One of my son's favorite places to visit is a garden store in our little town of Norway, Michigan. He's been on a botany kick lately and is pretty sure that when we go to the Garden Place, he can successfully hit Mom up for a new plant or two. We went there on Friday, and I took a few flower pictures with my phone while we were plant shopping. One of the beauties that we saw was a pot of pink calla lilies.
I sketched in pencil first, simplifying a bit by leaving out one of the mostly-hidden lilies so that I would have an odd number of lilies in my picture. Now, I need to share a secret about drawing: YOU CAN DO IT. It's not about some special hand muscle that some people are born with and others are mysteriously born without. It's mostly a matter of careful observation. Can you draw an "s?" Of course you can. If you have the manual dexterity to draw the alphabet, you can draw simple shapes, right?
Granted, it gets easier the more you do it (and it's been far too many years since I've regularly worked in my sketchbook). But you just look--look at angles and shapes and how they relate to each other--and then you draw what you see. Avoid the temptation to name everything. It is sometimes simpler to draw the negative spaces (or the spaces in between the shapes) than it is to draw the shapes themselves. I'm sure I'll gab more about this later, but for now, get used to the idea that you CAN learn to draw.
I used a Copic 0.3 gray mutiliner to ink the pencil lines that I wanted to keep and erased the others. I used the gray instead of black because I didn't want it to look like a line drawing when I finished coloring it. Besides, gray lines are less intimidating than black lines. Guess what? It isn't perfect. But that's okay. I gave myself permission to NOT stress so much over perfection that I never accomplish anything. Try it--it's very free-ing!
Here I have started coloring the greenery, using the Copic markers shown above. You know something else fun about art? It doesn't have to look exactly like the picture when you finish. That means that if I see purple in my shadows, I can put purple in my shadows instead of just a darker shade of green. Often you see a detail and emphasize it more than it really is. That's okay. You are exercising artistic license. By the way, getting the value right is much more important than getting the color right. A blue apple, shaded nicely, still looks like an apple. A red apple shaded poorly or inconsistently may look less like an apple than the well-shaded blue one. Trust me on this unless you want to draw some blue apples!
You may have noticed that I have more room on my paper above than I did in the original sketch: I scanned and printed my original sketch on some X-Press It Blender Card. Then if I really mess up, I still have the original.
Here I've shaded one of the lilies using the markers shown above.
Here are the rest of the Copic markers that I have used so far.
It still isn't finished. I'm not sure what I want to do with the foreground. I don't think I want the pot in the picture, nor my son's hand. I'll figure something out. But so far, I'm happy with it. By the way, I'm guessing that I have almost seven hours in this so far. Yes, I'm that slow!
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Now for some Copic Certification Class updates:
On May 26, I will be teaching a Copic Standard Certification in the Minneapolis/Eden Prairie area. (Later this year, probably around Scrapfest, I am hoping to get back to the area for an Intermediate Class.)
On June 10, I will be teaching a Copic Intermediate Certification in the Boston/Cambridge area.
On June 23, I will be teaching a Copic Intermediate Certification in the Wichita, Kansas area.
If you would like to know more about these classes or register for one, click here for more information.
Thank you for stopping by!
This is beautiful! Debbie, you are so talented! You really inspire me to try and draw, without stressing too much about "perfect" lines! One day I hope to color a little bit like you do!
Thanks for the inspiration!!
Posted by: gaby sayer | 05/06/2011 at 06:36 PM
Stunning work, I hope to color with my copics that well someday!
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Marilyn | 05/06/2011 at 08:23 PM
WoW Stunning Debbie TFI:) xxx
Posted by: terrie bailey | 05/07/2011 at 05:57 AM
Fantastic drawing and coloring, gorgeous!
Posted by: Conniecrafter | 05/07/2011 at 09:19 AM
I love to see your coloring. This is beautiful and so real looking.
Posted by: Carol R | 05/07/2011 at 01:35 PM
Happy Mother's Day!
Debbie, you just MUST start a line of Debbie Olson stamps! I am totally serious, you have such marvelous talent, and we would LOVE to own your beautiful images! I'd be the first in line to buy, buy, buy!!!
"GORGEOUS" doesn't even do these lilies justice...they are simply amazing. WOW! Those shades of pink are remarkable. You have talent beyond belief!!!
Posted by: diane mcvey | 05/08/2011 at 06:34 AM
Debbie, I've enjoyed your Thinking Inking blog, and now it's wonderful that you're starting this new blog! I'm not a great artist, but I love drawing and coloring with my Copics. I've found lots of Copic-related resources for card makers (I do some of that, too) and manga - but very little for sketching. So I'm very happy that you're going in this direction. Looking forward to your work (slow is fine!), work in progress, and tips.
Posted by: Cindy O | 05/08/2011 at 08:48 AM
WOW, absolutely gorgeous!!!!! So wish I could make a trip to Wichita but can't get off work....
Wow, I'm still speechless. :-)
Posted by: Micki | 05/08/2011 at 08:48 PM
WOW!!!! I am so impressed. I have got to take one of these classes and get a better handle using these markers. I think I am to heavy handed.
Posted by: Stephanie S. | 05/09/2011 at 02:29 PM
What kind of sketch book are you using as far as paper goes so that you can color with copics? Watercolor paper? What weight? Would like more information, please. Your pictures are lovely.
Posted by: Louise | 05/09/2011 at 09:45 PM
ok, missy - WHEN WILL WE BE ABLE TO BUY DEBBIE OLSON STAMPS?!?!?!? ;)
Posted by: Emily Giovanni | 05/10/2011 at 12:34 PM
Thank you, Debbie for showing us another layer of your talent. Also for your encouragement for us who may want to give it a try. Beautiful !
Posted by: BeckyTE | 05/10/2011 at 05:33 PM
Oh my...something more for me to swoon over. Your blog was one of the first to draw me in to paper crafting and now this! I really need to quit my day job to have more time to dabble in all of this! keep inspiring me, you are my idol!
Posted by: LindaH | 05/11/2011 at 08:14 PM
What a treat to see you using your gifts from God this way, Debbie! This is going to be a blessing to so many people and I can just hear your passion for teaching flowing through. Miss you!!!
Posted by: Tricia T | 05/15/2011 at 03:29 PM
Holy. WOW! What an inspiration, Debbie!
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