Emperor Penguin - pencil drawing

 

A few days ago the prompt in the Sketch A Day app was 'South' and that made me look into my 'archive' of reference pictures taken from magazines. I wanted a penguin as these animals live in the southern part of our planet.

The picture of an Emperor penguin was selected and I made this drawing with different types of pencils.

I really like the result, so I decided to show it here.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Felled tree - a pencil drawing

 

During our short vacation in the Val Joly region we also made a walk just across the border, in Belgium, starting at the Étang du Vivier in Sart Eustache.

The walk was challenging for us so we did not have much time or energy to make pictures but this felled tree was just beside the path and we did stop for a picture here. The stump was at the other side of the path so we presumed that a large piece was 'missing', taken away by the foresters.

The picture inspired me to make a drawing on a large size paper as the tree was really large and details would not be possible on a small size. 

Using my Graphitint pencils I first made a layer of pencil drawing and used water to 'awaken' the colours that are special to that type of pencil. After that had dried I added more layers of pencil for more depth and details.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Blossoms in bud - a pencil drawing

 

Walking home after having done some shopping I saw these small buds on a bush by the footpath. Of course I made some reference pictures for a drawing.

These white blossoms or buds look best on a black paper and I chose medium size for this branch.

Using my new Drawing pencils I made this work. These pencils work great and I am still exploring the possibilities of layering and mixing colours and saturating the colours when I don't need mixing - like with the white petals.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Tulips - a pencil drawing

 

For the prompt 'Pink' in the Sketch A Day app I had to think a little, but looking at the tulips on my table I decided I just had to make them change colour a bit for my drawing. 

On black paper I made some simplified tulips using pink for the petals and green for the stems and leaves. The petals were treated with a bit of water and after that had dried a second layer of colour was added. 

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumbr blog.

Plane tree, Westersingel Rotterdam - a pencil drawing

 

This is the same tree that I painted and wrote about in my previous post, this time on paper with a different size and with pencils. This very large tree deserves more than only one watercolour painting.

For this drawing I have used only pencils and I did not even need to use water and a second layer of pencil to make this 'portrait of a tree'. My reference pictures do not show much more of the height of this plane tree so I can only hope to be believed when I write that it is much higher than my drawing shows.

For this drawing I did not add the smaller branches and the fruits hanging from them. These are of course part of the tree, but as there are so many smaller branches and fruits they might 'take over' this drawing and that is not what I wanted to happen. Only the main structure of the tree is here and for me that is impressive enough. 

Maybe in a next drawing, when I am using other materials, I will add these smallest branches and fruits again.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Nest - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app is 'Nest' and I really liked the idea of drawing a nest.

The scene is imaginary, a bird's nest in a fork in a branch, surrounded by more branches and the beginning of foliage.

I enjoyed using my new pencil set on another shade of coloured paper.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Paint - a pencil drawing

 

This month the challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is about professions, work, labour. The meaning of the challenge is to depict a profession and I decided on the (house) painter. That profession is/was 'in my family' and if needed I can also do the paintwork in my home.

I wanted to keep it simple, only one open tin of paint (the Dutch 'verf' means paint) and a brush with the paint on it.

This time I have combined Graphitint an Metallic pencils, using water to 'awaken' the Graphitint colours and adding a layer of pencil on top of that for depth.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in m y original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog. 

Peacock - a pencil drawing

 

A few days ago the prompt in the Sketch A Day app was 'Peacock' and after looking for some references I decided to draw the head and neck of a peacock with my watercolour pencils on a black background.

As I did before, after the first layer of pencil I used a bit of water to 'awaken' the colours and after that had dried I added another pencil layer for depth.

I still have the idea that I am not really good at drawing animals, but with a reference for the proportions and overall shape I get nice results. 

My to-do list for the coming years is about getting more practice and building confidence.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Eucalyptus - a pencil drawing

 

My first drawing in the year 2026!

The prompt 'fresh' in the Sketch A Day app had some photo inspiration with it and I picked the Eucalyptus branch to be my subject. Mostly because I have wanted to draw one of these branches for a long time but never had the opportunity. 

In a floral arrangement I got for Christmas was a small branch and I used that one as my reference.

My plan was to draw the leaves only and the stem would be suggested by the shapes of the leaves. This works very well with this branch.

After my first layer of pencil I looked at the result and decided to stop drawing. The black of the paper is still visible and that adds to the atmosphere I wanted to achieve. 

The 'experiments' in this drawing gave me the results I hoped for.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Feather - a Conté drawing

 

Last summer my husband Peter made a nice picture of a lonely feather on the beach. During my painting vacation we discussed the possibilities of this reference picture for making a painting with an 'unexpected addition' and decided I was to paint another composition.

A few days ago the Sketch A Day app had the prompt 'feather' and I immediately decided to use the reference picture my husband made. 

That picture was used for this Conté drawing, showing only the sand, the feather and its shadow.

Maybe I will try other compositions with the feather, trying to find the best 'unexpected addition'.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in  my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog. 

Cacao - a pencil drawing

 

The prompt 'Cacao' in the Sketch A Day app made me use one of the reference pictures provided by the app to draw the fruits of the cacao plant.

This particular reference was rather colourful with fruits varying from bright red to yellow so I picked three of the ones in the picture and arranged them to a new composition.

As before I made a layer of pencil, used water and added a second layer of pencil on the dried drawing to deepen the colours.

