Helleborus orientalis in ink

Here are the ingredients, each on a separate piece of paper and then stacked.  

Flower

Seed pods

Pollen grain x 2000

Helleborus orientalis

                 

Finishing touches

Just had my cabbage picture and my sweet corn, both from the beginner year, framed. The man at Wood Works in Dover is brilliant. The pictures are transformed. I had previously framed the corn cob through an on-line framers, but I was unhappy with it.  He put in a new mount and stained the frame and it looks great.  He charged me £3.    He said that he would do me a deal if I want several pictures framing for an exhibition....
Find him in Tower Hamlets Road or email: wood_works@hotmail.co.uk

Pagan spring

It does not seem like spring if you venture out.  There may be daffodils and crocuses blooming, but the wind is at its most spiteful and icicles are forming on the shed roof.  However, for our next project we are to consider celebrations of spring, May Day, Green Man, Jack in the Green etc.
To my mind the Green Man is of woodland and spring is definitely feminine, so I am going with Flora, Roman goddess, and the festival of Floralia which is the same time as May Day.  She is going to be a green woman.  I think I will have to work hard at avoiding the twee or that style of fantasy art that I loathe. Coloured pencil will be my medium.

Ink

I am enjoying the Helleborus orientalis in ink.  I have done a pollen grain enlarged 2000 times, seed pods about double size and a flower ditto.  The snow played havoc with the plant material so I also worked on a dead maple leaf which has the advantage of not altering!

Maple leaf

Tribute to William Morris

Here it is, after a lot of effort and a flat wash that seemed more than disastrous to me.  It is not going to get a frame, but will sit in a big bag with the rest of my stuff, to be looked at occasionally in the hopes that I have learnt from it, which of course I have.  I have learnt that watercolours is not my thing!  The 'tile' background is inspired by Morris.  Some of the others in the class had done the most beautiful work, especially Eileen who did nasturtiums in a Morris wallpaper style.  
Pleased with the irises though.

Exhibitions

I am still struggling on with my 'Pre-Raphaelite' effort and also working on a layered ink depiction of Helleborus orientalis.  I like ink.  I joined a trip to see Manet's portraits at the Royal Academy.  It was very interesting.  We came to the conclusion that Manet did not like doing hands.  They are almost always hidden or indistinguishable as hands.  A trip to the Society of Botanical Artists' Exhibition is planned and the exciting thing is that four of our group have had work accepted!  Maybe next year I could try too.

Pre-Raphaelite inspiration

In early January six of us headed for Tate Britain and the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition.  I had read half the catalogue (it's huge) but was still not prepared for the size of the exhibition - brilliant value for money.  In fact by the last room I could hardly take it all in.  I would have liked to go again.  
Our inspiration is the PRB and we must choose a painting, take the plants from that painting and do our own interpretation.  Considerations are symbolism, colour, pattern (William Morris for example) and availability of material of course.  We are working in graphite and watercolour.  I have done masses of work so far with almost nothing on the finished piece.  I have bought a new brush too!  As usual I cannot seem to visualise what I want and everyone else's work is far superior.  I particularly admire Elizabeth's work.
My chosen painting is 'Broken Vows' by Philip Hermogenes Cadoran and my plants are ivy, iris and rose, but the rose has now been dropped!