Drawing

Asparagus drawing & photo: FFA & FF

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While participating in the Inktober challenge last fall, I created this simple asparagus drawing with pen and ink. The drawing prompt for that day was “roam.”

asparagus drawing

We have a restaurant in downtown Bend named Roam and I’ve taken several pictures while dining there. I took this picture of an asparagus dish we had last summer. It was delicious!

food at Roam

For the drawing, I edited out several of the asparagus stalks.

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First Friday Art (FFA)

Foodie Friday (FF)

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Corky’s Bunny: First Friday Art

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Years ago, I volunteered at an artists’ cooperative gallery in Bellingham, Washington. A man named Corky regularly visited the gallery. He had special needs and, despite his challenges, always had a sunny outlook on life. One day, he asked if I could draw him a rabbit. I drew him this pen and ink drawing that I titled, “Corky’s Bunny.” I decided to portray this rabbit looking up because that’s what Corky always did.

I’ll never forget how excited Corky was when I gave him the final drawing. I only charged him ten dollars for the original artwork. To him, this drawing was something of immeasurable value that he would always treasure.

Corky's Bunny

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Boot for walking drawings: First Friday Art

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Before going on a long trip, I spent a lot of time shopping for a good boot for walking. Today I’m sharing my pen and ink boot drawings and photos.

boot for walking

While considering different boots, I considered the fit, materials, quality, etc. These Chaco boots seemed to be just what I was looking for. I liked the styling, but also how you can roll up the cuff to keep your ankles warmer in cold weather.

Chaco boot

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Fringed gentian drawing & photo: FFA & FOTD

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Today I’m sharing a fringed gentian drawing I created from a photo. I used colored pencils for this drawing. Originally, I planned to paint over the drawing with water since I had used watercolor pencils. However, I decided to leave the drawing as is because I liked how the texture of the lines turned out.

fringed gentian drawing

Did you know that the fringed gentian, Gentianopsis detonsa, is the official flower of Yellowstone National Park?

If you visit the park in the spring, you’ll see lots of wildflowers in full bloom. We were there in the beginning of June 2024.

I took this picture at Black Sand Basin, just west of the Old Faithful area. As soon as I saw these blooming beside the boardwalk, I knew I wanted to do a fringed gentian drawing to try to capture their beauty.

Fringed gentians

I previously featured another photograph of fringed gentian and showed how they look with three different photo processing techniques. These flowers look pretty, no matter how they are presented.

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art (FFA)

Flower of the Day (FOTD)

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Gray squirrel drawing & photo: First Friday Art

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Today I’m sharing a gray squirrel drawing and photo I created. I drew the squirrel with a charcoal pencil.

It’s fun to work with charcoal because you can change its appearance by using different techniques. You can “stump” it by using the side of a charcoal stick, your finger, a chamois cloth, or other materials to spread it. Since it lifts easily from a surface, you can erase or scrape parts of it off. Some artists mix charcoal with water or other liquids .

Gray squirrel

I’m also sharing a photograph I took of a gray squirrel at Three Island Crossing State Park in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. I like this picture because it looks like the squirrel is giving me a fist bump. The diagonal streams of water from a sprinkler in the background add an interesting detail to the photo.

fist bumping rodent

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Vine maple drawings: First Friday Art

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Today I’m showing a few pen-and-ink vine maple drawings I created. Years ago, I took a Scientific Illustration course during spring quarter at the University of Washington.

The teacher had us take a cutting from a tree or shrub and place it into a glass of water. I clipped off a piece of vine maple, Acer circinatum, growing in my yard. Each week, we drew the twig using a different technique. The twigs leafed out a little more throughout the course. I thought it was one of the most clever teaching ideas I’d ever seen.

The first drawing shows a vine maple line drawing with varying weights of line. With certain nibs, if you press down the line becomes heavier. This is a view of blooms close up.

Vine maple drawings

The second drawing shows the stipple technique. It takes a steady hand to do all those tiny dots of ink.

Maple branch
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Snowy Owl drawing: First Friday Art

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Today I’m sharing a pen and ink drawing I did of a Snowy Owl. Some have more black markings on their feathers than others.

Snowy owl drawing

I once took a long drive to see a Snowy Owl when I lived in Bellingham, in northwestern Washington state. The owl had been spotted in a residential neighborhood in Point Roberts, Washington. To get to the peninsula where Point Roberts is located, you have to drive into Canada or get there by boat. At that time, it was quick and easy to drive into Canada from the states.

