Posted February 8, 2016 by Kerry McFall

Campus Camelias, mixed media by Kerry McFall

I know we can still look forward to weeks of gray, gray, gray… but it is actually so bright outside that I used sunglasses today!  And there is not a cloud in the sky!  And flowers are beginning to bloom!

Girlie Bike, mixed media by Kerry McFall

I walk more than I ride, especially in winter months, but there are always plenty of bikes on campus to use as subject matter for my art.  As “models”, they’re great: no charge to pose, and the ones in bike racks mostly hold still for long periods.  I have gained a new appreciation for the complexity of the machines as I learn to draw them. Even the simplest of cycles is a feat of kinetic mathematics –  just the way the spokes are arranged is a marvel.  In recent years, “retro” has become popular again, so we’re seeing lots of heavy fat tire bikes like the pearly girlie bike above.  I drew it on a paper bag, with a bit of watercolor wash for a background, followed by pink metallic gel pen, white Signo pigment ink, a bit of gouache for the whitewall tires, and a dash of colored pencil.