Now I have been using this technique regularly for a few months I can say that it is a great way to make a nice drawing.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Mistletoe - a pencil drawing

 

Today's prompt in the Sketch A Day app was Mistletoe and I really wanted to make a bit more than a quick sketch.

Remembering all the references that were given in the app I made a drawing of a branch with some leaves and berries. This was to be the one with most details so I used water to 'awaken' the colours and added a second layer of pencil after the water had dried.

The background branches have only one layer of pencil.

Looking back at the references I see I made a mistake, the berries should not be at the end of the branches.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Snow - a pencil drawing

 

For the prompt 'Snow' I did not have to search for inspiration. My new coloured paper with the Graphitint Pencils should be a nice experiment.

Like the drawings made with my watercolour pencils I first made a layer of pencil, applied some water to 'awaken' the colours and worked on that with a second layer of pencil.

The Graphitint pencils have an extra: using water makes them change colour a bit. That is a nice base to work on with the dry colour for extra depth.

The result is what I hoped for in this small drawing.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Cranberry - a pencil drawing

 

Another 'Sketch a day' drawing, I am really happy that I found this app. It helps me to keep a daily habit of sketching, sometimes a quick one, sometimes the sketch becomes a small drawing.

The prompt 'Cranberry' made me want to try to achieve that very special red colour these berries have - especially when they arrive in my kitchen fresh from the store. For this I might have used watercolour for a better result and maybe I will try if that is so.

For now I am happy with my little drawing of a branch of cranberries.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing, its availability and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Corn - a pencil drawing

 

Not all drawings and sketches I make for the Sketch A Day app will be published here because sometimes I just don't have the time or inspiration to make much of the sketch.

This time the prompt was 'corn' and I really wanted to do a bit more than just a quick sketch.

Once again on a tinted paper, using my Watercolour pencils I made a drawing of corn on the cob. Using a bit of water and a second layer of pencil for depth made this just as I wanted it to be.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Crop

 

Today the prompt in the 'Sketch A Day' app was 'Crop' so I first looked at the other entries to see how other people interpreted the prompt. I do that very often, there is a slight difference in translation possible. The prompts are in English, I am Dutch. Looking at the other entries also helps me find inspiration when that is needed.

Working with water soluble pencils helps me to define my subject by using water to 'awaken' the colours of the first layer and then adding a second layer of colour for depth. The three plants in the foreground are detailed, the others are only suggested.

At that point in my process I decided to add another meaning of 'crop' to my drawing by adding the lines I use when cropping a picture on the computer before I publish my work online.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this drawing and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Pumpkin - a pencil drawing

 

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I found the 'Sketch a day' app and made a small sketch every day. That time I was inspired to do a bit more than a quick sketch and today was the same. 

The prompt 'Pumpkin' inspired me to do a bit more than a black and white sketch, so I took a piece of grey paper and my watercolour pencils and made this drawing.

After the first pencil layer I used water to 'awaken' the colours and after that had dried I added more colours for more depth. This technique gives nice results and I have described it before.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Little animals in the grass - a pencil drawing

 

After my first experiment with black paper, grass and little animals I wanted to do more in this theme. 

This time I experimented a bit more with my materials, I used graphite pencils for the grass. On black paper that gives a silvery grey result, much different from the results om white paper. The stems with seeds and the two insects (a butterfly and a grasshopper) are done with my watercolour pencils. This time no water was added to 'wake up' the colours.

This still tastes like more, so when I have an hour or less free, I can do more with this theme. I can look at other little animals like spiders or snails, bees and much more.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this work and its availability and - if you are interested in my original artwork - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

Night Moth - a pencil drawing

 

The June challenge of 'Goed Gezien - Goed Bekeken' is 'small pearls' or 'little gems', those little bits of beauty that can suddenly inspire us. When I saw the theme, I immediately had to think about the night moth that was resting on the wall of our vacation home while I was painting a watercolour painting outside to have some shadow and a cool spot to work.

My husband made the reference picture for me after I had pointed out the little animal and that reference was used for this drawing.

I have used a small size black paper and my watercolour pencils without adding water this time. The little animal is done as detailed as possible (zooming in on the reference picture blurred the details a bit) and the corner of the wall it was resting on is only suggested.

The information about the materials I have used, the size of this drawing and its availability and - if you are interested in my original artworks - my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog.

A stack of trunks - a Conté drawing

 

During our walk in the Arboretum Trompenburg we passed by a stack of trees (in fact there were more of these stacks) surrounded by plants and I decided to make a reference picture for a drawing.

The drawing in only black, grey and white was a challenge because I also wanted to suggest the surrounding plants and bushes because these partially covered the stack of trunks. This background has mostly the same value as that stack of trunks, so my subject (the trunks) did not stand out any more.

That is why I evened the background, using the Conté that was already on the paper and added white to that later to take away a bit of all that black.

Now only the stack of trunks is detailed with a background in a gradient of grey. The darkest black is for the shadows and the really dark spots on the tree trunks and I have tried to make these stand out against the background as well.

Using fixative does change the intensity of the white a bit, so in between layers of fixative I added more white.

The result is not what I planned, but while I was working on this one I had to change my plans. In fact, I think I like this more.

The information about the materials I have used, the size and availability of this work and my contact information can all be found in my Tumblr blog. Contact me if you are interested in my original artworks.