Lily S. May–Life with Art
This week the juried drawing show at the Aird Gallery is up online. A scratchboard drawing of mine is part of it. You can view the exhibit as a slideshow with playlist or download it as a pdf to scroll through it. I'm very happy to have one of my pieces included among the works… Continue reading Drawing 2022 is Up Online
I received great news last week that a work of mine has been accepted into a juried show in Toronto. It's an online drawing show at the Aird Gallery that will begin in either late March or early May. I'll post more information once I receive the details. Here's the scratchboard drawing that got in:… Continue reading Juried Drawing 2022
This is the latest work I've made, an abstract piece. The shapes remind me of an aerial view of islands or part of a map. It's a scratchboard drawing with pigment felt pens layered on top in places. Islands by Lily S. May, 2021, 5" x 7"
There were beautiful dogwood trees in flower in Toronto over the past few weeks. I love the shape of the petals and included them in a scratchboard drawing I made recently. Dogwood in Toronto, 2021 Although I’ve made several scratchboard drawings, I'm just learning about the medium. I'm not someone who usually takes courses in… Continue reading Dogwood–Learning
I know it's just turned summer. But here's the scratchboard drawing, Springtime, I've been working on. I've continued to work on the areas of light and dark and have experimented with colour. I used pigment felt pens in this first trial. I'm going to see if acryl gouache works well on scratchboard on a new… Continue reading Springtime 2
This is the most recent scratchboard drawing I've been working on. It may be finished. I'll have to be with it for a while more until I decide if it needs more adjustments. I'm happy with how it's going. Originally the image was quite different--done with fine lines and different design elements that I eliminated.… Continue reading Springtime
I was working on a 9" x 12" scratchboard drawing that became very complex and regularly entailed long periods of contemplation before knowing how to proceed. Earlier this week I decided to take out a small scratchboard--5" x 7"--to take a break from the larger image. This is what I came up with. It followed… Continue reading Spirit of the Leaf
During the pandemic, I've been out walking on streets of houses surrounding the neighbourhood that I live in. I always take solace from the trees and gardens I see. But I've been surprised at how the look of some of the houses improves my sense of well-being. In particular, I often love looking at the… Continue reading Scratchboard Houses
I hope you are well as we move into spring. I've seen crocuses and snowdrops blooming in Toronto this week and birds and their songs are returning. The scratchboard drawing reproductions (see Unearthed) have also returned, though these are from the printer and not from their wintering homes. The drawings came out well with much… Continue reading Unearthed 2
In order to preserve some scratchboard drawings I made in 2015 and 2016, this week I sent files of them off to be printed in a small experimental batch. I decided to print them as a set of postcards or small deck that I've named Unearthed. Here's the process that got me to this stage.… Continue reading Unearthed
Arts of May 