Let Your Light Shine

Nature in The Round 2020

As the months go by and seasons slide from one to the next, nature cycles through an array of delights. I chose items that I saw each month to create a bit of nature in the round.

  • Slides of each painting

Each element had to be something that caught my attention. In January I started out thinking I would collect pieces and create the arrangement on the ground, take a photo and then paint. Life got in the way and I only had time to look and paint. Sometimes I looked at reference photos on my phone.

The first designs were made with Copic markers. I love to blend with them. These designs were all done on 11 x 14 Bristol board which absorbs more than marker paper or photo paper. When the markers started to dry out I couldn’t find refills online. I suspect the pandemic had something to do with that. So I continued with colored pencils, ink, and watercolor.

I included the following natural material:

Januarytwigs, frozen berries and pinecones
Februaryfrozen berries and branches with a cardinal
Marchforsythia, daffodils and hyacinths
Apriltulips, phlox and dandelion
Mayirises, poppies and hydrangea
Junepeonies and petunias
Julylavender, echinacea, snap dragons, beebalm and lily
Augustcatalpa leaves, Queen Ann’s lace and chicory
Septembersunflower, ironweed, thistle, and unidentified wild flowers
Octoberacorns, locust leaves, oak leaves and maple leaves
Novemberdried grasses, leaves and bittersweet
Decemberholly and birch berries

I’m glad I kept going with this project each month. In a year when so much went wrong, it was a constant reminder that there is still a beautiful world around us.

I have a different plan for a monthly series in 2021. Stay tuned!

1 Comment

  1. Ann Armstrong

    They are all very beautiful and so creative. Thank you for sharing. Love and Happy New Year.

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