Saturday 21 February 2009

edm 211 "in the style of " .. Leonardo Da Vinci


I am always collecting oak leaves and acorns. I planted some acorns and recorded their growth. The idea was to then somehow draw and record this progress. I have drawings on pieces of paper, others in sketch books so when I saw this challenge I decided to use my oak drawings as the subject.
I have recorded " in the style " of the great master Leonarda Da Vinci. He made lots of detailed and observational drawings of the same subject on one sheet and often used inks and red chalks. So I have used sepia ink, drawing and writing with a paint brush. Derwent drawing pencils in sanguine, venetian red and terracotta were used to add the reds on the acorns and leaves.
He had extraordinary interest in so many subjects. There is no doubt about his accuracy of his subject and it is his observational skills that I admire. Seeing his drawings, especially his natural subjects always inspires me.
I had lots of fun wetting the paper and blotting the ink to give it an "old" feel. I have finally put my sequence of the growth together, yet I feel humble to even attempt to make it look like his wonderful work. Hope you like it. Might do more on it and post that later.
Press for larger image.

15 comments:

Quilt knit said...

This is beautiful! Really enjoy the feel.

Spinneretta said...

Great job!! I love the 'aged' paper :) You did a great tribute! (He's another of my favourites).

seesue said...

Such a wonderfully aged, rendered and labelled collection. You've caught the de Vinci spirit beautifully!

Rhonda L. Cooper said...

I like it a lot. The use of monochromatic colors has always intrigued me. Leonardo's work is inspiring to look at. Great job on your in the style of, it has inspired me to give it a try.

Angie Willis said...

This is lovely Milly. Maybe you should have tried writing backwards too :-)

Lindart said...

O-o-o-h! Lovely! I love the sepia, and the way that did a "nature study" the way Leonardo filled up his notebooks. Very cool indeed!

Acornmoon said...

Your drawings always remind me of Leonardo, this is beautiful and you know how much I love acorns!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful drawing - I love the aged paper and the sepia look to it all. Congratulations.

Rachel Howard said...

Lovely - and yes it works in his style! I adore his pages like this, and I love this too. Wonderful observation and detail.

Beth Baxter said...

Lovely!

Ann said...

I was just looking at some reproductions of Da Vinci's drawings the other day. This is beautiful and definitely in his style!

Kim said...

You nailed it. Just wonderful. Hope to see more.

Margaret Ann said...

Beautiful delicate details! Love this! :)

Sandy said...

What a gorgeous study - Really stunning - I need to study it more!

Michelle Palmer said...

It is perfect! This would be BEAUTIFUL fabric!!! I would LOVE to have my totes, drawing portfolios in this pattern~
Thank you for sharing your beautiful illustrations~ Always wonderful...
Michelle