#Vandyke brown

[brianrope]

Sanctuary

Photography Exhibition Review SANCTUARY | 25 Artists Sutton Village Gallery | 1 – 23 June 2024 The goal of this exhibition is to present a wide range of viewpoints about sanctuary. Australian and international artists honour the history of photography and the skill that goes into making images using traditional printing methods. The labour-intensive methods have produced handmade prints with…

[punk-raphaelite]

“I don’t believe there are ‘off-putting’ colours” - David Hockney on olive green

This quote is on one of the opening pages of “The Secret Lives of Color” by Kassia St. Clair - a book about the history of different dyes and pigments. The book goes over about 75 colours and is really easy to pick up, and beautifully designed

[paperholm]

Combination 110.

Brown ~ Vandyke Brown

Colour study using Sanzo Wada’s Dictionary of Colour combinations.

[dmercer91]

robin vandyke-tkachuk ‣ charred wings au!

robin vandyke-tkachuk (b. robin vandyke on may 14, 2001, time unknown in st. louis, MO) is a media coordinator for the abbotsford canucks of the american hockey league.

she is quick witted and strongly opinionated, having grown up in homeless shelters with her mother until she met matthew and brady tkachuk in the winter of 2007, and they convinced their family to take her in

robin was formally adopted by keith and chantal tkachuk on may 14th, 2009 after having lived with them for a year and a half.

she has long, cool brown hair with silvery highlights that drops around her lower back, brown eyes and prominent brows.

robin is in a long term relationship with jonathan 'johnny' kent, whom she met in her sophomore year of university at UMSL

she met quinn hughes in 2015 when her brother brady was part of the US national development program. when she began working for abbotsford in september of 2023, they reconnected per brady's request.

robin often goes by robbie, rob, or robo (by matthew tkachuk) and uses the url @/robbievdt on socials

charred wings tag!

ask about robin!

[authorofthyme]

i was doing a little painting/movie watchalong hosted by a streamer i follow and everyone else was painting with coffee but since i can't stand the smell i just used ✨ vandyke brown ✨

click for higher quality

[pattokarts]

Feels like Summer 🌊⛵✨ I'm still impressed by how many colours you can actually mix with just a few tubes. Here, I used Prussian Blue, Pyrrole Orange, Davy's Grey, & Vandyke Brown 🥰💙

[dapurinthos]

This volume, the third in a series describing the history, characteristics, and scientific analysis of artists’ pigments, covers 10 pigments, from some of the earliest man-made colorants, such as Egyptian blue and gamboge, to the 20th century’s titanium dioxide whites. Also included are orpiment and realgar; indigo and woad; madder and alizarin; Vandyke brown; Prussian blue; emerald green and Scheele’s green; and chromium oxide greens. More than 200 images depict artworks created with the pigments described, as well as x-ray diffraction patterns, scanning electron micrographs, and thin-layer chromatographs. The chapters provide details on nomenclature and general composition; history of use; color, permanence, compatibility, and painting and handling qualities; composition; characterization and identification through technical methods and procedures; and notable instances of use by a particular artist or in a specific work.

now i will have actual samples of scheele's green and paris green to colour match at the paint store!

[jannekebooister]

Fantasie in groen / Fantasy in green by Janneke Booister Via Flickr: Watercolour on Arches Grain Fin 300 g/m2. 

Colours used are Antwerp Blue, Payne's Gray, Winsor Yellow, New Gamboge, Vandyke Brown, Burnt Sienna; all Winsor&Newton Professional. 

My own reference. 

Paper size 28 x 38 cm, available (Contact me) 

Het verhaal van deze aquarel is te vinden in mijn blog / The story of this watercolour painting can be found in my blog jannekesatelier.blogspot.com/

[lonita]

World Watercolour Month '21 - part 1

Schmincke Horadam - Ocean Grey

Another multi-pigment paint (though limited edition), that includes PG50, which one finds in cobalt colours, so don't lick it. Oh boy the PBK6 settles out. Lovely. Swatching Ocean Grey.

Renesans - Ultramarine Green. There's a technique in watercolour called beading that one employs to dramatically increase the chances of a smooth wash. I've only ever tried it on paper, so today I gave it a go on yupo. The nice thing about yupo is that paint doesn't cauliflower on it. There are some other drying peculiarities, but that's for another day. This came out a touch streaky, but still pretty good.

Who needs art when you can simply not clean up after yourself? That surface, by the by, is a glass whiteboard that covers two thirds of the top of my desk.

it's easy to be green.

Beam - Spring Green Isaro Green Light Van Gogh - Permanent Yellow Green Rembrandt - Cobalt Green Rembrandt - Emerald Green Schmincke - Cobalt Green Dark

Finetec mica paints. All shiny!

Blue Silver Mystic Caribbean Green High Chroma Blue Orange Copper Tangelo

QOR - YInMn Blue, also known as Oregon Blue or Mas Blue, was discovered by accident at Oregon State University and is the first inorganic blue pigment created in about 200 years. There's a TED talk by one of its discoverers.

Beam - Mayan Indigo Gold. Another awesomely sedimenting colour. Wet on the right, and what happens when you let it settle and dry on its own, on the left.

Van Gogh - Bronze, Copper St Petersberg White Nights - Copper, Bronze Beam - Mayan Rose Gold

Schmincke Horadam - Caput Mortuum. Probably the most movingest paint I have. The name does mean dead head. Colours like this used to me made of ground up mummy.

