I hope you will join me on this adventure  as I create a body of fun vibrant fruit and vegetable drawings based on the organic produce of our CSA.  Spiral Path deliveries start May 15, see you then!

Carrot study by Erin Sparle

I’m working in doing all 4 of the citrus fruits I could think of: lemon, lime, grapefruit, and an orange. (Did i miss any?) Jut one more to go…

1. If you have a grapefruit, get it and study it. Actually observing an object always helps. Take note of the shape and color. It is not always what you think. (you can also use a picture from the Internet as a reference.)

2. Lightly draw in the inside edges of the juice wedges with either a light pencil or your lightest color. (I like to start from the inside and work outward as you can always make the outside bigger to accommodate your inner shapes. It’s harder to stuff your inside shapes inside an already established outer shape.)

3. Working outward, sketch in the 12-13 wedges. Make sure to round the edges of each of your triangular wedges and make sure to leave a little room between each for the pith. Make the back wedges shorter and squatter triangles to show perspective.

4. Lightly sketch a circle around the juice wedges leaving a small area for the pith. The circle doesn’t need to be, and shouldn’t be, perfect.

5. Sketch the shape of the outside surface. Take more of where the edges connect to the circle and any irregularities in the shape. This is what will add interest to the drawing.

6. Test your markers colors off to the side. (the color doesn’t always match the cap color.) You can try layering two or more colors to get the desired effect. Tombo markers are water based and can be blended using either a paintbrush with a small amount of water or one of tombos blending pens or even a lighter pen. (I like using a water as the blender pen can scrub off the top layer of your paper.) write down the colors and the color combos you tried.

7. Using light strokes that follow the curve of the surface to arc around the object, start filling in your design. With Tombo markers, much like water colors, it is best to start with your lightest colors and work towards your darker colors, layering as you go. This is because there is no white Tombo marker, or watercolor thick enough to go on top and cover another color.
Tip: You can use a white Sharpy of white paint pen to add highlights after the drawing is complete.

How to Draw a Lemon with Tombo markers

1. If you have a lemon, get it and study it. Actually observing an object always helps. Take note of the shape and color of the lemon. It is not always what you think.

2. Lightly draw in the inside edges of the juice wedges with either a light pencil or your lightest yellow. I used a 090 Tombo marker. (I like to start from the inside and work outward as you can always make the outside bigger to accommodate your inner shapes. It’s harder to stuff your inside shapes inside an already established outer shape.)

3. Working outward, sketch in the 9 wedges. Make sure to round the edges of each of your triangular wedges and make sure to leave a little room between each for the pith. Make the back wedges shorter and squatter triangles to show perspective.

4. Lightly sketch a circle around the juice wedges leaving a small area for the pith. The circle doesn’t need to be, and shouldn’t be, perfect.

5. Sketch the shape of the outside surface. Take more of where the edges connect to the circle and any irregularities in the shape. This is what will add interest to the drawing.

6. Test your markers colors off to the side. (the color doesn’t always match the cap color.) You can try layering two or more colors to get the desired effect. Tombo markers are water based and can be blended using either a paintbrush with a small amount of water or one of tombos blending pens or even a lighter pen. (I like using a water as the blender pen can scrub off the top layer of your paper.) write down the colors and the color combos you tried.

7. Using light strokes that follow the curve of the surface to arc around the object, start filling in your design. With Tombo markers, much like water colors, it is best to start with your lightest colors and work towards your darker colors, layering as you go. This is because there is no white Tombo marker, or watercolor thick enough to go on top and cover another color.
Tip: You can use a white Sharpy of white paint pen to add highlights after the drawing is complete.

Custom Zentangle - Seeing Stars & Twisted Stars

I responded:

“Oh boy did you open a can of worms with this question. I had an entire semester devoted to trying to answer this question in Grad School. To begin you have to define what art is and then you have to define what craft is.  Here is my evolving definition of What is Art with with a Capital A.

Some would say that the difference between art and craft is 3 fold.
That the main differences are functions, price, and reproducibility or originality.  But, I have seen craft that is NOT functional and art that is. Others say that the difference is monetary, but I’ve seen craft that is incredibly expensive and art that isn’t. And of course the final criteria, of reproducibility, well… in this modern age all you have to do is look at the computer and printing technology to see art being reproduced in “limited editions” in the 50 and 100s.

I personally think that the difference is in the final use. If you create art to be used or reproduced in some fashion, such as on products in art licensing then I would say it is craft. However, if you create or use art to decorate or in a purely visual or aesthetic manner then it might be classified  as art. This means that the same piece of art that you hang on the wall if re-purposed or reused on a mug can be both art and craft!”

What do you think?

Custom Zen tangle derived from an old drawing of an architectural drawing.