I’m including a map to show where Point Roberts is. Zoom out to get a better view.

When I got to where the owl was, I watched it perch on a fence post in someone’s yard, oblivious to the crowds flocking around it. The bird was there for a few days, just long enough for many birders to check this species off their list.

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White-faced Ibis drawing & photos: FFA

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This is a pencil sketch I drew of a White-faced Ibis. He is a character in a book I’m working on. The ibis, Arco Iris, gets his power from the rainbow obsidian stone he wears. Sometimes if you draw a character, it helps you write about their personality and physical traits.

White-faced Ibis drawing

I recently took pictures of White-faced Ibis in a field near Paisley, Oregon. The field was full of blue camas and it gave the scene a kind of magical feeling.

Ibis in a field

When you think of ibis, you may think of ancient depictions of this bird found in Egypt, but there are three species in the United States. You can find Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, and White-faced Ibis in parts of North America, Central America, and South America.

Inlay depicting Thoth as the ibis with a maat feather. Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The plumage of our local ibis looks black at first, but when you take a closer look, it’s iridescent. Their feathers catch the light as they plunge their long beaks into marshes and meadows in search of prey. They eat a variety of prey including insects, worms, and small fish. Ibis are particularly fond of crayfish.

Birds in a field

When in breeding plumage, some of the White-faced Ibis’ feathers turn a bronze color, their legs turn pink, and a mask of pale white skin around their eyes appears. What better way to attract a mate than putting on a mask, pink leggings, and a bronze cape!

Do you have artwork you would like to share? Be sure to include the First Friday Art tag.

First Friday Art (FFA)

A little bird told me my short story won…

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Sage Grouse drawings by Siobhan Sullivan April2019
Drawing of a character from my book, Dark Fountain Songs.

I entered a short story I wrote in a local contest and I just found out it took first place in the Children’s Fiction category. Hooray for me! 😀

The short story from my first novel is called How the River of Falls Came to Be and it’s about a little newt who gets more than he asks for. He ends up turning into a tortoise in the desert and he misses the rain.

Here are the last couple of paragraphs:

“Many years later, Tortoise passed away and his shell tipped upside-down and filled with water from passing storms. In fact, the shell caught so much rain it overflowed. The heavy shell eventually sunk and settled deep in the earth. It became the source of a river with many waterfalls. Río de las Caídas.

Sometimes when you walk along the river, you can see the smiles of Rain and Sun in waterfall rainbows. They are showing their gratitude for the gift Tortoise gave to the world.”

I’ll be reading the story I entered in the Central Oregon Writers Guild Contest next month at the downtown library in Bend, Oregon.

Back to work editing my book, Dark Fountain Songs. Maybe I’ll draw some pictures of tortoise to go along with the “award-winning” tale.

Sketching Raptors Workshop

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Drawing from a different perspective

Great horned owl at High Desert Museum 20January2018

Great horned owl

On January 20, visitors entered Classroom A at the High Desert Museum to find the room filled with lifelike mounts of raptors. One mount depicted a California quail being chased by a sharp-shinned hawk. Another was of a great horned owl perched on a branch. A golden eagle mount, with outstretched wings, dwarfed the other birds on display. Artist Ian Factor welcomed participants in the workshop and everyone got to work sketching the birds. Curator of Art and Community Engagement Andries Fourie also attended and offered help when needed.

Siobhan's Drawing Kit 20January2018

My fancy drawing kit

Various art supplies were available for our use. Many attendees brought their own supplies neatly tucked into special cases. Others, like me, had the bare essentials, so we were grateful more were provided.

Drawing from reference materials

A variety of reference materials were displayed. There was a collection of bird wings, talons, and skulls. An articulated bird skeleton stood on a tabletop. We learned the basic form of our subjects by looking at mounts prepared by American Kestrel study by Siobhan Sullivan © 2018taxidermists. Though not available at this workshop, study skins, or museum mounts, are often utilized for research and artistic purposes. Photographs can help when you’re doing wildlife art and participants were snapping a lot of pictures. Reference materials are helpful in getting the details right and in understanding the underlying anatomy.

This workshop, like most hosted by the Museum, was open to people of all skill levels. Some attending the event were beginners, while others were more advanced. The artists drew the birds with a variety of media.  Several sketched in black-and-white with pencils, graphite, or charcoal; other participants added color with pastels and colored pencils.

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