
After a year of exploring art and life in blacks and whites and all those grey shades in between, it's a true pleasure to be painting and drawing in colour again. I've been immersing myself in the joy of deep, brilliant, rich tints and hues that are bringing me back to a more balanced, brighter perspective on the world and everything around me. It helps that it's summer (well, a UK season that is as unpredictable as the rest of the year) and I'm surrounded by the amazing array of colours out in the countryside ... hugely inspirational.
I've loved my pandas and ravens and am still working on them, but it's good to be able to free myself from that narrow focus and pick up all those blues, greens, oranges, and oh those wonderful reds and just play. I've been experimenting with different tools and mediums as well. Here are a few close-ups:

Used colour pencils for this one and I'd forgotten how therapeutic it is to build up layers of colour, allowing my pencil the freedom to go where it wishes to and viewing the end product with some surprise, as though I hadn't had a hand in it. Sometimes not knowing what the end result will be, is a pleasure in itself.

I don't normally use acrylics but will be doing more with it from now on as I love the thick texture and the way the colours glow ... the black and white background was painted to contrast against those gorgeous reds.

The top left fruit was drawn in oil pastels, top right in brushed ink and watercolour, bottom left with pen and watercolour and bottom right in marker pens, a far more graphic representation.

Top fruit was drawn in pencil and the bottom one in acrylic and charcoal.

And, finally, the top left pomegranate was painted with watercolours. The rest you already know. Which one of them is your favourite?
Can you tell that I had a joyous time experimenting with these? I'm now researching the fruit, it's history, origins, mythology, etc and will be painting more of them for this project I'm working on. I'll also be working on the black-and-white pandas and ravens, so that should make for a more balanced view on life from here on. That creative 'pause' seems to have retired for the moment and I'm surrounded, at my desk, by brushes, pens, pencils, paints ... all quite smugly pleased with ourselves. We are having fun again. Cheers.
PS: For more pomegranate art and my creative 'pause', click here.
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