Schmincke Horadam - Tundra Violet. One of their new multi-pigment super granulating colours that separates into its components in very interesting and unpredictable ways.

Daniel Smith's - Serpentine Genuine. Another lovely example of a paint that can separate. Such a lovely warm green with rusty bits.

Rose of Ultramarine - This is the Daniel Smith version. The fun of multi-pigment paints is, for me, putting them on super wet paper and watching how they separate into their component parts as they dry. Again, an overcast day day, so this isn't presenting at its best.

New paints just got delivered day.

Winsor Newton - Brown Madder Van Gogh - Copper, Bronze, Dusk Violet, Dusk Pink Schmincke - May Green, Indigo, Burnt Sienna

Sadly, a rainy day, so none of the helpful beauty of natural sunlight.

How grey thou art.

Opus - Davy's Grey Sennelier - Sennelier Grey M. Graham - Yellow Grey St. Petersburg/White Nights - Marengo Roman Szmal - Misty Morning

It's interesting not only how some move more than others, but also how differently they can move.

Painting it black.

Turner - Neutral Tint Holbein - Peach Black Stoneground - Roman Black Renesans - Przybysz Black

According to my Polish source, przybysz means something along the lines of to arrive, arrive, new arrival.

The exciting world of … beige. From left to right, top to bottom:

QOR - Titanium Buff St Petersburg/White Nights - Dunes Daniel Smith - Titanium Buff Turner - Clove

Titanium Buff is actually a really awesome colour as a partner to things like Indigo or Aussie Red Gold, and is great as a bed to drop other colours into.

What's in my browns/reds collection - left to right, top row down. Some of those things really move.

Winsor Newton (WN) - Rose Maddee Genuine Schmincke Horadam (SCH) - Galaxy Brown WN - VanDyke Brown St Petersburg White Nights (SPWN) - Mocha M. Graham (MG) - Terra Rosa WN - Potters Pink Rembrandt (REM) - Burnt Sienna Turner (T) - Charcoal Renesans (RNS) - Polish Brown MG - Transparent Red Iron Oxide Van Gogh (VG) - Raw Umber Beam (B) - Bread REM - Indian Red Daniel Smith (DS) - Quinacridone Coral WN - Winsor Red Deep T - Cinnabar DS - Sepia Stoneground (SG) -Burnt Sienna Crimson RNS - Green Brown RNS - Raw Kassel RNS - Monaco Bordeaux RNS - Dragon's Blood Sennelier (SEN) - Sennelier Brown SG - Same as above, forgot I had two WN - Rose Dore REM - Light Oxide Red

The paint I forgot I ordered from Jackson's in the UK that just arrived: M. Graham's Azo Green. Because you can see I'm low on green paint. I needed more.

My oranges from left to right:

St. Petersburg / White Nights - Peach Jacksons - Cadmium Yellow Orange Winsor Newton - Winsor Orange Rembrandt - Cadmium Orange

[mimicofmodes]

Really interesting question!

Eight Cousins was published serially in 1874 and 1875, which in conjunction with the description means that the street suit looks something like this:

(From the Powerhouse Museum.)

The "Gabrielle dress" is described this way:

There was very little to see, however, only a pretty Gabrielle dress, of a soft warm shade of brown, coming to the tops of a trim pair of boots with low heels. A seal-skin sack, cap, and mittens, with a glimpse of scarlet at the throat, and the pretty curls tied up with a bright velvet of the same colour, completed the external adornment, making her look like a robin redbreast wintry, yet warm.

I can find references to Gabrielle dresses from the 1860s to the 1880s, and not in contexts that make it seem that they're aesthetic or reform dress specifically, but something mainstream. The two most important aspects of it are a) it's an overdress with a petticoat visible at the bottom, which is something we see in activewear in the period, and b) it frequently or maybe nearly always is made without a waist seam, on the "princess line" (named after Princess Alexandra, wife of the future Edward VII).

Here are some relevant primary sources.

A Gabrielle dress of claret coloured silk. The skirt of this dress is cut to a point in front and is consequently plain the plaits begin only at the seam under the arm. The body is high and plain. A row of plaitings and black velvet buttons from top to bottom. Little pockets similarly trimmed. Velvet waistband with fancy agrafe. Sleeves half wide. (From Sharpe's London Magazine, 1860. Unfortunately there appears to be no fashion plate.)

ISABELLE DRESS. PEARL GRAY all wool delaine dress; plain waist, belt, sleeves shaped to the arm, and skirt finished out with a gathered flounce six inches deep. It is trimmed with bright Bismarck velvet No 2. Gabrielle or overdress square neck, without sleeves, scalloped across the front of the skirt and vandyked around the back and sides. This is trimmed with amber fringe and a velvet heading studded with steel nail heads. The fringe is not quite an inch wide.

NORTH DRESS. GABRIELLE of green cashmere, and over-dress of light gray cashmere, trimmed with inch-wide green velvet and a fall of fringe in sections of gray and green at the bottom and shoulders. The has an apron front. The back of the same length as the sides. The vertical straps are headed with large buttons. This is quite a pretty school for a miss of ten or twelve years. (Both from Demorest's Monthly Magazine, 1868.)

NINA OVERDRESS. BACK view. A Gabrielle of gray silk trimmed with narrow crimson velvet and black lace; the cape is round like a collar in front and describes two vandykes in the back; the ornament at the belt is formed of three large leaves, plaited together under the belt; the petticoat is of crimson merino trimmed with black velvet in straight rows. (From Demorest's in 1869.)

