Black White Tree study

[Erica Shipley]

MY IMAGE(S):





GENERAL INFORMATION:
Title: Black White Tree study
Year Created:
Medium: Pen/Ink
Surface: Watercolor Paper
Dimension: 9x12
Allow digital alterations?: Yes!

MY COMMENTS:
I have been working in ink to practice relaxing and letting the ink flow and the tree happen. Trying to be less exact and structured and use my imagination more.

Created with ink and nib pens.

These trees are complete and have gone to the shop for sale. Critique will be for help in future trees.

MY QUESTIONS FOR THE GROUP:
How is the composition?

What should I try moving forward?

Are there any technique suggestions I can try next?

Is it better to keep it clean or should I add washes?

[crazywoman53]

Ink drawings can be as complicated or simple as you wish. So there are many things you could add to future ones.. like implication of bark, light and shadows and texture. On the top one the middle tree is the best of the three. The one of the left has too much of a symmetrical shape in that the branches on one side of the tree have a matching branch on the opposite side. Your tree root ball shapes are all basically the same and would be more interesting if they were all three slightly different. You can have major and minor roots leading off and forming their own uniqueness. You've got a good start though.. keep going and see where it leads you.

[Erica Shipley]

Thank you! I was trying to not be symmetrical but I missed it. The little tree on the right is only there to cover where ink splattered...Same with the roots becoming so thick. I wasnt sure if it worked or not but next time I will try to add some more smaller ones to help balance the thick ones maybe if I do a coverup again.

[dgford]

Attractive concept. Just ensure that branches decrease in diameter as they get further up and out --- the same principle applies with roots. Branches have a wonderful variety of ways in which they leave from a trunk , limb or other branch --- with consistency in each. Well worth studying.
Your second picture looks as if the tree had bee decapitated at some time in the past. If that is so, new branches will come from below the break. If not, then your drawing has too sudden a change from thick trunk to thin branches.
With attention to such details, I reckon you could be on a winner.
Geoff

[Erica Shipley]

I am not following bee decapitation?

Thank your the nformation though I will use it going forward.

[La_]

i expect he means 'had *been decapitated'

nice trees, ink is tricky to control

thoughts for the next ones ... really push the depth of branches - nice and light/thin for distant/away branches; darker/thicker for closer branches ... you have some of this happening in what you've posted, but it's somewhat inconsistent/unbalanced ... the second, individual one is quite lovely

la

[Debzy]

Hi Erica I agree with La! The second one is quite lovely! It appears to have it's own character! It could almost be a tree person, I can see a small face and arms reaching up, dressed in black netting..... legs turning into tree roots! Very interesting and an aspect that you may want to develop?? I have worked with ink, not ink pen though. It is very tricky and looks like you had nice control considering! Further down the track you might try adding washes, monochrome or colour.... you would get some wonderful results and effects! Cheers =)) Debs

[Erica Shipley]

I caught myself trying to work backwards quite a bit with thick dark in distant and thin light in front. I have no idea why I was doing it I never would in any other medium. Maybe I should of let it go and seen what came of it but who knows. The single tree looks much better in person and I do like it alot. I didn't see the person till days later and she started to emerge first seeing feet then legs and when I dropped her off at the shop I spotted her face. I couldn't believe it.

I do hope to work more in that if I can get back to that mental state! I think the difference between these two is relaxed flow and trying to hard. I actualy did 4 in ink 2 in pencil and 1 in charcoal and I almost forgot I did an acrylic too. Trying to find my style. I didn't want to overflow this thread but maybe I should add a few more? All being so many mediums I didn't know where to post them. I did add a couple on my da account maybe I will check the link rules instead of uploading so many.