trees – AJAiken

Sketchy Trees

The first two drawings, in charcoal, are from a workshop on an artists’ retreat back in February. It was (just) warm enough to sit outside, though I remember my hands freezing. Both charcoal sketches were drawn half looking at the paper, half looking only at the object. The top one has several under-drawings that haveContinue reading “Sketchy Trees”

Study Squares #4

Here are some quick pen studies of the views from the train today – mist in front of trees, stubble in the snow, hedges, ploughed fields, footprints, snow melting.

Tree Seasons

There’s a little maple tree outside my window in the new house. At the beginning of the year when we had quite a lot of snow I did a quick study of it because I loved the way the snow blobbed around the branches. A couple of weeks ago, I did another study. It’s funContinue reading “Tree Seasons”

Kinsey’s Sword

A little over a year ago I set myself the challenge of illustrating a short story I’d written. I’ve posted some concepts and development of these illustrations before, but now I’d like to share a few of the finished drawings. Most of the drawings below are spreads, and are viewed over two pages when printed. OddContinue reading “Kinsey’s Sword”

Goodbye Trees

My grandparents are moving and leaving behind the house that my mum grew up in. It’s a huge change for all of us as it’s been such a big part of our lives. Behind their house is a large field filled with beech trees where my mum, and then my sister and I, grew upContinue reading “Goodbye Trees”

Birthday Card

Making birthday cards for people is something I really like to do. Here’s one I made for my sister a few days ago. I’ve created paper cut-out cards before, but this is the first time I’ve played with depth. It was fun! I should make more.

Illustration Concepts

I’m illustrating a short story of mine, something I’ve wanted to do for a while! Here are some of the concept sketches. I’ll use a similar style for the finished pieces; I didn’t initially plan for them to be black and white but I love how these have turned out.