An Old Wolf Drawing

copyright Barbara (b.d.e.) Di Lella wolf drawing

This is not a new drawing, in fact it was done when I was still in school. But I always liked it. This is a detail of the larger piece.

Clearly, artists such as Robert Bateman and M.G. Loates were greatly admired. I also spent many hours at the museum during that time; (before it was renovated) and the animals were set up in the traditional manner so that you could study them easily. Most of those sketch books, however, have been lost. But I still have a book I bought way back then by W. Frank Calderon, "Animal Painting and Anatomy"

Winter Walk

An early morning of rose and grey sky prompted a small walk with the girls.

 

I began with a touch of rose and grey and I end with a touch of rose grey.

Enjoy your Wednesday

Wolf Drawing Part 4

copyright Barbara Di Lella wolf drawing 2013

Well, he's just about done (a few darker lines and the elimination of that little slip at the back rear leg), at least he's over the "hump" so-to-speak; past the crucial point of major %#&*-up. Unlike the moose which was just as close until I messed up.

 O well...

A Winter's Fairy Tale

Back on Friday Toronto had a bit of a dump of snow; those nice big fat flakes that make everything look like a fairy tale. Yes, driving is a bit of a hazard but the backyard is lovely.

Hope you had a

beautiful

weekend

Our place was filled with lots of cooking and baking for family. Obviously I didn't get too much commercial work done. As for the drawings I'm pretty sure I've corrected all the imperfections and with any luck they'll be finished tomorrow.

Raven

copyright Barbara Di Lella raven drawing 2013

Over a year ago when Art and I went to Algonquin we were fortunate to see some ravens. The pictures I took of them weren't that great but nevertheless...
...knowing me, this is only a rough sketch that I may or may not pursue during this period of the year which I have always set aside for the development of new work. Hopefully I'll have the moose and wolf finished over the weekend if there's time.

Enjoy the last weekend of January

Wolf Drawing Part 3

copyright Barbara Di Lella 2013 wolf drawing

As you can see, I'm still working on the wolf drawing from the previous post. But somewhere along the way, I decided that aspects of it were still not quite right.

copyright Barbara Di Lella 2013 wolf drawing

I raised the head and that made it clear that it was too far forward.

copyright Barbara Di Lella 2013 wolf drawing

 This photo was taken on an angle so it does appear to be off especially one of the lines of the neck. The left front leg is also being re-worked. But I think I'm closer to what I'm trying to accomplish.

Wolf Drawing Part 2

copyright Barbara Di Lella wolf drawing 1a 2013

I imagine the next number of posts will have you see the anatomy of a drawing or, at least, how I work my way through to the final construction. Inevitably there is a portion of the body that isn't quite right. Tracing paper allows me to do surgery, so to speak, as I can add or take away as the need arises. There is a lot wrong with this image: the back is too short, the legs aren't long enough, etc.

copyright Barbara Di Lella wolf drawing 1b 2013

 Here you can see those corrections but now the head seems just a bit too large for my liking. So, inevitably, just to straighten out my head a bit, I started another completely different drawing. Sometimes it helps my eyes see more.

copyright Barbara Di Lella wolf drawing 2a 2013

hope you are having a

Good Week

Wolf Drawing Part 1

copyright Barbara Di Lella 2013

Over the weekend I worked on a number of drawings of wolves and this post was meant to show a lot more than  just this rough drawing (that's slightly off), but technology has been extremely frustrating to say the least. Sometimes I wonder if the cold has an affect on these things? It's pretty cold today: typical January weather.

Well, that just 

gives me 

a little more time

to work on what I have

'til tomorrow

Wolf

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

While I'm deliberating over the Moose drawing, it was suggested that I start another animal. And seeing as so many have asked me to do a wolf, that's what I am working on.  I'm using Sonee to work out some of the angles. Sonee is one of the original dogs from the Moosonee Pup Rescue and she is from Moosonee (hence her name). I really have no idea if she has some wolf in her. I somehow doubt it. But the musculature and bone structure are similar if not smaller, but then I'm pretty sure the Algonquin wolves are on the small side.

On a completely different note and something I saw over the weekend...
In lieu of all the terrible things that we hear everyday and either try to understand or place somewhere in a dark closet, I would just like to take this small opportunity to draw your attention to something I saw on Yahoo.
 I, too, would like to thank those out there who recognize and speak out without simultaneously condemning.