The Gabrielle dress, made short, and worn with a flounced skirt, is one of the most distingué models of the season. It requires a skilful hand to cut it so as to make it fit perfectly at the waist, and yet possess the necessary fulness for the skirt, but when réussie it sets off a neat figure to the greatest advantage, and falling with puff or retroussé of any kind at the back, is very graceful in outline. (From Godey's, 1871.) Very simple morning robes for home wear are of the Gabrielle shape, made of Nainsook with tucks and puffs down the front, and a little lace on the collar and sleeves. (From the same volume.)

No 7651. The title Gabrielle is expressive of the favor this mode is sure to meet, for it is the name of one of the most popular fashions ever issued. The present model is an improved design, and is perfectly fitted by a shallow bust dart and an underarm dart in each side of the front, and by side backs at the back. It is fitted gracefully, but not too closely, and the closing is made at the back with button holes and buttons, the edges being turned under in wide straight hems. Below the waistline, the dress is sprung out and widened to obtain the proper width for the skirt, but no extra widths or plaits are introduced, a fact that makes the work of ironing very light indeed. (From the Delineator, 1881.)

The interesting thing here, and something I tend to harp on in discussions of critiques of women's clothing from women of the period, is that the Gabrielle is fashionable! This is not a case of Alcott being a visionary and advocating for anything very radical in dress, wholeheartedly condemning the fashion establishment's misogyny - I do think her representation of the perils of the fashionable street suit is kind of didactic and overblown (the overskirt is so tight she can't take a full step? pre-Natural Form era?), but ultimately this is equivalent to a modern author showing a woman in dress slacks at work being more comfortable than one in a tight pencil skirt. Because of the lack of a waistline seam or bodice/skirt combo, a Gabrielle dress could be more forgiving at the waist, making it easier to wear without a corset, but it was not something that would only have been worn uncorseted.

hello I have a question! In Louisa May Alcott's 1875 novel Eight Cousins, the 14 year old protagonist Rose is presented with a dress-reform alternative to the "street suit" her ultrafashionable aunt has brought her. (The street suit is very clearly one of the more elaborate frill-fests of the era.) The dress-reform outfit is described as a "Gabrielle dress." I have no idea what that means. Rose's Uncle who got her the outfit describes the general concept of the type of clothes he wants her to wear as a simple two piece gown over top of what sounds like a union suit. There's also a petticoat and stockings involved. (No corset tho, which LMA refers to as "a pair of corsets," which I guess makes sense based on the construction of 1875 ones.) Does "Gabrielle dress" refer to the designer of such garments, or the style, or was it a term for a type of outfit, promoted by dress-reform advocates? Or something else?

hi my dear! 💕

thank you so much for reaching out with this question! ☺️☺️

unfortunately, I fear I am a little out of my depth here, as I also am not sure what that might refer to 😅😅 let me open this up to anyone who might have thoughts or expertise on this! please drop any info you might have on this topic in the comments or the notes! 💕💕

sorry I don't have an answer for you! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 however, I know there are so many lovely and knowledgeable people here who might have much better info than me! ☺️☺️ thank you so much again for reaching out! 🥰🥰

[izakzhang]

《尋景/ 一條蜿蜒的小徑、道路、溪流及其他》 2023，張念為&張大仁

凡戴克棕顯影（Vandyke brown printing）、水管、複合媒材在這次展覽，延續對公司田溪流域的探索，我們在山林裡漫遊取材，以淡水、三芝山區的石造老屋為踏查對象，回應策展對於建築與環境的探討。我們偶然得知了「杜聰明故居」這個地方，實際走訪後，面對該處的現況產生了一些疑問與想像，並以此做了幾件攝影和裝置。

《The Attraction / A Winding Path, Road, River, etc.》 In this exhibition, to continue the exploration of Gongsitian Stream, we wandered in the mountains and took the old stone houses in Tamsui and Sanzhi Mountains as the objects of inspection, responding to the curators' discussion on architecture and environment. We came to know the place of "Tu Tsung-ming's former Residence" by accident. After the actual visit, we had some questions and imagination of the current situation there, and thus made several photographs and installations.

《圖底圖：為建築與藝術的家園尋址｜Figure Ground: the becoming-home of art and architecture》2023.03.11－2023.06.11

Photo Credit: 黃暐程

[paperholm]

Combination 113.

Seashell Pink ~ Vandyke Brown

Colour study using Sanzo Wada’s Dictionary of Colour combinations.

[dmercer91]

au's ‣ dmercer91

‣ send in asks for my au's!

‣ masterlist!

ebug's sister, dm91

‣ dawson mercer x student! blake friar

‣ in which blake friar meets dawson mercer when her brother is used as the emergency backup goaltender at the rock

inevitability, jg36

‣ john gibson x dahlia brown

‣ in which dahlia brown’s one night stand with john gibson evolves into something more

opposites attract, lf63

‣ golden retriever! luca fantilli x landen clark

‣ in which a smiley, energetic luca fantilli slowly makes himself a staple in landen clark’s quiet, calm life

look after you, tz11

‣ usntdp! trevor zegras x hughes cousin! cameron maccleod

‣ in which cameron maccleod is forced to go back to her aunt and uncle's lake house despite her brother's distaste of her, and trevor zegras makes it his mission to give her an unforgettable summer

hooked, jh86

‣ jack hughes x nhler! ranger! tanner charlotte

‣ in which jack hughes falls for a new york ranger and they start casually hooking up

charred wings, qh43

‣ quinn hughes x tkachuk! sister robin vandyke-tkachuk

‣ in which quinn and robin reconnect upon brady’s request after she moves to BC to work for the abbotsford canucks

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

I had no reason to believe you wouldn't get around to 'Poets and Painters' all in due time, Carol. 🩷 (Goodness knows I understand how life keeps you busy sometimes; whether that's due to dreaded Adult Responsibilities™, health, or slightly more special/surprising circumstances!) You've always been so good to all of the fanfic authors out there in this "little" corner of the web that holds TCW/TBB so dear to their hearts.

