Handmade Print, October Butterfly

This is a handmade print. I cut the block or in this case styrofoam in the shape of a butterfly, then inked it with a brayer, (a kind of roller), and made the print. It was a multi-step process since there were three colors, orange, red and black. The white is the paper showing through. The black was the last step, I prepared the block by using white glue to draw slightly random lines that hardened then rolled black over the lines for the print.

October Butterfly Hand Made Print by Adron 

Making prints by hand is very fun. You never really know how it will turn out. You have to think in layers and steps and understand how thing will change.

 You can see that it is hand made. I have a little trouble with the registration, where the subsequent print of a different color is placed a little off to the side. This is very common and is a feature of handmade prints.

I only made 10 of these and illustrated is number 3. These are for sale for only $9.00 each, they are unmounted and unframed.

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Adron


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Pencil Sketch of a Pumpkin in Pencil

Pencil Sketch of a Pumpkin. By Adron

Pumpkins make great subjects to draw and are a wonderful thing to have students draw. Everybody can do it, the beginner thinks there is nothing to it and the experienced artist finds many shadows and highlights in the Pumpkins folding shape. The sides are smooth and the stem is wonderfully rough to give terrific contrast.

This is a sketch I did as an illustration for a class I was teaching on drawing. It was a quick 20 minute drawing and I was only working on it absently because I was telling kids what I was doing and trying to encourage them to do their own drawings.

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Adron


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(c) Adron Dozat

Autumn Leaves Drawing in Pencil and Charcoal

Autumn Leaves drawn in Pencil and Charcoal

This is one of those happy projects that does not go the way you expect it to, but turns out to be more fun than you hoped. It was a sketch I started when demonstrating how to draw unusual shapes so I chose leaves from the yard. As I drew the leaves for the kids I really felt enthralled with the shapes and for the next few days carried the page around to doodle on during my free moments. 

Pencil and Charcoal drawing of Leaves 

I began with a quick outline sketch in hb pencil, after which I went over it again in a 4b pencil to develop some of the values of the leaves. I returned to the hb to add detail. I used a blending stub to soften the edges of the shadows inside the leaves and spread out the shadows around the outside of the leaves. I redid the shadows some with the 4b pencil. The area around the leaves were redone with charcoal but I felt it was too dark and amateurish so used a kneaded erasure to lift out the dark charcoal but leaving enough to add value and texture. I used the dirtied tip of the blending stub to smudge dots in the leaves.

(c) Adron 12

Watercolor Seascape with Tree on Rock

Seascape with Tree on Rocks, watercolor by Adron.

This is a little sketch I did in watercolor one afternoon. It was inspired by a photo in a magazine. I do not like to copy so I took some of the themes of the picture and departed from there to do my own composition.

I did the sky, sea,  and rocks with a preliminary wash of pale color and then after that first wash dried I went back and worked it over with darker colors.  

I wish I had worked the clouds differently it was done on dry paper, I feel I should have whetted the paper and dropped the color in to let the color blend as it wanted to, but on the other hand the clouds would have been too contrasting to the style of the sea and rocks. 

I was a little worried about the values of the tree, at first it was too light. It was a little challenging to get it to have the right value.   It took several applications and dropping in two contrasting colors to darken it enough to be a focus. 

I think it turned out nice.

(C) Adron

A Watercolor Sketch of Pathway Bridge

Here is a sketch I did one afternoon with watercolor while sitting on a bench next to the path near my house in Columbia MD. It was not my first choice but I didn't want to stand while painting so I found an old bench and looked around to see what was there.

 Pathway Bridge Watercolor Sketch Painted on Location.

I was experimenting with a technique of using only a large wide one inch brush and only a fine brush. I find that a large brush is great for washes and laying down large areas of color. I was playing with the edge of the brush to give the texture. I was enjoying laying color into color.

I lost some of the detail of the turn in the path in the background. I was a little unhappy with the color value in the trees in the distance and my attempt to darken the shadow of the trees behind the bridge was frustrating. I wanted to paint this entirely on location.

I was happy with the composition. It combines the "U" composition of the trees in the middle ground and the "S" composition of the road in the foreground.

It is not a painting I would sell but it is a good study for a more complex and comprehensive piece.

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron



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Decorated Jewelry Box With Black Eyed Susans

This is a little project for my niece Katie. It was a wood jewelry box with a wood finish. My wife painted it over in an antique white acrylic paint and asked me to embellish it with some black eyed susans. I used acrylic paint and combined some of the "One stroke" technique with a more traditional style to do the flowers and the ribbons.

Katie's Jewelry Box decorated by Adron

The drawers were painted in a canary yellow acrylic paint, which was also used for the first part of the yellow daisies like flowers. 

Right Details of Flowers 

Left details of Flowers

I painted the green leaves first and then painted the flowers above them. The yellow paint was very pale on the white background and I would not have even tried it except that the box had to be white for our niece. I used a little green and alternating colors of orange and red to add contrast so the flowers would  stand out.

Black Eyed Susans painted on box

Black Eyed Susans on jewelry box

I used a sponge to paint by dabbing the blue back ground so that I had a soft edge to the blue. After sponging the blue in I had to give a little smoothing out of the center with a very soft brush.

It just seemed that the little area on the back needed a little something. I thought we had enough flowers everywhere so I did a medallion of a K for Katie to personalize the jewelry box.

a medallion of a K for Katie 

This is not the kind of painting I normally do but it is enjoyable to do a project outside my normal comfort zone it stretches you mentally and gives an opportunity to experiment with techniques that you might not get to try out. 

I felt honored to do this little project for my niece.

I would consider a project like this just contact me for a price quote. 

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron


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Garden Watercolor: Gloryosia Daisies

This is a picture I painted of some golden daisies in my wife's garden.

Gloryosia Daisies watercolor by Adron.

Watercolor paint is the perfect medium for painting flowers. I painted this one afternoon. They are Gloryosia Daisies, very beautiful flowers with deep colors.

It was an extremely hot afternoon and the watercolor was drying on my palette faster than I can put it on the paper. I wanted to do a smoother background but because of the heat I switched to a more active texture. I think it worked out OK because it created a little more balance in the picture. I used several washes since it was drying so quickly.

I feel I should have taken more time to develop the composition; this is an ongoing problem I have. Once you commit to a composition and if it is bad there is no amount of technique or skill that can redeem the picture.

I expect that I will return to this subject and paint these again.

Below is a reworking of the project to deepen the colors and to make it digital for the online market place.

Daisies Watercolor For Sale

To see the sale price and products with this artwork and visit my online store click here.

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I hope you enjoy my art. 

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Adron


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(c)Adron Dozat

Watercolor Sketch of Rocks by Trees

I did this little 9x11 sketch in an hour on Sunday afternoon. It is a picture of the rocks by the creek near my house. It was late afternoon and I was feeling guilty about having so much fun by myself painting so I cut my time short and went home.

Watercolor Sketch of Rocks and Tree Trunks

I liked the contrast of textures in the green foliage and the brown wood bark, all set against the grey stones.

I used watercolor paint on a practice pad. I left the back-ground vague on purpose; partly because I wanted to develop the interest of the rocks in the foreground and partly because of time. I started with washes using a medium wide brush, and then moved to smaller brushes as I went along to build up the texture of the leaves. I finished with a signature brush for the twigs and grasses.

The composition is not the best, there is no real focus and the viewer's eyes don't really know where to go.  I should have spent more time in the earliest stages of the drawing to develop a tighter composition.  Still it was a happy hour sketching and I have no regrets except maybe a few bug bites.

(c) Adron

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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