting to see the different media used and each of the interpretations.  Congratulations and well done to everyone who participated.

Clematis Mrs. Cholmondeley

Clematis Mrs. Cholmondeley, 2010

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

I’m fascinated by stamens.  They come in an endless variety of sizes, shapes and colors, and are beautiful in their own right.

The clematis showcased in this photo is from my parents’ garden.  The plant shows itself to best effect in the spring, when it exhibits an incredible profusion of flowers, each the size of my hand.  Just gorgeous.

Paniculata

Paniculata, 2010

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

On a day that I was bustling around the house doing chores, I walked out to my patio and saw this absolutely perfect panicle, made lovely by a solitary blossom.  It stopped me in tracks, and I thought, “Well, I need to get a shot of this right now, because it won’t look like this tomorrow.”

Capturing transitory moments like this reminds me how rewarding it can be to just stop and really see the world around me.

Dame's Rocket

Dame’s Rocket, 2010

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Sadly, the patch of dame’s rocket I photographed a couple of years ago was destroyed last year to make way for an apartment complex.  On the other side of the street, where more dame’s rocket was growing, the land was plowed under for a pumpkin crop.

The patch on the side of the street with the apartments looks to be gone forever.  I’ll have to wait until this coming spring to see if any of the dame’s rocket survived on the pumpkin side.

UPDATE:  It’s May 2012, and the fate of the dame’s rocket is much better than I’d feared.  Some of the flowers were destroyed on the side of the street where pumpkins were planted, but many of them remain.  On the other side of the street, construction of a new access road revealed an abundance of dame’s rocket still thriving in the thickly wooded area behind the apartment complex.

Fuchsia

Fuchsia, 2012

Ink and watercolor on paper

4 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches

© 2012 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

I’m a big fan of art made with watercolor and ink:  It’s light, bright, contemporary (yet steeped in tradition), and frequently whimsical.  Some of my favorite artists who work with these media are Nicole Wong, Tommy Kane and Geninne Zlatkis, who more often uses white ink, rather than the customary black, for a completely different look.

Another individual who works in watercolor and ink is Jane LaFazio, a mixed-media artist.  I discovered Jane when she was a guest on Quilting Arts on my local PBS station.  I was immediately drawn to her “don’t sweat it” attitude toward making art.  Jane credits Danny Gregory with starting her on the path of art journaling with watercolor and ink, in what she calls “journal style.”  Working in journal style is a good way to practice contour drawing and a means to train oneself to minimize detail in favor of capturing the essence of a subject.

Because I wanted to explore watercolor and ink further, I was thrilled when Jane released From Art Journaling to Art: Drawing, Watercolor, and More Techniques for the Mixed-Media Artist, an instructional video, particularly since she and I are attracted to similar subject matter.  In the video, she presents the tools and materials she uses, her process, and ways to leverage journal art.  Jane is a terrific teacher:  She keeps it simple and educates the viewer about the refinements that turn a journal page into a complete work of art.

Veronica

Veronica, 2010

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

This photo isn’t the best technically, but I like it for its content.  It features a color combination I find pleasing (purple, brown and green), the diagonal orientation of the flowers guides the eye through the composition, and it showcases the unusual, gradated petal markings of these pretty little flowers with the sophisticated name.

Cosmos

Cosmos, 2009

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Not too many people plant cosmos in my area (a pity), but I was lucky enough to come across a small bed a couple of years ago.

The lighting was just a tad too low when I took this picture, and I remember it was a bit breezy that late-summer day, so getting an in-focus shot was a challenge.  But I liked the photo just the way it was and didn’t change a thing.  The position of the cosmos happened naturally, and they look so otherworldly, as if they’re floating in the air on gossamer petals.

Goldenrod Feast

Goldenrod Feast, 2009

© 2010 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Many of my best photographs come to be by virtue of carrying my camera with me when I take a walk.  You never know what you’ll find along the way, even if you often take the same route.

On a fine summer morning, the goldenrod was in full bloom as I walked along the wetlands that are located near my home.  I happened upon this bumblebee going to town on one of the goldenrod plants.  Bumblebees, at least the species in my area, couldn’t care less about your presence, as long as you leave them alone.  They just go about their business, and this behavior allowed me to get really close to the bee in this photo.

At the time, I only had a mid-level point-and-shoot camera, but I was able to get a good shot with it that day.  I love the bright yellow of the goldenrod against the clear, cerulean sky.  The bee looks like it’s wearing a rich mantle of fur and sparkly bronze lamé.  I also got the depth of field just right without even trying.  Point-and-shoots do have their moments.

Firestorm

Firestorm, 2011

Colored pencil on paper

8 1/8 x 4 inches

© 2011 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Lately, I find I’ve been instinctively handling colored pencils as I would graphite pencils (often holding the pencil more loosely away from its point and positioning the pencil at a more acute angle to the paper) to help achieve form, texture and fine juxtapositions of colors, as opposed to choking up on the pencil to carefully lay in smooth tone.  I find this method to be freeing and think the results are visually interesting.

Stella d'Oro

Stella d’Oro, 2011

Graphite on paper

7 x 5 1/4 inches

© 2011 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

I drew this piece using an adaptation of Mike Sibley’s negative drawing method.  The technique is effective for pushing darks to achieve strong value contrasts, and encourages one to rely on tone rather than line to render shapes.

The next time I attempt something like this, I’ll use paper with a smoother surface, perhaps bristol smooth or hot-pressed watercolor paper.  These papers are often favored by graphite artists, particularly those with a photorealistic style.

Purple Crocus in Sunlight

Purple Crocus in Sunlight, 2011

Colored pencil on paper

6.5 x 5 inches

© 2011 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

Previous to this drawing, I’d never employed monochromatic underpainting.  However, accurately capturing the values in the crocus petals was essential to the results I wanted to achieve, so I used lilac to underpaint them first.  I then applied additional colors to attain the ultimate hues I wanted.

I’m pleased with the result.  The drawing reminds me of the vintage botanical illustrations I admire so much.

Cranesbill

Cranesbill, 2011

Colored pencil on paper

5 x 5 inches

© 2011 Susan M. Lohse.  All rights reserved.

There’s nothing like taking a closer look and noticing something one would never have seen otherwise.  It’s like discovering treasure.

In reality, this cranesbill was white.  While I was struck by the perfection of the bloom, at first I didn’t think it would make an interesting enough subject.  But upon closer inspection, I saw subtle blues, lavenders and greens in the petals, and I had to draw it.