Sunday 13 March 2011

Week 10

I told you last week I had collected some nice feathers.  My page is of some of my finds,  ten feathers, quite appropriate for week ten.  I love feathers and find it difficult not to stop and pick them up.   As the shore has a large bird population visiting, there are always lots blowing around or floating on the water.   The green jug houses many of my last years finds, over the years I have drawn many feathers. Three of my art cards feature feathers.
It was lovely to complete this page although at times I did wonder if it was a good decision doing white feathers on white paper, but I like a challenge,  and solving how I will succeed at making them appear against the background.  I gave the paintbrush a rest and used Derwent coloured pencils,  a good pencil sharpener and lots of time and patience.  You can see all the different shades used, browns, yellow, greys, white and blues  and a pencil for the initial drawings. I am happy with the finished page.
I went collecting yesterday, Saturday,  for week 11.  It has been a cold windy week with the tides getting higher and stronger.  A fresh tide line had delivered some nice finds for my next weeks picture. There was just me and the swan yesterday,  I walked back and forwards and the swan glided along beside me.  She looked so beautiful and elegant.  I looked like an old tramp with my hat and gloves and waterproof jacket and wearing my husbands warm lined walking pants, carrying a plastic carrier bag.  Out of that bag I always find something beautiful to go on my page.
My computer is being repaired, not had it all week, so I will keep this short I am using someone else's laptop.
As always thank you for the lovely comments, I really do enjoy reading them all, I will try to return the visit when I can.  Hope you like the picture,  press for close up,  the real feathers are placed on the ground for you to see.        Millyx
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14 comments:

Carol Creech said...

Oh, these are just stunning! So delicate and gorgeous. I love your feathers always, but to see how you did them in pencil (with patience, which is something I lack when working with pencils!) is inspiring!
Carol

martinealison said...

J'adore le travail titanesque que vous avez effectué avec ces plumes. J'admire votre patience... mais de ce côté, vous me ressemblez car je suis soucieuse du détail.
Je travaille souvent en apnée!
Je possède des paons, je devrais vous confier quelques unes de leurs plumes! histoire d'avoir de la couleur!
Gros bisous à vous et encore toutes mes félicitations.

Windsongs and Wordhoards said...

I really love these... I'm a feather hoarder myself, they're just so beautiful aren't they...
I must say they look great in this medium, that takes some skill! And I love the arrangement,wonderful!
I really look forward to seeing what you have collected each new week and how you've painted them :)

geraldo roberto da silva said...

Sensitive! Good choice of theme.

Unknown said...

SO Gorgeous, Milly, very delicate and lovely,Diana

Frances said...

Milly, I love these feathers that you've captured so beautifully for your weekly journal.

You also made me smile with your description of your walking costume. Perhaps that would also make a wonderful subject for a drawing?

I am still trying to stay tangentially true to my resolve to do more drawing, and actually did a bit of sketching after an afternoon walk in very windy Central Park. No way could I have taken my sketchbook out while roaming the Park, but I was glad to have my camera.

However, when I got home, I didn't want to translate photos to drawings, and so I did lots of careful studies of the petals and leaf forms of one of my current living potted plants. These pencil drawings were really carefully observed, and I learned a lot about kalanchoe plants in the process.

Then I adapted that observation to some quick ink line drawings, abstracted from my studying.

Back to work for me tomorrow. Back to the sketchbook no later than Wednesday, I hope. xo

Susan Scheid (Raining Acorns) said...

Beautiful, your feathers. The detail is exquisite, and I enjoyed reading about, then seeing, how you solved the challenge of white on white.

Dan said...

These are beautiful! They work so well in coloured pencil.
Dan
-x-

Melody said...

They are beautiful! The pencils delivered great results! (we went to the pencil factory/museum when we were in England, to see how they were made!) I must admit as much as i love the feathers; i'd like to see a drawing of you posing as "the old tramp in a hat with the plastic bag..."
Gives me a giggle at the vision it conjures up! :))))

suz said...

I love these feathers.

sea-blue-sky & abstracts said...

Lovely feathers, beautifully drawn Milly. Well done. x

Pondside said...

*sigh* - I don't know which are lovelier...the real or the art feathers.
I love the mental image of you as a beach tramp!

Mary said...

Stunning............at first it didn't register that those were your actual illustrations, the feathers appear three dimensional on the very white paper! Absolutely beautiful.

Hoping to meet you at the Manchester airport when Delila arrives.............and that you soon have your computer up and running again!

Happy beach walking with warmer days soon.
Fondly, Mary

wandering said...

These are just beautiful! I love feathers - I always stop to pick them up too.. The white on white works wonderfully; stunning! Thank you, for sharing..

Jannette