Jellyfish practising ballet with bubbles..
Drawings to illustrate The Talent Show the third story in the Collection of four in the book On The Beach.
Jellyfish ballet
On the Beach
I have been working on a collection of four story’s written by my brother Christopher Green which is to be published by Blossom Spring Publishing UK. This book jacket has been designed with digital elements which was different for a traditionalist like myself but I enjoyed the creative process. The illustrations inside will be a simpler style concentrating using black line with colour washes.
Rosie
“I am bigger”said Rosie to herself when we were in the park celebrating her birthday.
sketch
Being Two years old was a day of the best celebrations and wishes for Rosie and her family. At the end of the afternoon there was a walk in the park complete with a stroller for little Egg to sit in, decorated with a beautiful balloon.
I’ve worked up these from sketches to capture a part of the day. They were completed using pencil then some pen and ink before using a broad gum tape to stop the paper warping when I applied watercolour and inks. Usually I stretch wet paper first before inking and painting but I found this worked well with cartridge paper.
Dawn in India 1857
Here Captain Jasper is enjoying the quiet of the early morning I wonder what hes thinking? There is a portrait of his horse Coco on the chair and a length of fabric printed locally.
I’ve used watercolours and pencil on stretched heavyweight cartridge paper deciding not to ink in lines because I like the softness overall of the line and the colours.
Captain Jasper India 1857
An additional pencil and watercolour drawing illustrating Captain Jasper (on the right) on deployment with the 2nd Dragoon Guards in India 1857.
He has been recreated as a lead soldier with his horse on task collecting Turkish delight across the tablecloth in England 2020 . The image below has been posted previously!
Colonel Jasper and his Coco making good use of his sword and Turkish delight.
Crab Studies
Drawings of crab on one page and further images below taken from lines within the story ‘Crab in a Pinch’
“Crab scurried up the beach and popped into a hole made by a footprint,
Crab hovered up the beach to a shallow hole made by a dog’s paw then scampered even further to a deep hole left by a horses hoof”
Iv’e worked up these (from my sketchbook of many crabs) using a combination of pencil and ink mostly on cartridge paper that I have stretched so that inks and watercolour can be applied. Hes an inquisitive beach dweller with friends that I am looking forward to drawing very much.
Crab in a Pinch
Ive been drawing unfamiliar creatures and tackling the seashore life within an unpublished story written by Chris Green. Crab is one of the a key characters in the story I’ve tackled him in watercolour and some acrylic ink colour too. Ive been using a Derwent Graphitint pencil in Warm Grey which I hope to compare with ink line in my next post.
Snow over Old Skelton Church
Inky old skelton church in the snow
After Christmas I developed an idea for cards based on an owl, fairy lights and snow. Inks are mostly used with the addition of a recent gift (masking fluid). The Church built of sandstone in 1785 replaces the original14th Century Church retaining some interior walls. Its in a lovely spot, also I’m still waiting to be introduced to the black cat I painted a few summers ago.
This is larger than A4 (larger than usual) and painted on thicker cartridge paper with watercolours and the addition of the ink line. In all the excitement of controlling washes I seem to have lost the crescent moon hopefully a little atmosphere is depicted.
Roses with a Wren
Last September I drew roses from the hedges such as the briar rose and took some photos. My aim was to celebrate and depict the name Rose Wren . They are all so beautiful and its a real challenge drawing the roses structure so I have started with the more simple form of a Briar rose which complements a first birthday for a little girl I know.
Now I was looking at roses I continued with studies of a rose from a neighbours allotment, I found that the as the rose fades it develops a fragility with its form becoming a good subject to draw. The wren is another challenge altogether. This mid red rose was drawn with coloured pencils on cartridge paper
Jenny Fionda Illustration 