watercolour – Page 5 – Ella's Place

Posted on June 21, 2016June 20, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Drawing of the week: Blue Jay Bird

My drawing of the week, a blue jay bird, is inspired by nature and by a song. We have regular jays in our local woods and I’m always trying to spot them on my walks.

Anyway one revealed himself to me last week, where, weirdly I had the Beatles song Blue Jay Way in my head for the rest of the day. So I fancied doing a watercolour and ink illustration of the regular jay’s North American cousin.

In old African American folklore of the southern United States, the blue jay was held to be a servant of the Devil. I think my one is harbinger of joy.

The blue jay’s colouration is not derived from pigments but is the result of light interference due to the internal structure of the feathers; if a blue feather is crushed, the colour disappears, this is known as structural colouration.

Posted on June 14, 2016June 14, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Drawing of the week: Peony

In honour of British Flower Week I thought it was only fitting that I drew a few peonies.

Frilly, girly and full of glorious flounce, even a single bloom can make a tremendous impact – no wonder they are often a top choice for summer events and weddings.

The flower is also very popular on the internet too, with Elle Decoration reporting that peonies are overtaking the avocado for the most tagged item on Instagram.

The peony is among the longest-used flowers in Eastern culture. Along with the plum blossom, it is a traditional floral symbol of China and is depicted often in traditional Chinese art. They are also used in tattoos, inspired by artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi‘s illustrations of Suikoden, a classical Chinese novel. Here the peony is associated with a devil-may-care attitude and disregard for consequence.

I kind of understand this, the peonies I’ve got in the vase at the moment are so vibrant, full and abundant with glorious colour it’s hard to imagine that in a couple of days time they’ll be shrivelled up and like crumpled paper. But that’s their beauty. These pink watercolour illustrations and black and white line drawings are a stab at making the blooms immortal.

Posted on June 7, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Drawing of the week: The Green-headed Tanager

I’m currently working on a birds from brazil illustration series to coincide with this years Olympics. While researching this topic I kept coming across images of the green-headed tanager.

This small, colourful bird can be found in the Atlantic forest in south-eastern Brazil and far eastern Paraguay.

The creature measures an average of 13.5cm. Its preferred habitat is humid forests but there have been sightings in orchards and parks; apparently its flashy blue-green coloration camouflages well among the foliage.

As this bird is so colourful and full of character it was tremendous fun to draw. It was great to break out the brighter colours in my watercolour box. Plus, I couldn’t resist creating lots of sketches to capture the quirky, playful nature of this vibrant little critter.

Posted on May 30, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Plant of the week 30 May 16: Hibiscus

As tropical themes proliferate the summer collections this year I thought I’d concentrate on hibiscus flowers for my plant of the fortnight.

According to legend, the hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian and Hawaiian girls and is symbolic of relationship status. Apparently if the flower is worn behind the left ear, the woman is married or in a relationship. If the flower is worn on the right, she is single or openly available for love.

These flowers look so robust and full of allure with their strong trumpet shape and long stigma. That makes them such fun to draw. Check out my watercolour and ink illustrations on Friday.

Posted on May 20, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Finished plant of the fortnight: Purple Sweetpea

As I mentioned in my last post I was looking forward to being a bit free and easy with my watercolour for this finished sweetpea illustration. And I was; I applied lots of layers of watery purples, blues and pinks for this colour version so, much so I had to finish it in two sessions as there was no way the black pigment ink would sit on it until the piece was completely dry.

As we’re well into summer I think I’m going to continue with larey looking, brightly coloured blooms for my up-coming plant of the fortnights, so no matter what the actual weather we’ve got something to either amplify the heat or to warm us up.

Posted on May 13, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Finished bird of the fortnight: colour flycatcher

Although the spotted flycatcher is quite a dull bird I couldn’t resist giving it a somewhat sun-kissed appearance for my final, finished watercolour and ink illustration. I think I was imagining this little grey silver bird perched on a headstone as sun was setting, looking around for a little tasty morsel flitting around in the fading light.

With this in mind I’m in the mood for some colour so I think I’m going to draw a more exotic bird next fortnight… Watch this space.

Posted on May 11, 2016May 1, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Think Pink! Think Flamingo

I have a couple of friends who are obsessed with flamingos, so I’m a little surprised myself that I’ve only just started to produce a flamingo print and stationery collection.

Here are some of the prints already available on my online shops on Folksy, Etsy and Not On the High Street. There will also be a writing set with cards coming along later in the year.

You can order personalised versions of the flamingo pair at my Not On the High Street shop.

The drawings themselves were created by layering lots of shades of pink, peach and orange watercolour and then working the detail with my ink felt-tip pens.

Posted on May 9, 2016June 14, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Bird of the fortnight 9/05/16: Spotted Flycatcher

If you’re ever in a churchyard or park and a little silvery grey/brown bird flits past you and you could swear it isn’t a sparrow, chances are you’ve spied a spotted flycatcher.

Spotted flycatchers may look a bit dull but they are charming to watch. But don’t be fooled. These little fellas are trained killers they fly from a high perch and burst into flight to catch a flying insect. They then flit back to the same spot to devour their prey.

They don’t look flashy, in fact they are fairly scruffy which made drawing my black and white sketches all the more fun. Let’s see if my worked up watercolour version will be as fun.

Posted on May 6, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Finished Plant of the Fortnight, Watercolour Magnolia

Here is my finished magnolia illustration – my plant of the fortnight.

A magnolia tree heralds in warmer, sunnier days. The elegant blooms and glossy, simply shaped leaves are often featured in floral pattern designs. It’s not difficult to see why, as the above shows.

This watercolour and ink drawing was a pleasure to create, the regular shape and ornate petals are beautifully decorative yet the entire structure of the plant gives every flower balance and harmony.

Look out for my sweetpea sketches in a fortnights’ time.

Posted on April 29, 2016June 6, 2016 by ellajohnston12

Sparrow! Finished Bird of the Fortnight

When Dr B urged me to draw sparrows for Bird of the Fortnight I did so reluctantly – what a fool I was! Through working up the black and white sketches, then exploring the bird through watercolour and ink, I’ve come to realise how charming these creatures are.

Their mottled black, brown, golden and coffee-coloured plumage is really quite lovely. The bird’s bodies are great for an artist too; depending on the individual creature it can either be cute, full and fat or sleek, slim and almost svelte-like. Now I think I’m going to work on a few more sparrow sketches.

I’m not the only one who loves these birds. In fact as I was working on these drawings I was approached by someone who is opening an antiques shop in the US. She wanted a logo featuring a sparrow wearing a crown. I was only too happy to oblige. Here’s the finished commission.