Horse, Rider and Dog 3: Details

 

starting details

 

With any portrait, the face tells it all. If you do not get the face right the rest is a waste of time.

 

Now is the time to fix the shapes that give you the likeness. You need to be able to fix the likeness, but not just the likeness, you need to fix the identity of the person.

 

Working on a small face in any artwork takes small, precise strokes. To do this I switch to the Verithins, by Prismacolor. These pencils are harder and can take much sharper points. What you want to do is avoid trying to “draw” the face, but again stroke in the small shapes that give you shapes of value that sculpt the shape.

beginning the shaping

 

One of the real problems that develop is with the eyes.

"growing" eyes

They tend to “grow”. The eyes are so important it is very easy to have them get larger than life as you work and rework them. While working I keep a small piece of soft putty adhesive stuck to the tray of my easel to left out any stroke that get too enthusiastic. This is the only time I really focus on my reference photo. I keep checking and rechecking the placement and size of the eyes, and other features of the face. This is fussy, delicate work. Speed is not the issue! Slow and steady wins in this case. Building and blending the values is what works. This persons rather almond shaped eyes need to be right!

yes, the eyes are too dark, but the shapes are developing

 Some softening and blending will de-emphasis the eyes, pushing them back into the face nicely. They are now her eyes, which is the goal.

 

Magnolia in Colored Pencil-On to the First Layer



Layer l

With the back ground blocked in , and the underpainting of the magnolia blossom dry, I will start on developing the whites. 



Filling in the back petals and the first layer of gray

White is the most reflective color and is never found in nature as pure white. It always, always, always reflects some of the colors surrounding it. These large blossoms are no exceptions. But for the first layer, a base of pure white Prisma Color is placed on the focus or most forward and prominent petals. 

 



These petals in life are large, glossy and slightly a creamy yellow. But only slightly. The brilliance of the white flowers is what makes these trees so beautiful. That and the fact that these flowers are the size of dinner plates! 

Finding the flow of the drawing

So a layer of white, even on the parts that will be shaded later gives a good base. 

 

At this point, you might be tempted to rush things, use long strokes to cover as much area as you can. Fight this!  Color pencil is not a fast medium. Yes it is try, but it takes time and skill to have it come out. Long linear strokes at this point will only cause trouble latter. They will create ridges you will have to fight to reduce and eliminate.

 

Use small circular or oval strokes to cover the area carefully. You want a smooth surface that will accept subsequent layers. Use light pressure. It is better to put two layers down instead of one thick layer that dents the surface and crushes the tooth of the support. 

The back or in this painting, supporting petals will be covered in 10% cool gray, also by Prisma Color.  With any white work, you really need a full range of grays, both warm and cool.

 

As the petals develop and open from the bud, the base is creamy yellow, even on the fully developed flowers. And as they age, and begin to fail, this yellow becomes more evident. I am using Cream, and French Gray, warm, 50%.

Close up of the developing flower,

 



 



Colored Pencil Drawings-The first true Layers

First True Layers

For the actual colored pencil paintings I switched from watercolor pencils to professional quality fully pigmented pencils. These are wax based, and predominately Prismacolor. I really like the quality of pigments used. Even the white pencils have coverage, which if you have used colored pencils you know is not always the case.

The Singer

For the singing bird, I set out Cloud Blue, True Slate and True Blue. I want the blue-gray sky I remember. The first layer was cloud blue, followed by a layer over the top half of the painting of true slate. After blending these two together, I decided to leave off the true blue. It just was not the color I wanted.

My mat board is mounting on my drawing board, not my drawing table. Yes this allows it to be portable, but it also allows me to rotate the board as I go. This avoids any directional ness in the background, very important when you are working with more or less solid colors in the background. Using short circular strokes and rotating the board is the best way to get this that I have found.

Commanding Cardinal

I want all the focus on this close-up of the cardinal. I am afraid if I add too much background detail it will distract from the bird, and the artwork would loose its focus. Sometimes you can put too much in a work of art.

So I am simply going to put in a yellow-green moddled background. The color will support the cardinal, but there will be nothing to distract from him. I used several different greens and two yellows. Unlike oil paints, I find it is a good idea to have as many colored pencils as possible for depth of color. These are put in random swirls and carefully blended together.

I concentrated at this point on the backgrounds not the subjects. Once I had color where I wanted it, I did use solvent and a cotton swap to “melt” the background colors together. Do this carefully, as this become totally permanent and cannot be lifted after it dries.

Drawing Reference - Commanding Cardinal

Commanding Cardinal

Background – Reference Photo

The cardinal, on the other hand is a frequent visitor to the bird feeder outside my living room window. He has been known to let us know when the feeder is empty.  The background in the photo is out of focus leaves and lawn. I do have many pictures of said leaves and lawn and could easily add these details. But I am not going to.

I want all the focus on this close-up of the cardinal. I am afraid if I add too much background detail it will distract from the bird, and the artwork would loose its focus. Sometimes you can put too much in a work of art.

So I am simply going to put in a yellow-green moddled background. The color will support the cardinal, but there will be nothing to distract from him.