One Sketch in the Creative Process

I got out my sketch pad for a change. I havn't been keen on doing realistic paintings or drawings for a couple of years. I prefer the symbolic side of things since it appeals to the viewer's ideas as opposed to their senses. The urge to make this sketch comes more from the desire to make artwork while sitting on my couch. I'm tired of my desk and easel and want a more comfortable place to play. That rules out glue and paint, so I rooted through my depleted collection of colored pencils and worked on these leaves.

This piece was completely done in pencil and then the one leaf was "tinted" or colored with pencil crayons. My aim was to have some of the pencil showing through in the colored leaf and to leave the second leaf grey. I guess you could call this an exercise. It won't develop past a sketch. It is posted in all its imperfection. The purpose is to keep filling up with a variety of experiences and see how the hodge podge comes out in my work. I find working from a melting pot of ideas left to simmer for awhile gives me a richer base to draw inspiration from.

This leaf came from a houseplant that my mother tried to rescue from me. I guess I should have let her have it. It is with us no more :( On the positive side, the dying leaf had some wonderful shades of yellow and red that just weren't there when it was fresh.