Another Field Sketch Transformation

 

The Ledge at Calmes Neck. colored pencil, 14"h x 10"w.

Having obtained permission from one of the homeowners who lives there, I went back to Calmes Neck the week following the Virginia Native Plant Society's excursion to do another field sketch. I wanted to capture the red Columbines growing on the rocky ledges, with the idea of doing another piece on the unique plants that are found there.

I arrived mid-morning and was given a wonderful tour of their art collection by the owners of the gorgeous custom log cabin home. After that, I walked down the hill with my gear to find the best spot for my field sketch--there wasn't any level ground, so the best I could do was to balance my portable chair between the ledge and the steep drop-off, using my feet--a rather uncomfortable position, but the best I could do.

 

My gear on the ledge.

As I began to draw I saw that the ferns and rue anemones growing nearby might make a nice frame for the red Columbines, so I included a few of those as well as some of the moss-covered rocks, to give the impression one was really sitting right there. I had to keep getting up to look closely at the Columbines, in order to properly draw their complex petals and spurs, alternating looking with sitting and drawing. It takes a lot of energy to do this--at one point my sketchbook slipped out of my lap and almost ended up going over the cliff!

 

Field sketch in watercolor, 8"w x 10"h.

 

Once I had the pencil sketch and had started putting some color down, I took my lunch break--it was around one o'clock. While eating my sandwich, I could get a closer look at the flowers of the tall Pawpaw trees growing under the cliff. A light breeze from the river below cooled the otherwise hot afternoon--too hot for April! And too dry--after I was finished and was picking up my gear a couple of clumps of dry moss peeled right off the rocks! I guess the moss will grow back eventually once the drought breaks. Despite the discomfort of my position, it was a rich and useful field trip for me.

 

Pencil sketch of the ledge - Stage 1

I generally wait a while before I decide how I'm going to develop a sketch into a finished painting; it's always good to think about it as much as possible before one commits. Pencil sketches are the best way to practice and test out ideas for a composition. I decided to include the ferns and rue anemones and add a tiny purple cliff brake on one ledge--this fern was actually farther away on another rock ledge. I decided to go with the sketch above.

 

Pen and Ink sketch on tracing paper - Stage 2

The next step was to trace my drawing with an ink pen, and transfer it to the paper for the final project. I decided that colored pencils would be the most appropriate medium for the amount of detail I wanted on this piece, and to try rendering it on a sheet of  Bristol 300 vellum finish. 

Before doing the tracing, it occurred to me that this would be a good chance to include a pollinator, and that a ruby-throated hummingbird would complement these colors well. My first sightings of  hummingbirds in my garden had taken place just a few days before, and all of these were males. I understand that hummingbirds migrate solo, and that the males precede the females by two or three weeks, to allow the vegetation they feed on to recover, as they follow the same migration paths every year

 

Pen and Ink sketch on tracing paper - Stage 3

I cut another piece of tracing paper to attach to the first, and added a hummingbird sipping nectar from a Columbine flower. At this point I noticed that the purple cliff brake was too large in relation to the other plants, so I reduced it a bit by using my copier to scale it down to about 85% of the original drawing.

 

Colored pencil drawing - Stage 4

 

Working on Bristol 300 vellum finish is a bit different from the Fabriano Artistico HP paper that I prefer--the surface is much smoother, and one has to build up the layers of color gradually. It took a while to get the drawing to this stage (above) where I could begin to develop the darker tones. But this was only half of the area to be covered.

 

Colored pencil drawing - Stage 5

 

Unfortunately, I didn't take any other photos of the intermediate stages beyond Stage 5 above. By now all the various plants and their colors were clearly articulated, and it was just a matter of deepening the tones.

Oregon Ridge Park

                                Oregon Ridge, watercolor, 14" x 10"

Yesterday my friend Linda and I went on one of our wildflower walks/painting/photo excursions. We'd chosen Oregon Ridge Park to the north of Baltimore because one of my plant guidebooks lists several rare plants that grow here, and neither of us had ever explored this park. The day was beautiful, a bit hot for late April when we started our hike. The terrain rises from the visitor center to a sizable hill where a century ago there used to be a ski area, and the main trail is an old logging road.

The unusual plants are found in an area called Ivy Hill, where the land drops off steeply towards a stream. It is presumed that these rare specimens were planted here long ago and have naturalized, since woods with mixed deciduous and evergreens such as hemlock and pine are rare in our area, specially growing with tree-sized rhododendrons more typical of the southern Appalachian mountains.


We found a clump of Yellow Trillium blooming near the stream, where we had our picnic lunch, but we were unable to find any of the Oconee bells (Shortia genus), so we finally settled by a pond with some enormous rock formations perfect for sketching. This painting of the rocks covered with ferns and the rhododendrons is the result of our pleasant afternoon, and I'm selling it for $100 as is, (not matted or framed); shipping costs to be paid by the buyer. If you are interested in buying, please contact Elena.

On the hike back we found some dog-tooth violets, a species which I'd not seen before, along with blue birdsfoot violets. White and yellow violets were also to be found, the white ones in profusion.