Of Workshops & Brushtrokes III

Three out of four workshops completed, and it has truly been a gratifying and fulfilling experience all throughout.
Of course, the level of difficulty only increasing- more use of colours and further use of shading.

And so we began with the lotus flower!
I, personally, wasn't familiar with the lotus flower. I thought they were water lilies. Which they are, a type of, but it is different in its own right. Unlike water lilies, the lotus flower leaves' shoot upwards, out of the water, suspended in the air by their lean stem.

Just see for yourselves:

Images from Google

Later, I felt more than a little embarrassed as I have come across lotus flowers, via literature. Need I mention Homer, Tennyson, (Radiohead) and the ahem book I am currently reading?* Shame on me!

All painted by me; Lotus Leaf by Gi-ok

Still Life: Fruits and Vegetables

We dove right in to colour, sparingly using black chinese ink to outline.
Every brush stroke counts- every time the inked brush touches the paper it immediately becomes part of the 'finished product'. It is a breath of life; every side of the brush- the tip, the middle, the sides- individually working as a whole.

Take these "three easy" steps to painting an apple as an example.

Easy, right?
The correct colour combinations have a lot to do with giving it the right shape and shading. And (how did you guess?) the brush strokes. They aren't complete, the finishing touches still missing (a little outline here and there and the stem). But it's there, the apple of your eye (ha).

And just because: The ink dried up on my plate with the light bulb reflection acting as the moon on the blackest of nights.
I can see a man's profile. I can see an eagle about to spread its wings. I can see a heart...

I'm sad we're on to the last workshop this weekend!

Previous posts, if you want to catch up:
Of Workshops & Brushtrokes I and II

My weekly updated Flickr album

* The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

ALL PHOTOS TAKEN BY ME UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED