Pen & Ink

Autumn Tree

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

newfalltree
I told you I was into trees! Trees and leaves! For this piece I started painting, very wet, with watercolor. After the painting dried (a little) I went back and added more color and some leaf shapes. When that was completely dry, I started drawing, in ink, the shapes of the leaves and the lines of the bark. Then, I added more color.

I love the style of this. It is so fun to doodle in ink. You kind of go into a trance where you are half paying attention. Sometimes it takes a little bit, but eventually I find my groove. I find it helpful to add the ink while I’m watching TV!

There were a couple of parts of this piece that were bugging me, so I did a little retouching in Photoshop. I don’t normally do this. I’m a Graphic Designer and spend a lot of time using Photoshop. I prefer to keep my art “handmade,” but I loved this piece and had to fix those nagging issues.

My steps:
I need to start clamping down my paper to a board or taping it. My paper buckles and the paint puddles.

falltree1

Here’s where I added more color and the hint of leaf shapes:
falltree2a

Before computer retouching. I’ve added details in ink and more color:
falltree3

See more trees, trees and leaves!

Spooky Tree

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

spookytree
I am inspired by trees lately. It makes sense since it’s Fall. For this piece I started out painting with watercolor. It was just the idea of a tree. Then I added the ink. My tree looked a little too squat, so I made the branches longer. Then, I went back in and added more color and the splatters. I like working square. I think it adds something.

tree1tree1a tree2

A Crisp Fall Day!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

fallleavesfinal
Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love those sunny, crisp, blue sky days. Unfortunately they lead to damp, grey, cold days! Today is the perfect Fall day. I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts! 🙂

This painting was part of my painting party. I worked very wet, letting the colors bleed together, only hinting at each leaf. I added several layers of paint. After I was done, I added some details with ink.

leaves1leaves2

Working with outtakes

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

sunflowerouttakes
The other day, when I was painting sunflowers, I started several versions before selecting one to work on in more detail. Today I decided to see what I could do with two of these “outtakes.” I used an ink pen and started scribbling away.

The first outtake immediately reminded me of a feather (when the sunflower’s center flowed all over the paper). So I added ink and made it a feather.

Outtake #1:
feather1

The second outtake, looked like a bunch of sunflowers, so I added ink to make it look more finished. Lately I’ve been having fun playing with ink. In the past I shied away – thinking the outline had to be precise and perfect. Now I’m just scratching away, the way I would with a pencil. Is my style coming out?!

Outtake #2:
sunflowers2