Late Autumn sun, Ink and water colour journal page
The sun streams into my cottage at this time of year and it is just wonderful to sit on the coach in the sun and look out onto my new garden. I tried to catch the look of the sunshine through the french doors as it filtered through the dark, red, grape-vine leaves. As I sit and look at this picture again I am torn, it is close to the feeling I wanted, but not yet there. I have fiddled with it a bit, but will have to walk away now as more will ruin what I have gained so far.
Late autumn sunshine photo reference
Here is the photo I used as the reference, although I did crop the image for the drawing. Even posting this I can see the issues, will I ever get my darks and lights bold enough? I have spent ages working on colour and I am happy with that, but struggle now with the contrast.
Work in progress
Here is a WIP photo of when I had just started adding colour, part of me thinks I should have stopped there.
Work in progress
Here is another as I struggle with the balance of the drawing, I was not happy with the doors and went back and darkened the background to make the rest pop.
Well it is always great to challenge ourselves and I will give this another try with different sketch later. Always another day, another page in the journal and more winter sun.
Rosella in the rose hedge
Here is a picture of a Rosella just outside the window to cheer us all up, as it is a cold, wet, windy day here today, even the bird is all fluffed up.
Karen
Karen Bailey Studio 
I think it is perfect just the way it is.
Thank you your vote of confidence does me good.
Hi Karen, it is interesting to see your thought processes. Here’s a thought I have when comparing your drawing to the photo. In your drawing, the area out of the french doors is a rather a solid dark mass. In the photo, there are still patches of light within the foliage. I’m wondering, if you put some patches of light into the dark green of your drawing, it might just open up the picture as a whole. Lots of lovely stuff happening in the drawing!
Thank Julie, as always I value your feedback. I agree, the leaves out the door did not work. These out of focus ones would have been right up your alley so to speak.
So beautiful! Your art amplifies the cozyness of your house. And Rosella certainly cheers everybody up! Have a lovely weekend, Johanna
Thank you so much, I am very glad you enjoyed my work and the rosella, they are such cheerful birds.
haha, I thought Rosalla was the name of the bird…a pet name. Never seen one like it, it looks like a parrot to me.
It is more formally an Eastern Rosella one of the many wild parrots we have here in southern Australia.
Beautiful, I love the light coming in on the floor and table!
Thank you, it was an interesting idea to draw the sunlight streaming in, it makes me so happy to see it, so I thought to see if I could capture it.
I think it’s lovely the way it is. None of us actually know what you’re seeing in your brain, so we don’t place that bias on the work. It captures the space beautifully! Your handling of color blending is amazing. 🙂
Thanks Gale, I am not unhappy with the drawing as it did start to capture the feel, it just wasn’t as good as I hoped, but what often looks so simple in real life is often so hard to capture in a drawing.
I always enjoy your style and way of doing things with art, Karen. For the feel next time, try squinting your eyes to look at the lights and darks without the detail – my dad taught me that trick! I love how you treated the plants and the light on the table and floor. Lovely cottage. Did I say love enough times? LOL xo
You can never say it too many times. 😉 I will try your Dad’s trick, as I will have to attempt this type of drawing again, but perhaps with a different style, I get a bit tight with the pen.
Beautiful drawing, love the dappled sun light. Enjoyed seeing your process, you developed it very nicely. The image of the Rosella in the rose hedge not only sounds poetic but looks like a perfect subject too…very cheery and cozy environment. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much, as it gets colder here we move into winter mode, looking for cozy warm spots, cheery topics and lots of lovely slow cooked food. I have a few nice birds photos that might make it into sketch book soon.
What a lovely big window to sit and look out of. Like you i am never quite sure about something I have painted and I find the only way out is to put it away for a few days and not look at it at all. Then when I come back to it I can view it dispassionately as if it is someone else’s work. This usually does the trick. Lovely picture though.
Thanks Chris, you are so right, I posted this as soon as I had finished it. I should have done what you said, I might have been kinder. Still I am happy with it, I just don’t feel that I reached its full potential.
Karen, I think you have captured the sense of light beautifully, it was the first thing I noticed. Sometimes I think it is worth not going back to the photo, but just working on the drawing within what you have created. It may not be ‘accurate’ as such, but it will take on a new and different character. Your cottage looks delightful!
Thanks Anna, I glad it captured the light for you, I like the light on the floor and table, but I still don’t think I caught the light coming through the vines. I agree that you need to let go of the source and go with the drawing and I don’t often show the source, but this time I wanted the readers to see what I was after. Never mind I am happy with the result, just pushing for better.