Drawing & Imaging Macro/Micro Drawing

For the prompt of creating a macro or micro drawing, I decided to make a Micro. The photo I used for reference was a microscopic photo of onion cells, dyed purple. I chose this because I was interested in the way the shapes all seemed to go together but still remain separate in little glob-like shapes, and I wanted to challenge myself and my artistic ability with the medium I used to create the piece.

 

To me, the cells looked like they could be replicated through watercolor painting. I have tried to watercolor once before, but didn’t find myself completely successful with it, so I decided to give it another try. I purchased a watercolor palette and two watercolor pencils that were shades of purple. I began in the top left corner with the pencils, trying to mimic the curves and structures of the cell. Once I had finished a rough outline of the shapes, I went back in with the watercolor pencils, outlining them all and using the lighter shade to color them in. Next, I went over it all with a damp paint brush. I saw the layers begin to build up, and as I did, I also added in watercolor paint to add more depth to the forms. I wasn’t completely confident in the outcome and realized some more things I needed to incorporate after the class looked over my first version of the drawing/painting. After the critique, I agreed with all the feedback I was given, and decided to add darker colors and another layer of watercolor to the piece. I went back over it with paint, slowly building up colors in certain patches around the cells, as they were shown in the microscopic photograph. My final result isn’t exactly like the image, but I’m still very happy with the outcome and my decision to go on with the layering of the watercolors to further the depth of the cells.

 

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