Art Journal: Life's Simple Outlines

I found two pictures on Pinterest where the original artists have made use of the absolute minimum lines to create very effective pictures. These always fascinate me endlessly, as I can not help but to marvel at how easy the brain finds it to associate these few lines with their actual real life counterparts. Today, I was contemplating how often in life we do not have a clear idea of what is expected of us. Instead, we get only a bare outline and it is left to us to fill in the detail. I decided to use the two pictures I found on Pinterest to create an entry for my art journal in which I explored this idea.

I start today's project on black paper with a plain white colouring pencil. In this case it is a Faber Castell Aquarell pencil.

I draw the outline of the turtle, following the lines of the picture I found on the internet.

The owl follows next on the opposite page.

It makes sense to interrupt my drawing at this stage to journal my thoughts. On the first page I write: "Sometimes life gives only a bare outline which to work with..."

I continue this sentence on the next page: "... and then we have to add the detail. - Miekie." The journalling is done with a white paint marker.

I then use only a handful of colours to paint the owl in pastels. As this was Spring Day (1 September), I opted to use pink for Spring. I added red for love, as I was spoiled with a brunch earlier in the day, and was feeling particularly loved and appreciated. I also added yellow in celebration of friendship.

I coloured the turtle in the same colours as the owl. I deliberately kept the lines and strokes very simple in both these pictures when I added the detail. I did not wish to detract from the simplicity of the original pictures, which had drawn me to them in the first place.

The only thing that was left to do, was to spray the drawings with fixative to prevent it from smudging.

The final two page layout.

You can also watch a video compilation of the photos above here: https://youtu.be/JhokDbyGxvQ

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
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