Poinsettia in pen and ink

Happy Friday, all! 

This is a pen and ink drawing of a poinsettia that I did some years ago. It was done using a pointillism technique (applying many, small dots of ink to do the shading) and a thicker pen width. It's a little different from my usual style, but I like the overall effect.

UPDATE 2010: I have also created matching return address labels that can be customized with your information as well as a beautiful ceramic ornament, stickers, and stamps - all featuring my Poinsettia drawing. 

Have you entered my botanical note card giveaway yet? There are just a few more days to enter! 

The note cards would make a great little gift for yourself or someone else for the upcoming holidays.

Check out the details on how to enter and good luck!

Botanical Note Card Giveaway!

I am excited to announce my first blog giveaway!

I will be giving away a set of 10 botanical note cards, featuring my original artwork, in honor of my 2nd blog anniversary today. The set contains 4 American Holly cards, 2 Iris cards, 2 American Red Raspberry cards, and 2 Rose with Buds cards:

• 4" x 5.6"
  
• Printed on ultra-heavyweight (120 lb.) card stock with a gloss finish.
• Each card comes with a white envelope and is blank inside.

To enter, leave a comment with your name and contact information (email address or website/blog address is fine), by Monday, November 15 at 12 noon, and I will use a random number generator to choose the winner. 

For extra chances to win, leave an additional comment here to tell me if:

• You already follow my blog OR you have become a follower
• You have posted about this giveaway on your blog

These cards and more can be found at my Zazzle store. Please stop by for a visit!

I have recently added some return address labels and postage stamps that would be perfect for the upcoming holiday season. Keep in mind that there is no minimum order and you do not have to buy multiples of the same card to receive a quantity discount. You will receive a quantity discount on any order of 10 or more cards.

Be sure to tell your friends about the giveaway!
And thanks for visiting!

House portraits - what makes a good photo to draw from?

Today I thought I would post something a little different. I have been working on some house portraits in pen and ink lately and usually work from photos. See my online portfolio for examples of completed portraits.

It is extremely important to have good photos to work from, including a single shot from the angle at which the final portrait will show the house, and close-ups of architectural details such as doors, windows, light fixtures, landscaping, etc. I have been able to take the photos myself this time, but often, a client is located elsewhere and has to take photos of the home themselves. 

Some of the tips that I post to my website for taking great photos include the following: 

• At least one photo should be taken of the front of the building, from an angle away from the garage, so it is not the predominant feature.  If possible, include a small view of the side.
• Close-up photos are very helpful. If possible, take photos of the front door, windows, any special features of the building, especially if hidden by bushes or trees.  
• Avoid having the front of the building in deep shadow. Cloudy days are fine if there is enough light. 
• Utility lines, cars, and people will be removed from the photos unless you request otherwise.  
• The building(s) on either side of your building will not be included, unless you request otherwise.

Here are some example photos so you can see what I mean:

Great photo!

This shows a three-quarter view (e.g., part of the side) and the front door will be visible in the drawing. The front porch is in a bit of a deep shadow, but a close-up will help resolve that.

 

Ok photo.

This is workable as it shows the front door clearly, but it is a straight-on view of the front, so the drawing could turn out a bit flat without the side perspective.

Not good.

This view makes the garage the prominent feature and the front door is basically hidden. This would not make a good final drawing.

  

Close-up details: 

This allows me to include all of the architectural details of the home including the front door, porch, windows, lamps, etc., making the final drawing accurate and personal to the home owner.

 

 

A custom house portrait offers a unique way to commemorate a special place. They make great gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, holidays and more. Consider ordering a house portrait for someone or yourself today!

NOTE: The holiday season is rapidly approaching. House portraits typically take 3-4 weeks to complete, so my commissions list is nearly full for this year. However, I am happy to offer gift certificates that can be presented at holiday-time with the portrait to be completed after the new year.


Email me at carol @ ccreechstudio . com  with questions or for more details!

Thanks to Kelly Dorman and Felicia Kramer!

A big THANK YOU to Felicia Kramer and Kelly Dorman for randomly choosing me as the winner of the “In the Michigan Studio” Backward Glances $40 giveaway. I'm so excited! I get to use the $40 towards a purchase from Kelly's Etsy shop: Backward Glances

Felicia is a wonderful artist who featured Kelly in a recent blog post. Felicia's Etsy shop is: Another Bright Idea

Kelly is a wonderfully talented artist from Mackinac Island, Michigan whom I have been following via the Bead Journal Project. She does amazing bead work and historical pieces - be sure and visit her blog: Mackin-Art.

I can't wait to go shopping! :)

House portrait - pen and ink

This is a recently completed a house portrait that I rendered in pen and ink. This was done on smooth Bristol with a Copic multiliner pen (size 0.05) and the image size is approximately 10 X 8 inches. There was a lot of detail both in the house and the landscaping, so it was a fun portrait to complete.

Thanks to Marlene Brady!

A big thank you to Marlene Brady for her gorgeous bracelet giveaway that I won. Marlene is a polymer clay artist who also does beading and mixed media painting. Check out her blog, her page on Crafthaus, and her Flickr photos for her amazing and creative work.

Bee Eaters (birds) drawing - colored pencil on mat board

This is a drawing of two bee eaters, drawn from museum specimens in colored pencil on a piece of mat board. It was one of my first attempts at using colored pencil years ago, and I was happily surprised at how it turned out. Both the color and texture of the mat board really helped to enhance the overall result.

Raspberry plant - pen and ink

This is another drawing (done this summer) from our raspberry bush. I based it on the one I did last year, using part of the leaves, but adding more berries from an initial study sketch I had in my sketchbook. I wanted to include more berries, some fully ripe and some in the process. To keep it simple (and save time) I just left it as a line drawing in pen and ink.

Camel in graphite

I haven't had much time lately to draw, so I thought I would post some previous work. This is a camel that I drew from a photo I took at the Amersfoort Zoo in the Netherlands. I love the expression and it was fun to render those big eyelashes!

Leaf in graphite

A simple post today - one of our maple leaves, in graphite. Lots of things are starting to dry up now that it is fall and the leaves have such interesting shapes and shadows. Have a wonderful weekend!