Monarch on Clover

Last night I couldn't get this Blog off my mind; I wasn't sure if I really wanted this.  In the light of day I realized that it will be good for me.  I have always loved to write and, in fact, have several stories penned out.  Add to this my need to connect with others out there who like the same things I do and possible find a collector or two to give my Art a home; I need to give this Blog thing a fair shake.

 

   In the February/March issue of Professional Artist, Carol Marine wrote about jump starting her stagnant Art career by taking some sage advise (do art daily) and get yourself out there (blog about your work).  Of course, she was much more eloquent, and I highly recommend reading her article.

So here I am - getting myself out there. 

 

 

Today I am introducing Monarch on Clover.  This was the first piece I started from a photograph.   This monarch's picture was snapped in the yard years ago with a new Digital Canon Eos Rebel.  Mind you it is not the newest on the market today, in fact it is obsolete, but back then it was state of the Art.  The clever thing about digital photography is that we didn't have to wait to see if the picture would turn out well.  It was stunning.  I stumbled upon it when playing around with a new photo enhancing software program that came with my laptop, and had a great deal of fun changing it around.  The thought came to me to create and outline of the key elements so I could make a template to wood burn.

 

 

 

First, I erased the background and other parts of the picture.  This process allowed me to get rid of distractions as well as keep a color palette of those shades in the butterfly, flower parts I was going to burn.  Second, I modified the image to grey scale and then played around with the lighting.  Third, I created a posterized picture with seven colors to use as a reference for shades of brown when burning(this photo is not represented here). The Last step was to go back to grey scale and find all the edges.  Once again I played around with the light, shadows and such to get the details I wanted.

The outline was traced onto a slab of birch ply board and then the wood burning began.

 

Few of my pyrography pieces get colorized.  This butterfly and the clover screamed to be bright and vibrant, so I used oil paints mixed with other ingredients and made stain.  Applying the stain was tricky as it tried to bleed into areas I  didn't want it.  (This is why I went with oil paints over water colors)  I am very pleased with the end result.  So was my Mom - Happy Birthday Mom.  In July this Monarch found a home at my mother's house. 

 

I think about making another Monarch wood burning, but I haven't yet.  I am not one to do something twice.  I am usually so full of new ideas and have so many things going at once.  But, I can see myself doing this one again.

 

- Take Care -