The Last of the Garden
We put our garden to bed last weekend, composting what remained of stalks and dried leaves and scattering coneflower seeds in the meadow. Still, there were a few flowers, now faded and dried, but nonetheless impressive, that I culled from the rest. I love the curve of their petals and leaves and the hint of color left in a few of the zinnias. They’ve been on my desk all week, reminding me to look for beauty not only in its prime, but in every season.
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for your support for my artwork and for your many generous comments all year long.
Tips and Techniques– This page taught me how much you can get from a nearly spent pen. I used two Micron 005 brown pens that were nearly out of ink yet managed to make lot of fine lines and subtle shading. This size brown Micron is not easy to find, which is why I’m using these to the last drop of ink– I had to order more online. If you are interested in trying one, you may need to do the same. More art supplies, you say? Now, that’s a good day.
Drawn In 
The subtlety of color as the Zinnias die is so beautiful…and you captured it beautifully…along with the movement in how they bend, release seeds and petals, etc. So lovely. Happy Thanksgiving!
LOVE this image and the sentiments. it’s been gre
Thank you for the beautiful art and helpful information you share. Happy Thanksgiving from Ohio!
Happy Thanksgiving! And thanks for a delightful image, capturing so well the dusty musty smells of the winter garden, and the fantastic dried flower and seed shapes.
I am grateful all year for your splendid and glorious drawings and inspiration !.. I just picked up dried magnolia pods and first thought ? , I wonder what Drawn In would do with these.. and proceeded to draw them, again and again as I do each year.. happy day, onward and upward, sandra
Hey Jean, Beautiful tribute to wabi sabi. I
This video shows how to refill a Micron pen. I’m going to try this. What do we have to lose?
Oh WOW! Thank you soooo much for this post. How Helpful this is!!!
I LOVE late-stage zinnia flowers, and am happy to see that I am not alone! Your journal page captures the interesting shapes and colors in a delightful way!
Thank you for generously sharing your pages and sketching tips 🙏
Thanks Jaci- I wish I had saved even more of the zinnias. I didn’t appreciate them enough until I was sketching them.
And I’m grateful for you and your blog, Jean, it gives me enormous pleasure. Your zinnias are filled with spunky spirit! It looks like instead of being done for the year, they’re ready to go dancing. 🙂
Beautiful illustrations and their arrangements – as always. Jean I was not able to mail you the Mahogany pods – as I was leaving for India and none of the pods had fallen off the tree before I left. I will make the attempt when I return in April – hoping that they are still lying around on the ground. .
Thanks for writing Patty. No worries on the pods. I hope you find some wonderful treasures in India for your sketchbook!
I love these drawings! To me, there is so much of interest in dry and spent flowers, and seed heads. The brown pen is perfect!
Thanks Anna– these are right up your alley. I like the way you take subjects like this and then morph them in creative and fluid ways.
Terrific post! Love the line work!!
Alison
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Thanks Alison!
Beautiful – I love it!