"Religion Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 5

To read about religious discrimination and why tolerance of people of all religions (and non-religions) is so important, visit this blog post.

To read about the religious symbolism of the 24 flowers used in this drawing, go back to this blog post.

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For the next six flowers in this bouquet, I used the same basic process that I used for the first six - building up layers with different colored pencils to add dimensionality and detail to the flowers, and to help increase the contrast between the bright, vibrant colors and the dark paper.

I worked on the holly plant next, nestled between the black-eyed susans and enchanter's nightshade. For the holly, I used two pink, white, black, two red colored pencils, and three green pencils:

Over the right side of the bouquet, I used white, three purple pencils, three magenta/pink pencils, and three green pencils to complete this bunch of purple tulips:

For the lychnis flowers, I used three shades of green, two shades of red, and pink, black, and white:

Back on the left side of the bouquet, I worked on these purple morning glories. I used white, yellow, blue-violet, purple, and magenta pencils, as well as three shades of green for the leaves and stems:

This large pomegranate flower and its duo of budding fruits was drawn in with green, white, yellow, orange, and three different shades of red:

Then, I worked on the acanthus, the twelfth flower in this bouquet - and therefore the halfway point. I used red, red-violet, pink, white, two different light purple pencils, and one green colored pencil for the stem:

Here is how the entire bouquet looks, with half of the flowers complete:

Next, I'll continue to add color to the bottom half of the bouquet - and the vase at the bottom.

"Religion Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - In Progress 2

To read about religious discrimination and why tolerance of people of all religions (and non-religions) is so important, visit this blog post.

To read about the religious symbolism of the 24 flowers used in this drawing, go back to this blog post.

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In my last post, I showed the composition plan I developed for the next 19"x25" colored pencil drawing in my "Stronger Together" series. Now that the newsprint sketch is complete, I can move on to sketching out the placement and general colors of each flower onto the black paper. Then, once the entire drawing is lightly drawn in, I'll go back through and add more layers of color and detail, to really help each flower pop against the black paper.

Today's blog post will show how I sketched in the first dozen flowers onto the black paper.

In the last three drawings I did in this series, I started either at the top of the bouquet, or in the center, and then worked by way outward from there - but because I was getting concerned that the last few flowers at the bottom of the bouquet were getting a little squashed (as I ran out of room to fit them and a vase at the bottom of the drawing) in the other drawings, I decided to switch it up this time and start at the bottom first.

I drew a graphite outline of the four flowers at the bottom, as well as the vase. Then, I colored them in and erased the outline.

Red zinnia:

Yellow daffodil:

Purple sage:

And red roses:

Next, I drew in a purple lotus, centered above the daffodils and sage:

Above that, a bunch of birds of paradise flowers:

To the left of those, I added a white lily:

And to the right of the birds of paradise, a stalk of yellow gladiolus:

Rising up on either side of the birds of paradise flowers are a purple group of morning glories and a stalk of purple and white acanthus:

Filling out the middle is a large pomegranate flower, with two budding pomegranate fruits.

And to the upper-left of that is a trio of yellow black-eyed susans.

Those are the first twelve flowers. There are still some more to add to the top of this bouquet, as well as several on both the left and right sides to fill it out. Check back soon for more "in progress" photos!

"28 Years" - Year #7

For general information about this 22"x30" colored pencil drawing, see this blog post.
For more information about the flower symbolism I used (Years 1-14) and life events that led me to select those particular flowers, see this blog post.

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My 7th year is represented with sweet pea and morning glory flowers. This is the last "mini drawing" in the top row of this four-row composition.

• Sweet Pea: symbol of bliss, pleasure, sweet departure after having a good time, and thankfulness
• Morning Glory: symbol of affection, mortality/finality of life on earth, unrequited love, and strength in gentleness

First I drew outlines of the flowers on black paper:

Here are the botanical drawings I looked at for reference as I worked (I do not own either of these images; I found them on Google):

I sketched the sweet pea in first, then the bluer morning glories.

That first light layer is to lay down the color blocking, the composition, of the drawing so I know which flowers will go where. At this point, I erase my earlier pencil lines.

After this, I start going in with multiple pencils and making the color more saturated and more nuanced - adding in shadows and highlights and details. Below, you can see how I worked on the sweet pea first, giving the petals dimensionality. Then, I finished up with more color to the morning glories on the right side.

Here is the finished top row! This drawing is going to be four rows of seven "mini drawings," each mini drawing representing a year of my life. These first seven "bouquets" therefore represent the first quarter of my life to date. Three more rows (21 "mini drawings") to go!