FINISHED (Part One, anyway)!

Last week, late in the day before a trip out of town, I thought I possibly had finished a project I've been working on for quite some time.  It took some living with it, but I think--yes--this part is finished.

This is Nine-Part Herbal Fantasy--Light Cycle. Stand by (but don't hold your breath) for Dark Cycle.

The project began with a series of line drawings, first sketched in pencil, then finalized in ink.  I scanned them, assembled them in an Adobe Illustrator file, and began applying color.

Here's an ink drawing for the "Flower Arch" section.

 

An early view of the original Adobe Illustrator color build of this piece made an appearance on Artdog Observations in January.  I showed pieces of it in the works in February. At the time, I actually thought the Dark Cycle would be finished first.

I shared this image in February.

Why two cycles?  It's actually not that complicated.  

As I was doing the color builds, I realized that some of the sections were coming out considerably lower in overall key than others.  I couldn't decide which version I liked better.  Yes, I confess: indecision actually was the inspiration.

A comparison of two sections, built on the same "base drawing" and adjusted one each for the two variations, may offer a glimpse.

Here are Light Cycle and Dark Cycle variations of the "Herbal Arch" section (mirrored, you may note).

One of the developments that came up very late in the process of putting the piece together was an idea that developed at my newly-resumed Monday night Art Group.

Corners and sides are tilted inward.

Toward the center, everything lies closer to the base level.

The bases of the sections do not lie flat, except for the "rootball" center.  The others are tilted: higher toward the outside, down to base-level farther in.

IMAGES: All artwork and photos are copyright (c) 2013 by Jan S. Gephardt. You may re-post them without alterations and with attribution and a link back to this blog post; otherwise, all rights are reserved.

Dancing Flakes and Tree Lace

The Kansas City area has been hit with a LOT of snow in the last couple of weeks.  It has messed up traffic, and disrupted people's plans . . . but it's brought with it some beautiful visuals.

The most recent storm came in around midnight.  It was heavy enough to show under streetlights.

Different streetlight, heavy snow.

I zoomed in for a better view of the snowflake swirls in the erratic wind currents.

The snow was heavy and wet, so it piled up on branches, power lines, and other irregular surfaces.

This is a sycamore "under the influence" of the snow.

This is a pink honeysuckle in my front yard. At other times of the year it provides nectar, berries, and shelter for birds.

One more.  I love the arching of the branches, from the weight of the snow.  It was not so great to have the weight on power lines. 

PHOTOS: All photos were taken 2/26/2013 by Jan S. Gephardt.  Please do not use without attribution and a link back to this post.  Thanks.