Red Deadnettle

red deadnettlesketchbook pageAfter this winter, I’m right out of practice with botanical subjects so, determined to make a new start, on the first of March I dug this weed up from one of the veg beds and put it into a three inch pot to draw in close-up.

I tried going for a looser approach with pencil and watercolour but felt that I was losing my grip on its appearance.

red deadnettlered deadnettleThe pen and ink study made through the magnifying lens of a desk-lamp gave me definition but became too tight.

This last, loose drawing with an ArtPen is less of a botanical study but is in the sketching from life style that I feel more at home with.