"Ability Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - Finished

And so my "Stronger Together" series is complete! Six 19"x25" colored pencil drawings on black paper, each symbolizing a system of privilege/oppression. You can check out the first five completed drawings here:

• Race Bouquet (this post)
• Gender Bouquet (this post)
• Sexuality Bouquet (this post)
• Religion Bouquet (this post)
• Class Bouquet (this post)

This final drawing is called "Ability Bouquet" and it uses two dozen flowers to symbolize differences in physical, emotional, and mental ability. We all have different limitations, skills, and talents, and should work to respect and accommodate everyone so that we can better work together.

Here is the finished drawing:

I used a total of 29 colored pencils for this drawing, in shades of green, yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, and blue. I also used neutrals like brown, black, tan, and white.

This is not yet available for sale, but I will probably list it (and the others in this series) in my Etsy shop at the end of the year.

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To read about the "ability umbrella" - the aspects of ability I was looking to include in this symbolic bouquet - please read this blog post. To read about the relatedly interesting correlation between creativity and mental health, visit this one.

To read about the idea behind this colored pencil drawing and an explanation for the symbolism of the specific flowers used, check out this post.

To see "the making of" photos of this drawing, please visit these:

• Preliminary sketches ("In Progress 1")
• Drawing and lightly coloring in the first 12 flowers ("In Progress 2")
• Drawing and lightly coloring in the last 12 flowers ("In Progress 3")
• Adding detail and dimension to the tulips, anemone, flannel flowers, acanthus, crocus, and succulents ("In Progress 4")
• Adding detail and dimension to the dahlia, tansy, hellebore, roses, aloe, and cherry blossoms ("In Progress 5")
• Adding detail and dimension to the geraniums, lady's mantle, yarrow, heliotrope, mullein, and lupine ("In Progress 6")
• Adding detail and dimension to the marigold, daffodils, white lilac, orchids, chamomile, and dandelions ("In Progress 7")

"Ability Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 7

This drawing uses flowers to symbolize the wide variety of different physical, emotional, and mental abilities humans might have, as a way to show how we are better and stronger together when we are willing to help each other out.

To read about "the ability umbrella" - what exactly I mean when I talk about differences in ability - please visit this blog post.

To read about the symbolism of each flower used in this bouquet drawing, visit this blog post.

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It's time to (finally!) finish up the last of the bouquets in this "Stronger Together" series. Here are the photos of completing the last six flowers in this "Ability Bouquet" drawing.

These marigolds were drawn in with red, orange, yellow, white, light tan, light yellow-green, green, and black colored pencils.

Next, I worked on these daffodils, which I finished up with white, red, orange, yellow, light yellow, light green, green, and black pencils.

At the bottom of this bouquet is a large branch of white lilac flowers. I used purple, green, dark green, light yellow, yellow-green, light tan, and white pencils to complete these flowers.

These pink orchids - drying up and browning - were colored in with purple, magenta, pink, brown, white, yellow, yellow-green, and green shades.

Several large chamomile flowers went in next to the white lilac on the bottom. I used black, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, blue, light blue, and white colored pencils to work on these petals and centers.

I also started adding detail to the glass vase at this point, drawing in a few stems in green and marking reflections in the glass with white, green, and other colors.

Finally, I finished up with these dandelions. I used orange, yellow, and white for the flowers, and three shades of green for the leaves and stems. Small detail work I refined with a black colored pencil.

And that's it - my last "Stronger Together" drawing is finally done! I'll post some more images of the final drawing (and all of the drawings in this six-piece series) in the next two blog posts.

"Ability Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 3

This drawing uses flowers to symbolize the wide variety of different physical, emotional, and mental abilities humans might have, as a way to show how we are better and stronger together when we are willing to help each other out.

To read about "the ability umbrella" - what exactly I mean when I talk about differences in ability - please visit this blog post.

To read about the symbolism of each flower used in this bouquet drawing, visit this blog post.

**

My last post looked at how I sketched in the first 12 flowers in my initial black paper drawing layer. Today, I have some photos to show of the last 12 flowers.

These browned/dried tansy flowers were drawn in on the right side of the bouquet:

Underneath, I drew these cherry blossoms:

This yarrow plant went in next, followed by some purple heliotrope:

I added in these pink lupine stalks and yellow daffodils next:

On the left side of the bouquet, I sketched in some browning yellow mullein and orange marigold flowers:

This wilted hollyhock stalk was added in over on the right side, as was a clump of dandelions:

Finally, I added the last two flowers to the bottom. White lilac and chamomile:

After the first sketch, the drawing now looks like this:

The next steps include going back over each flower individually with more pencils, building up layers of detail and dimension, and blending colors to achieve the desired look. Final touches will be added to the glass vase at the bottom, and then this final 19x25" drawing will be complete!

"Class Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - Finished

Another 19"x25" colored pencil bouquet drawing is now complete for my "Stronger Together" series! There's just one more left to do ("Ability Bouquet").

If you're interested, you can check out the other completed bouquet drawings here:

• Race Bouquet (this post)
• Gender Bouquet (this post)
• Sexuality Bouquet (this post)
• Religion Bouquet (this post)

The fifth drawing is called "Class Bouquet" and it uses two-dozen flowers to symbolize the different social classes. America is made up of very poor people, very rich people, and everyone in between. It is important that we acknowledge all of these people - and help those that need assistance, remembering that we're all human and deserve equal respect.

Here is the finished drawing, which uses a general yellow-pink-white-green color scheme, with hints of orange, red, and purple.

I used a total of 26 colored pencils for this drawing (fewer than I've used for some of the others in this series!). Many of them were shades of green, red/pink, and neutrals (black, white, cream, and browns), though I also used a lot of the single yellow colored pencil for all those yellow flowers, as well as a few shades of blue, purple, and orange/peach.

Here are some details of the entire drawing:

This is not yet available for sale, but I will probably list it (and the others in this series) in my Etsy shop at the end of the year.

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To read about capitalism and the disparity between the rich and the poor, please read this blog post. For some interesting things to consider about the intersectionality of class, visit this one.

To read about the idea behind this colored pencil drawing and an explanation for the symbolism of the specific flowers used, check out this post.

To see "the making of" photos of this drawing, please visit these:

• Preliminary sketches ("In Progress 1")
• Drawing and lightly coloring in the first 12 flowers ("In Progress 2")
• Drawing and lightly coloring in the last 12 flowers ("In Progress 3")
• Adding detail and dimension to the hibiscus, hollyhock, bells of Ireland, sunflowers, French honeysuckle, and dandelions ("In Progress 4")
• Adding detail and dimension to the lupine, blackthorn, cactus, myrtle, tansy, and marigold ("In Progress 5")
• Adding detail and dimension to the kingcup, peony, carnations, coronella dahlia, clematis, and orchids ("In Progress 6")
• Adding detail and dimension to the angrec, lettuce, thyme, trumpet flowers, edelweiss, and poppies ("In Progress 7")