Gosh, I mean... Seeing that I had 8+ new notifications last night from the last time I'd glanced at my Tumblr notifications, and 5 or 6 of those stemmed from your reblog of the Midday chapter? Felt like being graced with a "seal of approval" of sorts! 🥰🥰🥰 I also knew I'd be in for a real treat of a response, too!

I left the reason for why Wolffe rarely left the nicknamed reader's side [which I understand not everyone is fond of this practice; so any viewing "Arcadia" as an OC of sorts is *entirely* valid!!] very open-ended/non-specific exactly for reactions like this!! 🩷🩷

Doing it because of curiosity? Valid! Doing it because he wants to keep the reader/Arcadia safe? Valid! A case of "¿Porque no los dos?" - you guessed it!

And was he perhaps doing it to find excuses to get to know Arcadia better, too? Oh, absolutely. But it going to be done slowly. Wolffe isn't going to open up at the drop of a hat helmet. Wolffe won't start digging into what makes someone tick right from the jump, either.

(Can't pull everything out of that bag of tricks so early into the fic/series! 😉)

Maker, the whole codpiece bit: couldn't help but be a little juvenile and giggle to myself the entire time I was writing it up! Nor could I resist having Wolffe be the one to lighten the mood again by "catching" our amateur artist so focused on working below the belt just when they've let their guard down!

It was too perfect an opportunity not to. A good opportunity that could naturally lead into more small, but meaningful interactions between the reader/Arcadia and Wolffe. (Right before I was giggling again and talked myself into keeping the "jerkin' it" passage as it was, too. 😅) Jokes, smiles; the barrier is coming down, inch by little inch.

Even when that mood between them became somber, it was still inch by little inch. By the end, every little inch adds up.

I love that you said "vandyke" brown! That makes me think of Bob Ross! He always used vandyke brown. :)

Long, long before I ever acquired vandyke brown for my watercolors, I was introduced to VB through Bob Ross. Like many, I've always been so fascinated by his working process, and comforted by his demeanor. (I used to play episodes of Joy of Painting on my phone in order to sleep, years ago!) I wanted to have a few obvious artistic elements to point out along with the poetic/flowery writing style this series took on. So common fanfic behaviors of describing a character's eyes was written with a special "nod to" that someone out there was likely going to recognize. ;)

It was such a lovely surprise to see more of your thought-out responses to another (part of) my fics last night, Carol; thank you as always for that. I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had much time for Tumblr, so that truly made my night. 🩷🩷🩷🩷 I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts as the story progresses when the time is right!!

Poets and Painters (Midday) - Wolffe x Reader [Mature Fic]

Warnings and Information: In desperate need of just one day to take his and his men's mind off the war, Plo Koon orders that everyone make a stop on a relatively uninhabited planet in a peaceful sector of the galaxy to… have a picnic? Just what does he have in mind? A certain flint-gray Commander is finding it hard to believe that they're just on the planet for a day of R&R in the middle of a war, so he isn't letting his guard down. Perhaps someone will help Commander Wolffe find some way to help him relax before the day is over… 2nd person POV. Reader is undescribed save for minor details like personal touches to a uniform, and has a gender-neutral alias. Allusions to canon-typical violence, mention of injury and loss, and Plo just being a dad to the 104th Battalion in the background. Swearing. Discussion of more adult themes and some lewd jokes the more the fic progresses (this is not an Explicit fic but it is Mature; Minors please DNI). Takes place on a fictional planet.

Word count: 4,665

The trick to keeping Commander Wolffe from prowling the edge of the clearing like a caged animal had been surprising. To everyone. 

Allowing him to watch you work keeps him seated on the hill beside you, where he does not worry his brothers or Master Plo Koon by continuing to make lap after lap. He had left your side once, to take a look at something the Clone pilot Warthog had to show him, and then did a little shiny-wrangling (namely Soapsuds) because they were too close to the forest for his comfort, but he was quick to return. 

He's not much of a conversational partner, whether that's out of respect for you to let you concentrate, or simply a product of his personality. When he has something to say, Wolffe keeps it brief. 

"I'm not that pale." 

"But your scar is." you reply with a gentle smile and a soft laugh, carefully adding traces of a lighter flesh-tone to the vertical stripe of scar tissue in your sketching of the Commander. You keep your pressure light on the page, and make your best efforts to keep the strokes in roughly the same orientation. The smile gives way to a frown the longer you fill in the length of his scar on the page. Your heart hurts for what happened to him at the hands of a dark Force-wielder. What her blade did to him. "I imagine it was quite painful, to lose your eye…" 

"Yes." Wolffe replies in a clipped voice, suggesting to you that while he does not want to dismiss your sympathies, he clearly must not want to talk about this with someone he does not know, either. You feel a tug on the lapel of your uniform, and the gloved pad of his thumb brushes over something. Oh. You'd forgotten about that. "You added a wolf's head into your uniform, Arcadia?" He's changing the subject. And that's okay. 

