MACJR'S Garden Gallery
Garden Gallery — Path 1 — Pink Carnation
Pink Carnation
— For Sunshine —
A December 25, 2015 revised version of the Pink Carnation. I started work on the first version of this flower on December 04, 2000.
This carnation was the first flower that I attempted to draw, digitally, using a freshly clipped, real, pink carnation flower as a model. I had set the clipped carnation in a small glass next to my computer screen, and tried to get the flower petals right before the flower wilted too much.
I call this first attempt at using a freshly clipped flower as a model only a partial success. Although I feel that the stem came out well enough, the carnation’s petals still need more work, but the flower I used as a model, wilted and shriveled up many years ago. I should have worked faster.
With this revision, I spent more time smoothing out the Pink Carnation’s stem, and adding a fresh new drop shadow. Maybe the next time I work on a new revision of this flower, I will try to make those petals look better.
Scroll down to see Additional Notes, and other versions of the Pink Carnation.
Click, or press, Next, to see the American Tear Butterfly.
Additional Notes
Additional Notes
— About my art —
To the left, at the top of the image, is the first draft of the pink carnation flower. At first, I started making a large Pink Carnation, but I soon realized that I would not have enough time to get those petals right, and then start work on the stem, before the carnation clipping wilted too much to use as a model anymore. I had to down-size the image.
Unfortunately, I only spent a little more time on the flower after the down-size. I think I switched my focus to the stem too soon after that. I should have kept my attention on those carnation petals while they were still fresh. The stem would last longer, so there was less rush with it.
The bottom left image (above) is the first draft that I showed to a friend, too soon. Although I was making the flower for Sunshine, I showed that early draft copy to a new friend, Lilies, first. I wanted to hear what she thought about it. But she laughed at it, which kind of irritated me (I had told her it was still a work in progress), but it did not stop me from working to smooth the flower out more, as you see in the next flower over (bottom right, in the image above). That is, essentially, the version I sent to Sunshine, on December 12, 2000. Since the flower was for her, after all, she was the one that got to see the first finished version. At least Sunshine did not laugh at the flower I sent her, even though the version I sent her was clearly not read either.
Over the years since, I have only spent a little more time with the Pink Carnation. It still needs a lot more work than I have given it.
I do not much like the button I made here, to the right. This is also a December 25, 2015 revised version of the Pink Carnation, the button-ized version, but it seems, to me, not to be a good match for that button background. I thought I would post it here anyway. Maybe some of you out there will like it better than I do. Perhaps I will make a different, better, button background the next time I get back to work on the Pink Carnation.
Michael A. Crane, Jr.
Artist/Webmaster/Writer
This page last updated on: December 31, 2015
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