leaves

Mother Nature by Lisa Goesling

Top: Art of a Catkin from a Pussy Willow and a Fingerprint. Bottom: Lacy Leaf and Dragonfly by Lisa Goesling

Top: Art of a Catkin from a Pussy Willow and a Fingerprint. Bottom: Lacy Leaf and Dragonfly by Lisa Goesling

Have you ever noticed how much nature's patterns repeat themselves? I first became truly aware when I was drawing a dragonfly. Not long before, I had completed a black and white scratchboard of a leaf eaten away by bugs. I named it Lacy Leaf because the patterns were so delicate and intricate, just like a fine piece of lace. 

When I began to study the dragonfly, it too had a detailed pattern, much like the leaf. I was stunned by how the same seemingly random shapes fit together to form a majestic dragonfly. 

Just the other day a friend came across one of my scratchboards of Pussy Willows. Her immediate response was, "they look like fingerprints!"

By this point, I was well aware of designs repeating themselves in birds, insects, plants and flowers. What I hadn't considered was that we share similar patterns with the rest of nature. All I had to do was to take a closer look. 

Finished Draft by Lisa Goesling

Finished Draft 

It's so freeing to finish a piece without filling it in completely. Sometimes art dictates when it is done and that's exactly what happened in this case. The shapes and details make certain areas the star while the others are happy to sit back and contribute to the composition as a whole.

Finished Draft by Lisa Goesling-Copyright

Finished Draft by Lisa Goesling-Copyright

Brrrrrr by Lisa Goesling

Copyright:  Winter Leaf by Lisa Goesling                                                                                          

One of the many gifts of having a mild winter is being able to easily find bits of nature just waiting to be drawn. Leaves all curled up, evolving into shapes far more interesting than their first incarnation. Following the twists and turns of this leaf, letting it fall off of the page, made for a really interesting composition.