That's more than okay. 

Glancing down best you can, you see the sloppy replication the flint-gray Commander refers to. The thread used for the head is a steely gray, the stitches are almost invisible and camouflaged in the color of the uniform, save for the eyes in your favorite color. It was meant to be practice for repairing holes in your clothing, you explain. "For emergency situations. I wanted to see if my stitches would hold up after being washed. I completely forgot it was there." You don't explain why you went with the image of a wolf. You won't need to, in his presence.

It's easy enough to guess why this would be the animal, of all possible choices available to you in this galaxy, you would stitch into your lapel. The name surrounds you. Wolfpack. General Plo's callsign is Wolf Leader when they engage in battle by starfighter. 

It is the name of the man next to you - granted it bears an additional forn and an esk. 

Wesk-osk-leth-forn-forn-esk. 

Wolffe. 

"It held up well." he compliments you, releasing the fold of the lapel and assuming his silence once more. Degree by degree, you are seeing he is not eternally gruff or cold with you, or anyone: merely a man made stoic and far more vigilant than before by war. In his vigilance, he continues to visually sweep the field for signs of trouble or mischief. 

Maybe, while he's distracted…

You stealthily swap out the current coloring pencil in your hand - a deeper skin tone - and pluck out the Lamp Black pencil in the mix, drifting your hand lower down the page until the end of the pencil was now lined up with the loosely defined crotch and codpiece of his armor. 

Maker alive let's just get this over with. 

The body glove is going to be innocent enough to fill in, but defining the shadows around the pubic bulge in his kit will be faster. Just keep it quick and be discreet. Work fast. Hope no one sees. Hope no one asks. 

Your pulse screams in your veins when he clears his throat - loudly - next to you, and you are so certain he is now trained on you, and acutely aware of where your pencil is. "Hm-mm…" Oh kriff me sideways. "Excuse me," he apologizes, clearing his throat again softer this time, "didn't mean to startle you, but I was trying to catch Suds' attention." Thank the Maker he didn't look when he apologized. Just a few more marks to finish shading in the codpiece, and then you can start on the body suit. "O-oh. Is he wandering off again?" 

"Looked like he was about to." 

Still breathing down their necks even from here? "Y'know-"

"As their Commander I am going to look out for my brothers, Arcadia." He sounds neither happy or unhappy with what he assumed you would say. And it's fair of him to assume that, in a sense. You only wish he didn't have to feel so defensive. 

"I understand that," you promise him, and for the moment, you set down the pencil in your hand so you are not dividing your attention between the artwork and Wolffe. "and I wasn't telling you to stop, either. I only wanted to warn you that, I think, General Plo Koon seems worried about you, that something is keeping you from enjoying yourself." 

To his credit, he gives your words a moment of quiet contemplation. Whether that's to consider the truth behind the words you said, or to come up with an explanation of sorts, Wolffe remains silent and still like the forest that surrounds you on all sides. What secrets does that forest hold? What lives within? 

What will you find other than sap and blood on your palms when you pull back the thorny branches? 

"I don't believe we're here just to relax for a day." Commander Wolffe admits with a heavy look of guilt and uncertainty. "I think the General has other reasons for bringing us to Little Archossi, and he won't tell us." 

"Reasons? Like what?" You pick the pencil back up, and return to the slow, gradual task of adding color to the page. You're going to give him time to think. Time to answer, if he even wants to. He may not. Warning him that he's possibly made his General concerned about him seems to shake him down, somewhat. "I'm sorry." 

It's reflexive, apologizing for upsetting him. That seems to pull him out of his silence, for the moment. "Don't be, Arcadia. I'm not going to fault you for having good intentions. Or a good eye." 

The kri-? 

In dawning horror, you see and fully realize where your pencil lead is. And looking over at him, you see that he does too. "I-I'm so sorry, sir…" You admit that you hoped he wouldn't notice, and that adding the necessary shading and color around areas that carry their shares of suggestive and sexual imagery and connotations would have been completed with as little attention drawn to it as possible. While you're not exactly ashamed to have drawn those parts of him, you feel a bit awkward to have him take notice of your work when you add the color. 

Half of his mouth quirks in a smile, an expression of his respect, understanding that took guts to admit. "That's nothing to apologize for. It's just part of the art, Arcadia. A little "awkward" would only be understandable. Would you feel better if I purposely didn't watch?" 

Well, seeing as how you're almost done with the inner thigh, you don't see much of a point to the gesture in this part of the progress. But, he did offer. And this seems to be what's keeping him seated in the grass. And what's keeping Plo Koon freer to spend less time being concerned about his diligent commander, and more time in showing his troops more aspects of Kel Dor culture and history, it seems. (Orchid keeps asking questions that Tack could easily answer about Dorin, and it serves as a neat little lesson for some of their newer shinnies. Plo is certainly grateful for the curiosity that allows him to be a teacher, rather than a fighter, today.) 

You shrug lazily, laughing softly under your breath. "I'll leave that up to you, sir. At this point…" 

Wolffe chooses to keep an eye on his brothers, so you make the process of shading the inner thighs quick, while being careful not to get sloppy. You're not trying to recreate a master painter's work here in the first page of your sketchbook, but you don't want to look at this one day and become filled with the urge to tear it out because all you can see are glaring imperfections, either. That's nothing but a fanciful daydream of making so much progress in your artistic prowess that you would ever be struck with such a thought, of course. 

