William Morris Inspired Botanical Drawing

Weaving plant branches and being inspired by William Morris

I have been working on the successor of ‘Praising Plants‘, ‘Ode to All Oak Trees‘ and ‘Sophisticated Succulents‘ by returning to William Morris. 

For years, William Morris didn’t appeal that much to me because I was under the influence of Dutch Baroque floral painters. They, as no one else, could create depth and a feeling as if you were looking at a real bouquet. They positioned their composition in such way that a large flower vases, filled with many different seasonal flowers, would stand proudly on show and you could -in your mind- walk around it. You would admire not only the flowers but also water-drops and insect that rested on big and small petals. But, of course, you were looking at an illusion. Dutch floral painters studied flowers, one by one, made sketches on them, and then set up a composition as if all flowers were all in bloom at the exact same time, which is never the case in nature. A wonderful illusion; a much admired illusion.

William Morris looked one-dimensional compared to these baroque painters, yet, I learned to see that, compared to many modern flower designs, Morris certainly isn’t one-dimensional. He may not create as much depth as I would like to see, but he weaves flower stems, creating a feeling as if you are in nature, looking at bushes, trees, and flower beds. Some flowers are near, some further away. William Morris educates and inspired us with his design, botanical knowledge, and colourful palette. 

Morris scatters and extends broad leaf foliage, flowers, and sometimes animals for the purpose of creating a repetitive, yet not too repetitive, design. There is a difference in what we expect from wall-paper, a painting, or a mural. We expect a mural to trick us like Harry Potter on Platform 9 ¾ : we like to run into the world that is suggested by a mural. Wall-paper, on the other hand, aims at supporting the design and décor of a room. Wall-paper must suggest less depth than a mural or painting, but more than a brick wall, by for instance weaving the stems of flowers and using the technique of foreshortening. Morris does exactly that however not overly.

I have drawn this large graphite drawing with so much pleasure although that I grew dizzy of the swirling botanical patterns. But isn’t elegance worth a bit of suffering, isn't it?

(I feel the need to apologise for the quality of the photo. The photo looks sharp on my computer but blur on Blogger. There is a larger and sharper photo at Etsy or my blog).

Paula Kuitenbrouwer   

Artist info: Arches paper & Derwent H2 to H7. Acanthus grows in Dutch gardens. I haven't found it growing outside (botanical) gardens.

After ‘Praising Plants’ followed ‘Ode to All Oak Trees’. Allow me now to present ‘Sophisticated Succulents’. This softly rendered graphite drawing shows Living Stones, Echeverias, and String of Pearls succulents, plus many more. Of course, setting up this composition made me buy a few more succulents which was part of the joy of drawing this ‘desert garden’. 
Initially, I liked to add the title ‘Sophisticated Succulents’ in classical, elegant letters but then I thought no. Succulents aren’t elegant. They are cute but basic, strong and bulky. They spend all their lives surviving harsh conditions. Thus, I added a letter type that resembles their shape; basic, cute, bulky, as if full with stored water. I am always amazed and delighted how much thinking goes into a square inch of a detailed drawing. 
Succulents grow in the Netherlands indoors. You can put them outside during the summer, but I prefer them indoors for keeping dry and happy. I lost succulents to root rot, which happens when their soil doesn't dry out enough. 

What is your most inspiring succulent related place? A desert? A shop? Mine is the Desert Garden of the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.

Paula Kuitenbrouwer 
At Etsy

Ma, a Japanese aesthetic principle, in my bird of prey drawings

 I’d like to show three paintings in which I have incorporated Ma, a Japanese aesthetic principle. Ma is described as 'an interval in time and/or space', thus referring to empty spaces, vagueness or abstraction. Empty spaces, in which nothing seems to happen, are full of possibilities. How do my three birds deal with Ma in their portraits?

For my portrait of Magpie, Korea's national bird, I added orange colour to compensate for a magpie’s black and white plumage. To stay close to her Korean habitat, I decided to position Magpie on a colourful and fruit-bearing persimmon branch, heavily laden with pumpkin-shaped kaki. Magpie is content with her portrait, and so am I. 

 

Setting up a composition for a portrait of Carrion Crow was a little harder. Negotiations with this proud and cheeky bird were tough. I talked him into sitting on a mountain ash branch, but initially he didn't agree with my decision of pushing him a little to the rear.

'You are an indigo blue-ivory black bird', I explained by pointing out that humans don't like black things. I explained that I could trick humans in loving his plumage by adding the rich palette of colours of an autumn Mountain Ash.

'This branch has fresh green, bright orange and deep red, and will charm viewers in loving your monotonous black feathers. And if I use a diagonal composition, I can guide the viewer along the branch, climbing up from deep red, through the bright orange to sap green. After such a colourful journey, people don't mind a bit of solid black. But to do that, I told Carrion Crow, I have to push you a little to one side, but that is okay. Reluctantly, Carrion Crow agreed. 

