Hey you lot, how is everyone.
For today’s sketchbook page I’m gonna be doing a little study of the work by Georgia
O’Keefe.
I actually did something like this for one of my either GCSE or A-Level sketchbooks at
school, we were looking at natural forms in art and Georgia O’Keefe is like the ultimate
for that.
She also just seems like she was an amazing woman, I’d recommend reading up on her if
you haven’t heard of her.
I actually spelled her name wrong at the top here but don’t worry I corrected that by
the end.
You would never know.
And then just as a little extra on the page, I thought I’d do a little sketch of her
before looking in to some of her work.
We’ll go through this bit quite quickly since it’s not that relevant to the topic
of todays video.
But I still thought you’d like to see the process of the drawing and get an idea of
how to snazz up a more sort of serious, or informational page in your sketchbook.
So like Miss O’Keefe, I decided I’d work in watercolour today.I’m working on a really
light rough sketch I did in yellow pencil, just to get the composition vaguely in place.
I didn’t realise how long it had been since I last used watercolour but wow, I really
struggled!
I really couldn’t get into my stride with it, I don’t know how it used to be like
my main art medium of choice.
I started out by repainting the lily from her work titled…
I didn’t write it down actually but it’s something like Lily Turned Away.
This is a really great practice, recreating the work of one of the master’s, it helps
to break things down, get a better understanding of their process.
Now it’s important when you’re doing a study of an artist like this and their work,
that you don’t just copy.
It’s called a study for a reason.
So definitely put a bit of time into reading up on the artist, their process, what tools
they use and how and WHY.
You learn a little bit by straight copying, but sooo much more by actually studying.
So this next piece is called ‘Light Iris’.
I liked this one because it had more of an abstract feel to it.
Also it has more of that cropped close-up look that Georgia O’Keefe is famous for.
I went in with coloured pencil towards the end of this one to just sharpen things up,
add depth where it needed it and little details and things that I just couldn’t figure out
with the watercolour.
But...
it was fun playing with the colours and gradients and blending.
Yeah I dunno, it took me way longer than I thought it would just cos I really couldn’t
remember the ins and outs of watercolour.
Which is partly why I switched to gouache for the last painting, obviously a medium
I’m a lot more comfortable with but also I think it suited the painting.
The original is called ‘Leaves of a Plant’ at the end I got mixed up and wrote that it
was called ‘Oriental Poppies’, but yeah its a lot more bold in colour and opaque,
I know Georgia O’Keefe sometimes used oil instead of watercolour, I’m not sure if
she did for this one, but I though gouache would be a good substitute regardless to get
across the brightness and colourfulness of it.
Straight from the beginning I knew this would be my favourite study.
The original painting itself is gorgeous, I love the colours, and just honestly not
using watercolour made me feel so much more in control.
Even though I am happy with the outcome of the other two paintings.
This one felt a little bit more me.
A little bit more like something I would do.
And studies like this help you trial and error things that you otherwise might not have tried
and maybe discover things you want to incorporate into your own work.
Its also a great way to learn about you know the most fundamental names in art, in a fun
way and in a way thats gonna give a little panache to your sketchbook.
Anyway I just finished up by sticking that last one in with pritt stick and then I used
a black washi tape to make little labels for the two main paintings.
I also wrote out a little quote that she supposedly said, I know there are a lot of fake quotes
floating around the internet so you never know, but I liked it anyway.
It’s basically about being put down as the best woman painter but she sees herself as
one of the best painters full stop.
And that’s about it!
I hope you all enjoyed today’s video.
If you’re struggling to get something down in your sketchbook I think this is a great
option.
If you have a go I’d love to know what artist you do it on.
But yeah til next time guys.
Bye!