You are preoccupied with a war against the Separatists: when would you ever have the chance to make regular progress and impressive strides without backsliding and the natural degradation of your skills when you do not use them? You're a small part of the busy crew that keeps the Triumphant running smoothly. 

People constantly need you. And that's all well and good, but sometimes you find yourself running into the same problem over and over again that crews of this size inevitably face: when you, who provides the help, needs someone, who is there for you? Do you turn to another crewmate who is already up to their neck in all the problems they juggle? Turning to one of the Clone troopers is ill-advised, no matter how much they swear they don't mind lending a hand or an arm (or two) to assist. 

You've been doing fine aboard the Triumphant; better than fine, in fact. But that worry claws at you, sometimes. I'm here to help everyone. But if I needed help, who would I go to?

Who does the Commander go to when he needs help, come to think of it… General Plo? Or maybe Sergeants Sinker and Boost, if the matter was a little closer to the heart, something he believed was best kept between brothers? 

Who does Wolffe turn to in his hours of need, you wonder. 

You need to rest your wrist, and soon. You have just a little more of this tree's canopy to color in though, and then you're calling it good. You've been working on this "sketch" for more than three hours with the Commander at your side. You want to have this done soon. You want to go check out some of these things other crewmates have been laughing themselves silly over for the last hour that leave them gasping and wheezing for breath, clutching their sides and drying their faces. You're burning to know what's so funny, why they keep calling your name to come see. 

Curiously guessing over and over what General Plo's reaction will be when you show him this amateurish endeavor in outdoor art drives you to continue, however. Just a few more tiny, feather-shaped leaves… Wolffe notices the sharp twinge in your face, and the uncomfortable spasm in your fingers as you adjust your grip around the Sunflower coloring pencil. 

"Getting painful?" 

"Just a little." you admit, knowing if you pause now, you will delay when you pick the pencil back. "I'll manage." 

"Making art shouldn't bring you pain, Arcadia." 

You scoff, just slightly. "Physical pain? Agreed. But emotional pain, that's another matter. Don't worry, I'll be done soon, Wolffe." 

He asked you to call him Wolffe a short time ago. It wasn't exactly necessary to call him Commander or Sir all the time if you had him sketched out on your page quite like… that. His legs parted and bent at the knee - flat in the grass out in front of him. Wrist of the left hand resting just on the surface of his thigh, with his hand hanging limp just inches from his groin. You were generous enough to draw his fingers in a more neutral position than how they had looked in reality… Otherwise, if his soldiers and brothers got a hold of the sketchbook, there's no telling how many jokes you'd have to hear about making it look like their Commander was jerkin' it in front of you. 

Calling him "Wolffe" would do just fine when it was just the two of you alone on this hill. Perhaps he felt it was only fair if he was calling you by your name. You had no title or rank, like him. You are just a humble part of the crew, but he assured you no less important than one of the soldiers. 

It takes all of us, he said. That's how we win this war. 

You've come to the home stretch, feeling the ache in your fingers deepen with every tiny skritch and shwoop! as you methodically color in your work leaf by leaf. "Just one last, little leaf," you promise, "and then I'm done." 

"Not going to sign your magnum opus, Arcadia?" Wolffe prods a little teasingly. He's smiling at you now, even. Hours ago, he was somber and battle-ready, no smiles, no nonsense. Now, he's beginning to make small jokes. "Should add a signature so future museums know who to accredit this to." 

"A leaf and then a signature." you chuckle warmly. "Future museum… Honestly." He only offers a shrug in response to that, and you take it to mean well, you never know. "What, you're trying to tell me you think this would honestly end up in a museum gallery one day?" 

He shrugs again, gazing off into the distance, into the forest. "Overheard one of the boys in the mess say something about the notion once. Something they read. Some kind of commemorative effort made by one planet to make sure they never forgot their bloody history by way of art and song and poetry inspired by that time. Evidence of a time best not repeated, but not forgotten either." 

Such an insightful and wise thing to be said so casually, poetically, and yet, there's a weighty truth to every syllable and enunciation. 

We doom ourselves to repeat the past when we do not remember it and do not teach it anymore. When we allow ourselves to forget, the shades of rouge we sop the bristles of our brushes in will not be in the rich scarlets of Dathomir, or the forever-burning rubies of Mustafar, it will instead be with blood. 

When we have enough evidence, it silences the naysayers and the fools. It validates the choking and trembling voices that say I have tasted the bitter blade of war. I have stood before the yawning maw of nothingness it leaves in its wake. I will never be the same. You do not have the right to tell me that I am some kind of paid actor. 

If they were conspiracies, do you not think I would be among the loudest of your prophets who tout these twisted claims in the hopes of converting another?

"Fascinating. Thinking something like that will come of the Clone Wars, Wolffe?" You've finished the drawing, now. Taking an ink pen, you jot down your signature in the tidiest handwriting you can manage in the lower right corner, making note of the date for good measure. You'll think up a creative title for this later. 

There's a third rising and falling of the shoulders from the man sitting beside you. "It's too soon to tell." 

"That's fair." you reply, gathering up your supplies to put them back into the bag for safekeeping. "But you just know, if it does happen, the Separatists aren't gonna like the art." You have faith that the Republic will prevail. How could it not when the soldiers who fight for the Republic are some of the most courageous, persevering people you know? (What will come of them after?) 

