Colored Pencil Artwork

We are fortunate to live within walking distance of a fishing pond and walking trail; and a five minute drive will take us to a bigger lake and recreational nature area. That gives our family the opportunity to make walking and nature observation a regular part of our homeschool experience. Sometimes we identify trees, birds, seed pods, or wildflowers. Last week my son caught a spotted trout with his hands, which he kept just long enough to examine for the purpose of drawing it and writing about it briefly in his nature notebook.

I keep a notebook alongside of my children, and find it to be a very worthwhile and absorbing pursuit. My artistic skills are w-a-y underdeveloped, and I would be too embarrassed to take an art class with other adults. But with kids, I can relax, learn right along with them and work on my skills without worry or fear.

I've seen a pattern develop as I look through the pages of my notebook: most of the drawings are flowers. Colored pencils are the media of choice for me, simply because they are so portable. And so, I decided to try to improve my art skills a little.

This book, Creating Radiant Flowers in Colored Pencil, came with me on my recent mini-vacation, just in case my husband and I had time to sit under a tree on a blanket. To my great delight, we did!! While the Preacher took a nap, I had an art lesson using the book as a guide. I worked all afternoon on a drawing of a parrot tulip, using a technique called burnishing. Because colored pencils are translucent, the colors can be layered with white in between layers.

Here is the result of my afternoon pursuit. Now this marks a real breakthrough for me, allowing adults to peek into my notebook!

I think I am becoming bolder as I launch into my 5th decade. Not only have I opened my notebook for view, but I also wore one of my vintage hats to church~~~something I have always wanted to do but felt too self conscious to actually carry out. You know what? It is fun to step out of the comfort zone once in a while!