Ellipses becoming daisies
SPRING has me wrapped around her little finger; I have a bad case of her fever. How about you?
I thought so. So let’s be like bees and head for the flowers.
Ready?
1. Review the last lesson on ellipses (circles in perspective)
2. Draw a series of ellipses. Don’t fuss over them. Do this free hand and don’t worry about perfection (note the irregular ellipses in the example below). Mark the center of each ellipse with a smaller ellipse.
3. Make several copies. If you don’t have a home copier, trace your ellipses by placing your drawing against a window.
The same set of ellipses have become gerber daisies.
Once again, the same set of ellipses - but this time as daffodils!
4. Turn one ellipse into a flower (daisies are easiest) by making a series of loops for petals coming out of the central ellipse.
5. Flowers face forwards and backwards. They face left and right. If one ellipse overlaps another, choose which will be in front. Turn them all into flowers.
6. Represent different flowers facing in different directions on each of your copies.
7. Watch these videos for more ideas: 1. Daffodil painting and the ellipse
2. more about daffodils and ellipses
8. Have fun!
Cat did – below is her colored pencil work sent from Satellite Beach. Florida.
Cat followed the lesson for "steps in a process" Don't forget to click to enlarge.
Hello from Florida where you had me out in my yard trying to capture my hibiscus flowers as ellipses before coffee! Now I can see if I can take those bare bones and make them into a painting. Thanks for the inspiration!
Cat,
How good to hear from you and to spend some time on your blog again – and all the things that your blog connects me to. Thanks for staying in touch.
The review for drawing elipses was so helpful last time that I used it to arrange a bunch of bicycles beside a canal in an Amsterdam painting. By having a bunch of bicycles, it meant that I only had to define JUST A COUPLE of them, so the viewer’s brain would fill in the rest of the idea of a cluster of the same subject, albeit with some of them tilted or a tire jutting out from the effect of the handle bars being tilted. The rest appeared as phantoms.
Now, with spring hitting Washington, where we are visiting for a month, there are many flowers for me to study….even some California poppies just outside my window.
Me again!
You gave me a great morning of playing with ellipses and my colored pencils. Thanks! I always enjoy your blog. I linked you on mine today.
cat
http://thebeachcat.blogspot.com/2012/03/weekly-inspiration.html
FUN!!!!
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Finally got on was wonderful thanks for the floral shot in the arm
big hugs and kuddos