You're likely right about that, he agrees with a throaty chuckle. The Separatists will not like losing this war, and they'll like the art even less. "I can only hope… that it will not just be the Jedi who are…" Wolffe grows silent next to you. He's not certain what word he wants to use to best explain his thoughts, he admits plainly. There are too many. Too many answers that are right, but he struggles to find the one thing that is most correct out of all of them. 

Given what Tack has told you, the answer is obvious. "You're hoping that the galaxy will remember the Clones were a part of this conflict too. That the galaxy won't forget the sacrifices made by your brothers, and they won't forget how many lost their lives. You probably hope that when the free peoples of the galaxy remember the Jedi, they remember you, too. Both must be appreciated together."

"You're probably right," Wolffe concedes firstly, "And you're too wise beyond your years, Arcadia." Strangely philosophical, he tells you, for how old he guesses you to be. Maybe he's the right one this time, thinking to yourself on his words. 

Maybe he's not the only one hoping that when this war ends, no matter the outcome, those who served as a part of the Grand Army of the Republic will not be a forgotten topic ten, twenty… even forty or fifty years down the line. 

Tack has made a breakthrough in his mysterious flower just before Master Plo is free to come take a look at the sketch and color work you've completed, and concern for his men takes precedence. You would not blame him in the slightest if he forgot he expressed interest in seeing what you accomplished with art materials given to you as gifts. Because of your station with the crew of the Triumphant with a secondary speciality for risk assessment, you're involved in this discussion with the researcher and his commander and general. 

Right now determining the risks posed to the men of the 104th matters more. Art and philosophical pondering will have to come later.

Tack explains to both Commander Wolffe and Master Plo that he thinks the smatterings of blue flowers that dot this clearing here on Little Archossi are known as Dinocaeruleus anthos. By their common-name, you know that these flowers are a warning. A silent, unassuming danger for all their beauty and silky blue petals. 

Terrible blue flower. 

"You can make toxic honey with these flowers?" Wolffe asks more to himself than Tack, as he reads ahead in the compiled information. Plo is taking his time to read the information on the screen of the datapad in his hands. To make sense of this, the Jedi is being thorough. 

"Poisonous, Sir, more accurately." Tack makes the correction habitually, and Wolffe does not take it personally. He knows that Tack knows what he meant, and given his aptitude for analytics and other such sciences, his researcher is not correcting him to be a smartass. "But, yes, you can make bad honey with these flowers depending on what pollinators you harvest from. They are not wholly dangerous on their own. Eat it, it might make you feel nauseated due to natural bitterants. Touch it to more sensitive dermal surfaces and it will prove a powerful irritant." 

From a short distance away, you hear the voices of Orchid and Soapsuds, Tack's batchmates (you assume), commenting on what the four of you are discussing in the shade of the tree you spent the morning sketching. "So what Tack's saying is don't stick your d-" The speaker finds himself with the other's hand anxiously plastered against his mouth to shut him up in a hurry. "Maker alive, shut up!" Soapsuds warns him, "Orchid, why are you so vulgar?!" 

There is a pointed sigh from Commander Wolffe that is aimed at the two of them. Don't make me come over there. Behave yourselves in front of the General. 

Plo makes no indication that he's noticed the situation occurring just out of reach. You have to imagine he hears Suds and Orchid wrestling with each other in the grass, now, though, and is ignoring it. "Arcadia and Tack, in your opinion, will these be enough cause for concern to consider returning back to the ship?" Plo wonders aloud. The Kel Dor returns the device to the researcher, and folds his hands together in an act of deliberate contemplation, resting them against his stomach. 

Tack looks at you, and you at him, then the Commander. There is a look in his eyes, both the stark silver and the warm vandyke brown, that reads to you as a surrender of control. 

I will carry out your judgment. 

Tack scoffs and shrugs, his arms thrown wide. "Honestly, General? I don't know enough. I'd need more time to determine through more analysis and comparison. This is only one search result for one flower it could possibly be. But it was enough of a match to make me get the Commander while he was talking with Arcadia." Enough of a match to send him into a tizzy over it. Tack had tripped coming up the hill in his haste, trying to ask if - from where he was sitting - the Commander noticed anyone messing with the blue flowers. 

We have a potential problem! had Wolffe on his feet faster than engaging a hyperdrive. And then there was a flurry of questions. Was it contact from the planet's inhabitants? Has someone gotten hurt? Are they needed to assist another battalion? Where's the General? 

He has the look again, now. Worry. The inner anxiety is eating him alive. Tack doesn't know. So what about you? 

"I see…" Master Plo hums. "And what are your feelings, Arcadia? What do you think about the situation?" 

You think. What do you think about this situation? Is it worth double checking the matches for the flower, to make sure that it really is Dinocaeruleus anthos? Are the men really going to be so flippant as to disregard any kind of warning put out about these flowers if they are the Dinocaeruleus, or worse yet, a far more harmful flower? (Not necessarily, but you have to consider that warning the troops that this flower can have detrimental potential invites the opportunity to inflict it.) 

There is one thing that is already clear to you, at least. "Tack should first make sure these flowers are what he thinks they are before we make any kind of advisory, General. That is my opinion." 

Another thoughtful hum. "Interesting. And why is this your opinion, little one?" 

"We should avoid unnecessary panic. Until we know for sure what these flowers are, I say we don't say anything. We invite unnecessary risks by making the men paranoid." you suggest, glancing first at the Jedi, and then the flint-gray Commander to his left. They had every right to accept or disregard your counseling as the commanding forces of this battalion at the day's end; you hope they will consider it at the very least. 