Royal Ontario Museum Part 2

One of the frustrating things I find with the ROM is their display of artifacts. It is so difficult to see what you are looking at. This prehistoric moose skull is at least 8' high (approx.240cm). I can understand that perhaps it's placement is for the viewer to have a sense of how large this creature is but on the other hand: I can't see it!

 

You can see what I mean with the awkwardness of museum displays. The reflection from the glass cases makes it so frustrating if you're drawing. The musk ox in the back ground was completely impossible as the animal is dark so all you see is your own reflection. I suppose a lot of museums have this issue.

Have a wonderful weekend

Royal Ontario Museum Part 1

My visit to the Royal Ontario Museum was a little more extensive than what I showed the other day. So I thought I'd show a little more of what my visit was like.

 

...and a little bit more

tomorrow

After the Museum

Like many inner cities,  Toronto has some amazing older buildings. Not many, because of it's relative young age and the unfortunate fact that city planners have a tendency to tear down the older beauties to make way for the new. Anyway, after I visited the ROM the other day, I passed by one of the last remaining homes of Toronto's 19th century elite, George Gooderham (owner of the largest distillery in the British Empire). Now known as The York Club, it was built in 1892 by David Roberts Jr. During this time the Romanesque Revival was very popular with its castle-like shapes and rounded arches and elaborate Art Nouveau-like details. The Toronto sculptors, Holbrook and Mollington were responsible for the beautiful sandstone carvings on this building.

 

 

Moose Drawings Part 4

copyright Barbara Di Lella Moose 2013 and Moose by anon

It's hard to know what to think at this point. I know I'm on the right track. I also know that seeing them side-by-side, I should go further, not a lot though.   




The picture is a bit small  only to discourage certain improprieties that have occurred in the past.It might also be added that my signature and date are hidden in the drawing.

Details

 Did you have a great weekend?

Since the last moose drawing post, I have to say, that I'm still working at it (although not as much as you might think). It's really the tiny details that start bogging one down. Being able to stand back far enough to determine whether or not you need to add or take away or just *%#+^*! leave it, takes a lot of skill in itself! 

As final verification, I went to the ROM to just get those 

"tiny details".

Children's Book Illustrators Part 2

Trina Schart Hyman

 A little while ago I had written a bit about some of my favourite children's book illustrators and I thought I might periodically show some others. 

Trina Schart Hyman has long been a favourite of mine. Her freedom of line and sense of composition has a strong traditional balance. I also love her sense of design which she incorporated into many of her illustrative works including Little Red Riding Hood, for which she received one of three Caldecott Honours.    

Jan Ormerod

I find there is a lot of similarity between the work of Trina Schart Hyman and Jan Ormerod. Immediately you can see the strong balance of compostion and the attention to detail in the design of the illustration, let alone the fluidity of line. The art nouveau influence in the borders of the Frog Prince also echo back to another time period.

Lisbeth Zwerger

This illustration by Lisbeth Zwerger comes from another interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood. Zwerger's illustrations for her Little Red Cap differ from the previous two in that her style of composition incorporates a lot of space around her subject. Attention to detail is in her lines, as the use of colour is soft and subtle allowing us to "feel" the particular moment. See how the red cap immediately draws your eyes to Little Red's face and how her braid takes you to the lines of the apron  which suggest a gentle breeze? These lines take your eye down to her boots where the line of a hill brings you back up to the wolf whose gaze takes you back to Little Red who happens to be looking off the page. But a splash of  quiet green (and the lines) of the bottle in her basket catch your view and you again follow the lines of her apron. Perfect circular control.

Moose Drawing Part 3

Bit by bit I'm getting closer to what I want. There seems to be, for me at least, a point that I get to where the drawing will either make it or be scrapped. Sometimes I can get over the hump and out the other side. So far, it looks like I might get there.

With the Moose Pillow showing in the upper right of my banner, you might be able to see if it makes for a good companion piece.

Distraction

You might have noticed that I have a strong interest in vintage items. These sweet little tea cups are so appealing because of their simple strong colours. They were found here.

This beach pail was a bit of a surprise to see because my sister (who is an avid collector) also has it although her's in  perfect condition. But I found it at this shop.

What a darling smile this little squeak toy has! He was found over here. 

As I'm also a lover of children's books, how could I resist this little book with illustrations by Garth Williams. The shop owner also photographed it with red and white polka-dots which just adds to the colourful charm.

And this sweet little sewing machine?

It would appear that the common thread (no pun intended) running through all these selections is children.  And the secondary common factor are the colours: red and yellow.