Hello!
One of the labs in “Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists” is called Abstracted Minutia, in the chapter “Inspired by Nature. Following is a more elaborated tutorial than found in the book:
1. Gather some dried leaves, flowers, pods, shells, feathers, rocks, seaweed, grasses… anything you find out and about that looks interesting to you.
2. Next, gather some paper and drawing and mark-making tools. I’m using charcoal, various types of graphite, and just one or two colors of PanPastels; I like to keep my palette limited to mimic my subject matter. The paper I usually work with is Fabriano Artistico 140# hot press.
3. Start arranging your items into an abstract design. Try not to think “flower” or “leaves, but just look at shapes, textures, and colors and place them in a design that doesn’t read as anything necessarily.
4. When you’ve settled on a design, get ready to draw it:
Keep your hand as loose as possible when making your marks, especially when using charcoal.
Vary your pressure for darks and lights; smear charcoal areas to soften.
Don’t worry about copying the design exactly. Use your pod setup as a starting point, but then let the drawing tell you which elements you might want to leave out, or if there are areas you would like to add more to. Here is my finish:
Have fun with it, and play with your materials!
Photos by Matisse Lorance Berthiaume
Kim — a r t i c k l e host said:
Love it! Gotta try it.
omyn77 said:
this is so delicate, its just perfect 🙂
Carol Samsel said:
Love this ♥ Something I will have to try out tomorrow for sure 🙂
Kelly said:
Oh, such beauty. And such a wonderful thing to do with the bits and pieces I always seem to gather.
Shena Meadowcroft said:
See! I KNEW there was a reason I was storing half the forest and the other half of the beach in my studio! As much as I have tried to resist, methinks I am going to have to get some pan pastels though…. I LOVE the ethereal quality of this! Thank you!
Oh, and great photos Matisse!
jeannievh said:
I laughed out loud when I read some of the comments. We are all gatherers. My husband says it is like living in the botany lab in college. Thanks so much for the wonderful tut! I think pan pastels just were added to the wish list. 🙂
Elizabeth Margeson said:
Love it! What a great way to get the creative juices flowing. And, it also looks like a good way to loosen up a bit. Your composition is quite lovely! Thanks for sharing!
Randy Roelen - van der Vlugt said:
Thank you for this great tutorial, Carla! I will be trying this soon. I love the softness of your drawing, very pretty!
Elisabeth said:
Beautiful!Thanks 🙂
Cathy said:
Love this Carla Definitely going to try this only here in Canada I ll have to brush the snow off the leaves ⛄
joanne summy said:
Really cool
jean~bluebirds living in the meadow said:
very cool…
Darlene K Campbell said:
Timely tutorial…as this is exactly what I’ve been doing. I have also gathered my drawing supplies and have been devoting more time to practice drawing. I like the idea of nature items. Your drawing is lovely! Thanks.
tammy said:
I really like this idea, just enough marks to get an impression, but no pressure to get precise details or intricate drawing required.
The Purple Lapin said:
I love your tutorials Carla because you show me how to think outside of my box of exactness! And I really need that! I think I will do this drawing exercise today.
Anni/Handgathered said:
Just beautiful.
Helen Eckard said:
You always inspire me Carla. Thanks for this!
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Jill Kuhn said:
Is that a cat face I saw – with a feathery tail and seed pods for paws?! This is great, Carla! I too am a nature collector. LOL! This will be fun to try! 🙂
Darlene said:
Minimalist and very beautiful.
Dee said:
Love this. Your creativity never ceases to amaze and inspire
carlasonheim said:
Thank you, everyone!
Marta Cossin said:
Thank you for sharing this inspiring tutorial !
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