Deer study in blue

Since childhood, I have always adored Deer! I came to know them through the many fairy tales I read as a child, ranging from Russian, Bulgarian and of course, Grimm's fairy tales. Deer have significant roles in the mythology of various peoples located all over the world. These include worship, the incarnation of deities, the object of heroic quests and deeds, or as magical disguise or enchantment/curse for princesses and princes in many folk and fairy tales. The deer also symbolizes a connection to the supernatural, the Otherworld or to the fairy realm, e.g., being a messenger or an entity's familiar. This study was painted in Richmond Park, London. I was mesmerized by the deer herd, suddenly surrounding me one autumn. They were so powerful, mysterious, beautiful and majestic. Did you know: Deer are the only group of animals in the world to have antlers? Antlers are the fastest growing living tissue in the world! The format of this study is A4 with Blue ink.

Velvet throw study in black charcoal, A1

Velvet is a very intriguing material! It has a beautiful drape and a unique soft and shiny appearance due to the characteristics of the short pile fibres. These make it tricky to draw at times! The term “velvety” means soft, and it takes its meaning from its namesake fabric: velvet. The soft, smooth fabric epitomizes luxury, with its smooth nap and shiny appearance. Because of its unusual softness and appearance as well as its high cost of production, velvet has often been associated with nobility. It has also always been popular for evening wear and dresses for special occasions. Some historic facts: Velvet was introduced to Baghdad during the rule of Harun al-Rashid (786–809) by Kashmiri merchants and to Al-Andalus by Ziryab. In the Mamluk era, Cairo was the world's largest producer of velvet. Much of it was exported to Venice (whence it spread to most of Europe), Iberia and the Mali Empire. Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, visited Cairo on his pilgrimage to Mecca. King Richard II of England directed in his will that his body should be clothed in velveto in 1399. This is an A1 study, drawn with charcoal and took quite a few hours to complete. :)

Sweetcorn study black charcoal, A1

The corn plant is a tall annual grass with a stout, erect, solid stem. The large narrow leaves have wavy margins and are spaced alternately on opposite sides of the stem. Of all the grains eaten in the world, corn is surrounded by more legends and folklore than any other. Corn has been planted, tended, harvested, and consumed for millennia, and so it’s no wonder that there are myths about the magical properties of this grain. Maize was the main cereal grown in Central and South America long before Christopher Columbus ventured to the ‘New World’. By the late 15th and early 16th centuries the crop had been brought to Europe. Technically a grain rather than a vegetable, the Cherokees used maize to treat kidney stones, while the Navajo people used it to ease sore throats. Many native Americans used the leaves as ‘chewing gum’. The Mayans worshipped the maize god for thousands of years. In their mythology the god was beheaded at harvest time, bur came back to life at the start of the next growing season. Did you know? Maize is an important ingredient of Bourbon whiskey! This is a study of ripe sweetcorn plant, sketched with charcoal and roughly A1 in size.

Pliers study - black ink A4

Sunflower study in black

Who doesn't love sun flowers? :) I love all flowers and animals, but beaming sun flowers always remind me of a little sun, smiling at us without a cloud ever in sight. :) Sunflowers are known to be useful for more than just their aesthetic beauty. I love that, at the end of their season, we are able to harvest them for their seeds either for us or the birds. This study is quite large - around A1 size in black ink. Did you know - sunflower fun facts: Sunflowers can grow to heights of up to ten feet! Sunflowers follow the sun! :) When they are not yet mature, the young flowers will track the sun. This is called heliotropism and stops once they are mature, and most sunflowers will face east. Each sunflower can contain as many as 1,000 to 2,000 seeds.

Grandma's hand bag - charcoal A1

Tree study in black

I have always been fascinated by trees. Not only the structure and texture of the tree barks, leaves, their changing colours but also their meaning in stories and tales from long ago. Trees are significant in many of the world's mythologies, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. Human beings, observing the growth and death of trees, and the annual death and revival of their foliage, have often seen them as powerful symbols of growth, death and rebirth. Evergreen trees, which largely stay green throughout these cycles, are sometimes considered symbols of the eternal, immortality or fertility. The image of the Tree of life or world tree occurs in many mythologies. This graphic study of the bark of a tree is in A4 and black ink.

Neuschwanstein Castle, quick study - red chalk A1

Silver Birch at sunset - acrylic A2

Birches are truly magical trees! One of my favourite artists, Gustav Klimt, seems to also have felt their tranquil and painted birch forests. In mythology the Silver Birch takes a female form – it’s ancient name is “Graceful Lady of the Woods”. It appears fragile and delicate but it is extremely hardy – it teaches us that in apparent weakness there is often great strength to be found. Ancient wisdom taught that birch wood aided the calming of emotions and that looking at silver birch aided depression – it provided light in the darkness and is lit up by the moon. The ancient lesson of Silver Birch as “a fresh start” – new beginnings in life as an adult, new choices, leaving childhood behind and the promise of new life and love. Not only did the Silver Birch have these magical values, it also had many uses both medicinal and practical. The leaves of the Silver Birch tree can be brewed into a tea that treats infection and stimulates a healthy vitality. This Silver Birch grew outside my family home in Germany and the sunset always made it look even more mysterious and dreamy. This painting is in A2 and in acrylic.

Cloth study - black ink and chalk