Lots of Prep

I located part of the garden that I thought would work for the frottage project I have in mind.

I sketched it roughly with the main shapes at the forefront of my mind.  I labelled the plants and then (on the right) highlighted the shapes that need to be included as frottage.

I have an idea that I will start at the back and work forward layering as I go.

I like the shape indicated by the black line and the balance created by the spots of yellow plants (ignore the practice printing).

I will draw into my work to indicate flowers and other detail.

It all looks a bit messy but it makes sense to me.  Just in case here's a photo to help.

I'm going to experiment with some leaves to see what would suit my purpose best.


I put a light blue wash on my sketchbook page but when I laid on the "trees" it had no impact so I deepened it.

First layer

Second layer

So far so good - I was getting what I wanted.

Next I moved to the willow with some heavier paper and colour and this is where things started to go wrong.

I used heuchera leaves and because the willow weeps I placed them downwards.  From there it went downhill fast.

Because my wax crayons were handy I used them to put in some flowers.

It wasn't my intention to produce a piece of work but rather to try out to see what might work so I'll log what I think works and what doesn't and look for alternatives because I still think the frottage idea has mileage.

What works:

• the frottage trees give a sense of distance and the tissue and graphite allow for plenty of detail
• the darkening of the foreground is necessary (but too dark)

What needs some thought:

• the whole thing looks too busy but it's hard to know where to edit
• using colour is where I start to lose it - should I try monochrome?
• the paper I use to create my "plants"is crucial to the effect as I've found out before and the viburnum and the spirea suffer - should I try a print directly onto my carrier?
• the central flower bed needs to sing and it doesn't in this image
• the thuja needs to be more hidden
• when I think back to Facinating Cypress by Ernst I am reminded that LESS IS MORE.
• chop, chop, chop.

More experimentation needed and more to add to this post later.

Later....

I have found it impossible to edit my image and retain the integrity and interest of the viewpoint so I have looked for another perspective which offers interest and the more minimalist content I feel I need.

I have it in mind to draw the Dawn Redwood which is a particular favourite of mine - the first plant we put in our new garden 16 years ago.

For this work I need to give it a context so I went to see what surrounded it with an eye open for frottage possibilities.