 

My Sparrowhawk demanded to sit high and mighty on the top branch of a proud pine tree. The world of humans doesn't interest him. He soars above it, looking down on our wars over oil, mass migration and our overheated, overpopulated world.

Sparrowhawk knows he has this intricately textured and awesome coat of feathers, which makes fashion designers drool. Not much is needed next to such an eye-catching bird; two almost evenly-coloured pine cones complete the portrait. Sparrowhawk sat down just long enough for me to make a portrait, and, without so much as a 'thank-you', flew off to his own world, soaring high above ours.

Back to Ma.. In all three bird portraits you’ll notice considerable emptiness. My birds seem to look into this emptiness. What do they see? A suitable partner? Prey? Are they guarding their hidden nests? Are they exploring new horizons? Maybe they are thinking of migrating to south Wales, where there are towns called Llwynypia (the magpie’s grove), Cwmbrân (crow valley) and Mountain Ash.

Ma is for you to fill in with your imagination, with your story-telling, your ornithological knowledge or poetry. But Ma can also be left open. We don't need to fill in empty spaces with projections, trauma, words or sounds. Ma offers a thinking pause or escape from our train of thoughts.

Magpie, Carrion Crow and Sparrowhawk understand Ma naturally. We are enchanted when we see a bird resting on a tree branch and we long to be like them: resting in Ma, accepting the here and now. 

Paula Kuitenbrouwer at www.mindfuldrawing.com

Text edited and enriched by Gerwyn Moseley.

Prints at Amazon Handmade and Etsy.  

Artists Inspired by Nature

My friends and I have one thing in common: we are inspired by what nature shows and offers us, be that birds, wood, autumn leaves or the sky.   

Sybille Tezzele Kramer, has a wonderful eye to look deep into soil; she never forgets to draw roots. Her vision also stretches out into space: it is rare to find a drawing by Sybille not showing the sun, moon or constellations. 

Liliya Tereshkiv collects nature objects and brings them home. There she translates them into woodwork and jewellery.  

Lois Mathews is a long time nature journaling artists. She lives far away from me, but through her sketches I have grown an understanding of her island. 

May I present my friends and what is on my wall? Please, enjoy.

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Sybille Tezzele Kramer:

Italian born Sybille Tezzele Kramer draws inspiration from her direct surroundings in Sud-Tirol. Sybille shows her appreciation for weeds with her drawing, named Erbacce/Unkraut. Notice Chamomile, Poppy, Alchemilla, Foxtail grass and Dandelion. Also, notice the smiling face of the weeds. Weed smiles because it is stronger than all the poison that is used. And why using it? Why do we categorize some plants as obnoxious weeds and others as ornamental plants? Why do we say some stones are pebbles and others are gemstones? Sybille creates a three-dimensional effect by drawing a heliocentric composition. Read more about this lovely drawing here. Sybille’s Erbacce/Unkraut/Weed is available here. The original Erbacce is touring through Italy as a mobile exhibition ‘Lo Sguardo Obliquo’.

Liliya Tereshkiv:

Liliya Tereshkiv, a Ukraine born artist, also living in Italy, is the woman behind Sorriso Design. Liliya shows us how nature inspires her by picking up leaves and pine cones and looking at the blue sky. Here is her lovely Etsy shop full woodwork, jewellery and home decoration. Have a look, you will be surprised. More of Liliya’s nature photos are here.

Lois Mathews:

For years by now, I’m enjoying the walks Lois Mathews records at her delightful blog Sketching on Whidbey Island. If there are sketches directly inspired by nature, they are Lois’ water-paintings. I don’t like to sit in front of a screen, but that all changes when I read Lois’s records and nature studies. Did I just feel a bit of fresh air? Or did I hear a songbird? Do I noticed footprints on the walking track? Lois’s nature journal enchants me.

Me:

An empty wall, wood and driftwood treasures and a few of my prints. I’ve put them together for a playful exhibition of a few of my prints. My love-birds and butterflies feel perfectly at home in their natural environment.

There is nothing definitive or pretentious about this, I can add and remove prints without damaging the wall. There is bark of an eucalyptus tree, a honeysuckle knot, pine-cone branches, driftwood, some wooden pegs and prints.


 ♥

Paula

Tarry Pottering and The Petunia’s Slughorn, written by Janet Gough, illustration Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Tarry Pottering and The Petunia’s Slughorn, 

written by Janet Gough, 

illustration Paula Kuitenbrouwer

It was September the first, and the ToadWarts Express was waiting to leave. But Tarry Pottering-about-the-garden and Wrong Toadsley were still lotus-eating on their Magic Mushrooms, thinking about how to rid their world of the unmagical likes of Professor Snail and Dragonfly Mayfly.

