"Treasure" - Class October 4th


The word for this week is "treasure." To match the theme for this week I tried to draw the California hills that I normally draw but in a way that made them look more gem-like and luminescent.

Building on last week, I used construction paper rather than white watercolor paper to see if this made for a more interesting drawing. But, I wanted to do something less dark than last week, so I used orange paper rather than black paper. To create the hills I cut a triangular shape out of a linoleum block and stamped a few different pigments - sky blue, gold, platinum, copper, and moss green. I used the stamps as a first layer because I wanted to create a more painterly effect than what I have been able to achieve with just the colored pencils alone. I then brought the colored pencils in on top of the pigmentation from the stamps to tighten up the drawing.

Tony shared a poem along with the word this week. I think it is related to what I drew but since I was not directly inspired by it for this drawing I won't attempt to make an explicit connection here. But I've included it here because I like it and want to remember it in connection with this week's drawing.

Ionian
C.P. Cavafy  

Though we have broken their statues,
though we have driven them out of their temples,
the gods did not die because of this at all.
O Ionian land, it is you they still love,
it is you their souls still remember.
When the August morning dawns upon you
a vigor from their life moves through your air;
and at times a figure of ethereal youth,
indistinct, in rapid stride,

crosses over your hills. 

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