"I'm in agreement."

"Then we will do as Arcadia advised, and we will let young Tack take more time to confirm his findings. Until then…" Plo trails off, nodding decidedly. Thank the Maker. Tack dismisses himself in a hushed, hurried tone. If he's going to spend more time pouring over information on the Dinocaeruleus anthos, he shouldn't dawdle. The Jedi kindly wills the benefits of the Force to guide the researcher before he turns to address you once again. "Have you made use of the gifts given to you since we last spoke?" 

Blinking with a mild start, you realize that Plo has changed the topic. "Oh, yes, I have. Let me go get my sketchbook from my bag, sir." You scoop the entire bag from the grass, re-tucking your datapad among your things as you extract the book and turn it to the necessary page for his convenience. "Here." 

Taking it carefully in his hands, the book is cradled like a priceless relic as his eyes must trace over the page. Once more your property is treated with such care and respect by the Force-wielder. "My… Arcadia, you have quite a gift." 

The action is perhaps more childish than professional, but you cannot help but duck your head at such praise, fearing to meet his gaze should he see how flushed your face is. It is not the heat of the sun above you, denoting that it is now high noon, that makes your face burn. You're never quite sure how to accept a compliment. 

You opt for humility. "Oh, it's hardly that great, General Plo… I wouldn't say I have a gift… just… a-an attention for detail." And that much is true; dedication to detail is why you spent hours on a simple "sketch" to begin with; why you took so much care and effort to get everything done the best you could. The form of Commander Wolffe's armor. The curve of his jaw and the roundness of the ala of his nose. The correct texture of his hair within the typical haircut many of the Clones have. 

But though gentle insistence, the General repeats his sentiment. "Attention for detail is no less of a gift, Arcadia. In war it is a mark of wisdom, in art, it is a skill." A skill that has made for a very fine portrait of the Commander. "Have you seen Arcadia's work yet, Commander Wolffe?" He offers the sketchpad with an invitation to have a closer look, though it isn't necessary. 

"I watched Arcadia add the colors, yes." Wolffe confirms. "Quite the process."

Not to mention a strain on your wrist, but one well worth it for the praise given to you from the Jedi, and now many of the men who have congregated to come and suss out what's going on. "I can only imagine… Even gone through the trouble of adding proper shadows to such… rich color." 

Sinker and Boost smile softly, not quite sadly (but certainly somber), when they take note of the color of paint their commanding officer wears when you allow the book to be passed around so everyone is welcome to have a closer look. They hold it longest out of everyone, looking at this artistic replication a little more closely than most.

"The ol' maroon, eh? Think it's meant to depict another time, before Abregado?" 

"But he's drawn with the scar, Boost."

"Ah, yeah, good eye. Missed that bit." 

You timidly clear your throat to draw their attention, and explain that of all the colors, you didn't have gray. "I didn't want to leave his armor naked, either." Not when you went through the trouble of adding the face of the wolf and the other design to each of his shoulder pads, or the unique shape of his visor when you drew the helmet next to his hip. 

You would not deal him further, small cruelties by stealing the colors out of his coat completely. These markings he has chosen for himself mean something to Wolffe. The color he wears now is a mark of mourning. The color in the pages of your book will serve as an homage. 

You have not forgotten your brothers. You will always carry them with you.

Hmmf. Are you a poet now too, Arcadia?

No sir. Not really. 

You're uncertain where the words came from. Borrowed from something you read once? Did you perhaps hear the General say these words once upon a time? You can't recall what inspired you to say such a thing. 

But you'll remember the change in his gruff exterior, the way in which he was quieter than quiet for just a moment, and he pivoted in the grass to better face you and make you his equal. 

It's only the two of us here on the hill, Arcadia. Call me Wolffe, please. 

Don't have a fic taglist for the time being, but I'll likely start one soon if I can figure out how to make those forms some people have since I write a variety of stuff. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

[Masterlist]

[Early Morning] [Here] [Late Afternoon] [Evening] [Deep Night] [Golden Dawn part 1]

[Golden Dawn Part 2]

[thoughtsaboutgirls]

என் பெயர் Ryo

VanDyke Brown (& anthotype) print made on an old photographic enlarger directly from an analog negative film (135 film) without using a conventional contact printer and digital negative processing

flapper girl

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Printed on Cotman Water Colour Paper postcard size Fine pre-coated with turmeric pigment extract liquid / exposed for 30 min

Sensitizer: VanDyke Brown print solution & turmeric pigment (anthotype)

Fixing agent: Citric acid solution & sodium thiosulfate solution

Toning: Bostick & Sullivan Gold toning kit (Ammonium Thiocyanate / Gold Chloride) for VanDyke and borax for anthotype

Enlarger: Lucky Attache-35 (EL-Nikkor 1:2.8 f=50mm)

Film carrier: 35mm carrier

Negative film: 35mm (135) film (Fuji Acros 100) transferred from a digital image (taken from an antique collotype postcard) with a film recorder (Polaroid Digital Palette HR 6000)

Light source: High power (50w) UV LED unit (SMD=surface mounted LED modules)

New group was created. If you like, please join.

[www.flickr.com/groups/cyanotype_wenlarger]

[themetree-chrysanthopoulos]

Self Portrait in Philadelphia, Mid-Late 90s

Van Dyke Brown print made from an 8x10 pinhole camera negative

© Dimitri Chrysanthopoulos | Instagram @themetree | website