Portrait of a Poppy Seed Pod in Carbon and Graphite Pencils

It seems that I'll be enjoying my pencils in the weeks and months to come. Here is a small portrait of a dried poppy seed pod done in carbon and graphite pencils. The background is done using a water-soluble graphite pencil (8B Staedtler). I used both carbon and the regular graphite pencils to draw the poppy seed pod. I'd been meaning to draw simple, black and white botanical portraits like this for the longest time. And I'm glad to have finally done so. It was my first time ever to draw this subject, and the experience was just the right combination of ease and difficulty. (Perhaps less of the difficulty, if I may be quite bold and brazen.)

This small piece on 200 GSM watercolor paper measures 6 inches x 6 inches. I have lots of these small cut-outs that I made out of 12 in. x 12 in. papers. They were originally meant for collage art but then I've found that they're just as good for graphite drawings. And, even if the initial plan was just to make noncommittal drawings, I believe this piece has become an intentional artwork on its own.

Some progress photos of this artwork are in this Instagram post.  

Back to pencil drawing

It's such a pain to lose one's painting groove, especially when you know that you need to get it back as soon as possible. I stopped painting sometime in April or May in preparation for our US trip and while we were trying to slowly empty the small apartment and the big house in the province. I could simply not concentrate on any artwork, so I thought to just stop and focus on what had to be done. It was tough to put away my supplies but I had to do it. 

Well, we've since returned from the US and have dutifully emptied the small apartment. I have boxed and unboxed most of my supplies and organized them in the most convenient way. But I still feel like there's a desert within me. So, I took out my pencils and tried to revive an old love: figure drawing

I had fun for a while until I felt the excitement wane again. I took out my watercolor sets and brushes and started doodling and swatching colors and mixes. Nothing much came out of it except a few small landscape paintings that seemed like drills. Better than nothing, I know. 

Should I just stick to my trusty drawing pencils? I get impatient every time I finish a drawing because I would immediately want to turn it into a painting. But for some reason, the motivation to paint isn't there. Perhaps I should stay with my pencils for a while and just draw whatever I feel like drawing. Let the pencil be the stump and the self be not stumped.