Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Windmill





Another architectural type drawing. I knew this one would be difficult - trying to differentiate a blue and white windmill against a blue and white sky. But I liked the photo for the strong shadow shapes, and the colors.


This is an actual windmill that was used to grind up to 150 pounds of flour a day. The owner, a farmer near Bruderheim, made it entirely of wood and lubricated the moving parts with paraffin wax.


I had trouble with the values of blues - I think this is the difference between a novice painter and a truly accomplished one. It takes practice to see more than 3 or 4 values, and even more practice to reproduce them on paper. Once I added the original sky color, the windmill faded out. I used felt pens to deepen the sky which increased the contrast but did not go on smoothly. The sky now looks blotchy. But as a learning experience, it was quite valuable. And isn't that really what life is all about?

And the world is like an apple

Whirling silently in space

Like the circles that you find

In the windmills of your mind

---Alan and Marie Bergman

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this looks great - the strokes of the background almost suggest the movement of the windmill, as if a slight breeze is created. And I like the graphic feel of the drawing.
ronell

Rhonda L. Cooper said...

I like the contrast between the blues you have. The marker strokes do give movement to the drawing. Nice work!

Ackart said...

I love the negative space in this painting. Great Colors!!

Kate (Cathy Johnson) said...

Oh, my, Lynn! This is just so sunny and nice...

Kim Zoph said...

Love your blog. Your writing is fresh and energetic, and your drawings are amazing. Beautiful work!

bubblemunch said...

Really like this.
Your shading /shadows help the blades and the fence to 'pop out' even more against the background.

Sarah Ketelaars said...

Beautiful drawing Lynn, i love it.