‘Muggles and non-magical humans are daft,’ sighed Toadsley, ‘and it looks like they get dafter by the day.’ And what followed was his long litany of complaints on lawnmowers and pesticides, and the current lack of Abyssinian shrivelfigs anywhere to be found, even in Abyssinia.

‘What we need is a Whopping Warty Willow!’ said Tarry. ‘And someone who Professes that Sprouting is good! And a Green House! And a Forest That Is No Longer Forbidden! And some Mandrakes to take care of! I’ll get Hag-Rid of that waspish Professor Snail if it’s the last thing I do! And that Professed Horned Slug too!’

‘But normal humans don’t study herbology,’ said Wrong. ‘They think that because we are warty Toads we only do harm. They don’t realize that we keep them safe from Snark-aloof pods, and Professional Snails, and Professed Slughorns! They think all they need is Pesticidical Potions to keep their gardens safe!’

‘Aha,’ said Tarry. ‘But they do not realize that I have the Frond of Destiny and the Visibility Croak, because I am proud to be a Toad! Kiss me, and you will never be a Frog Prince! You will remain a beautiful Toad for ever! You will never have to Toady up to those nasty humans, and their nasty Potions!’


Janet Gough
Freelance Lexicographer and Editor

Her LinkedIn profile is here.

 

 

 

Lapwing Chick

Quick sketch with White Luminance, Chinese white Derwent Pastel, Derwent Studio Golden Brown 59 and blending stump, of a Lapwing chick at night and at day, by Paula Kuitenbrouwer

Lapwing Chick

In a grass-lined hollow, delved from the moor
In a cell within a sandy cell,
Under its watchful parents’ eyes
A lapwing chick breaks from its shell.

There is no time to beg for food,
A lapwing grows up much too soon.
The eye of day is never friend
To lapwings feeding by the moon.

There is no shelter on open moor,
In grassland there are hidden foes;
In grassland there is lapwing prey
Revealed by tapping of the toes.

There is no shelter from above
Danger hangs in the open sky;
Safety comes in lapwings massed
Whose lines and shapes bewitch the eye.

My heart is yours, downy bird
So vulnerable from day of birth;
But you have what I’ll never have –
You know the sky, you know the earth.

Gerwyn Moseley

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Warming the WoodCockles of their Hearts by Janet Gough

Janet, linguist, lexicographer, editor and translator, and my good friend, has felt inspired by my woodcocks to write a tongue-twisting, clever and engaging story. I have always found my woodcocks charming. But Janet not only sees two flirtatious woodcocks, she sees a few other birds as well. I call upon all ornithologists and bird lovers to identify Janet’s hidden birds. 
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Warming the Woodcockles of their Hearts

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“Alright, Hen?” said Mr WoodCock, with a distinctly Scottish brogue.

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“Well, that one’s certainly a wee bitty woodCocksure,” thought Ms WoodCock to herself. “Still, at least he speaks the patter, not woodMockCockney.” Aloud, she said, “So, I expect you have some woodCock-and-Bullfinch story to tell me?”

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Mr WoodCock woodCocked an eye at her. Ms WoodCock woodCocked an ear to hear what he had to say.

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“They’ve got woodCock-a-leekie soup on at the woodCockles and woodCockatoos tonight,” he rejoined, going off at full woodCock. “And ye cannae woodCock a snook at that, can ye? Get yer glad rags on! We’re goin’ dancin’!”

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Ms WoodCock preened a little. “WoodCock-a-doodle-do!” she exclaimed.

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Strutting like a true woodCock-of-the-walk, Mr WoodCock, the wee woodCockscomb, crowed: “And they’ve got woodCocktails! We’ll dance till woodCockCrow!”

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And so they did. And were woodCock-a-hoop, the whole night through.

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Janet Gough

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Janet is a freelance lexicographer, editor, and translator, based in Kirkintilloch, Scotland.

She can be contacted at janet.gough2@ntlworld.com and via her LinkedIn profile here.

Contact Janet for editing your blog posts and book scripts.

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Paula

at www.mindfuldrawing.com

Winter Green

(Click to enlarge)

Holly with and without leaves, Snowberries, Mistletoe, and Common Hazel.

Paula

Apple Picking Time

Quick Apple sketch with coloured pencils.

Copyright Paula Kuitenbrouwer, photo Thomas Kluck

Yesterday there were many apples scattered on the lawn.

It was time to collect them.

Mmmm…the apples tasted sweet and fresh.

Apples from your own garden look so much different from the ones in supermarkets. Our apples look damaged by the sun and they have bumps or scars from sweeping branches. They wear no varnish. They aren’t polished nor sprayed with paint. They look natural.

Without an apple tree in your garden you would almost forget how a natural an apple looks (and tastes).

Paula Kuitenbrouwer (Belgium) at Mindful-Drawing