I am more proud than proud of the end result of the drawing that I worked on for so long.
Over the past few months I have occasionally shared a photo of my latest project online. A pencil drawing full of color and detail. It required some patience, from all the lovely interested people around me, but also from myself.
A lot of patience, 100 kilos of sharpening and about a year later it is here: A cake from the slow cooker. My field full of daisies is finally finished and for sale in my webshop !
I am not exaggerating when I say that the idea for this drawing was already there a few years ago. I have been able to make the most beautiful drawings for many different people and clients for a long time. Although that still makes me happy every day, in recent years I have also become increasingly interested in making something just for myself. A drawing that makes me happy, without conditions and without a brush. Something new with a new technology. 
As soon as I had a spare moment, I started sketching. One idea after another flew out of my pencil and onto the paper. It remained that way for a long time. The perfectionist in me criticized every sketch more than any other client. And as it goes and went for everyone: Life called for a few drawing breaks. A pandemic, a baby, a move, a major breakdown in the house and a husband having surgery later, the waters became calmer and my inspiration increased. A new workplace came my way at exactly the right time.
In my new studio I remember more than ever how important it is to continue making free work. The ultimate motivation for making this drawing. The pressure disappeared and the sketch for my flower field appeared.
To arrive at a desired composition, I digitally cut and paste various photographic images together until it is correct. This is the start for a sketch on paper.
I made the sketch with Palomino Balckwing 602 pencil on drawing paper in size 30 x 42 cm (A3). I slowly filled this drawn skeleton with colored pencil. It sometimes felt like a kind of puzzle, trying to find exactly the right color or representation of structure. Sometimes a certain pencil has exactly the color I'm looking for. And sometimes I do some tests in which I combine different colors. There is no one particular type of pencil that I prefer to work with, although I usually draw from one of these series: Caran d'Ache - Luminance / Faber Castell - Polychromos / Caran d'Ache - Pablo.
I build up the drawing layer by layer. I love learning pencil techniques just by doing it. I found that the contrast between very dark (almost black) greens worked great against the white petals. The background gained more and more depth. In the foreground, the thick yellow blood hearts were given more warmth and depth by sometimes using up to 6 shades of yellow.
It may sound crazy, but as the drawing grows, the end result becomes further out of sight. Drawing this picture is a patient job. In one session of about an hour I often filled about five square centimeters. The moments when I drew were always moments when I had time left: no work for a while, no assignments for others, no other people around me. The drawing itself takes on a meditative quality, it is very peaceful!
Of course, the promise of an end result is ultimately also a driving force. While drawing, I secretly wondered what I wanted to do with the drawing once it was finished. I was curious what the record would look like if I blew up the size to a huge extent, how cool would that look on the wall in a living room?!
I decided to scan the drawing and have it printed in large format. Behind the scenes I was already getting some things ready. For example, I gave my webshop a major technical update.
And then the moment suddenly arrived: The last square centimeter was also filled. A tiny spring green full of daisies popped off the paper. I couldn't wait to scan it and I eagerly zoomed in on my screen to see how much would be visible. Wow, the amount of detail, not normal!
And I felt that same high when the printed matter was delivered. The prints turned out so cool. The colors are bright and every pencil line is clearly visible. With 350 gr. thickness, the uncoated (matte) paper gets a very chic look.
And what now? More of course! I want to go through this wonderful process more often. I can't wait to see what new things I will learn the next time I dive into a new drawing. And how cool would it be if I could soon offer a whole series of prints?!
I am currently making test prints with a local printer to arrive at a perfect recipe for even larger prints in XL format (70 x 100 cm!). Once we have arrived at the perfect composition of color, paper and ink, these can be ordered on demand in my webshop. Keep an eye on my Instagram channel or sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know!