Orange Roses, a Beginning

This winter has been long, cold and snowy.

Not at all pleasant.

However, the sun room has been just that. Sunny. I love working there in natural light. So with the help of many bunches of roses I am working on several still life drawings/paintings in Colored Pencil.

These orange roses present a real challenge. Orange is not an easy color to work with, and getting all the small shade differences in them to make the roses seem real is not easy. Something that is also presenting a challenge is the leaves. So many minuet value changes. How to work with them and have them come out as leaves, not just blobs of green.

Like all drawings the initial stages makes one wonder why you started this and if anything will come of it.

I first used erasable pencils to draw it in. Orange for the roses and stems and white for the vase. Using a light touch so as not to inscribe the surface of the paper.

I am working on Colourfix paper, in a neutral gray/blue. This surface has a sanded tooth, much like pastel paper. It can be hard on pencils, but it does hold many, many layers of colored pencil. It is also very durable and allows both blending and burnishing. It will also take many applications of solvents, whether you use mineral spirits or a blending pen. Not all papers do. Some are much more delicate and cannot take multiple layers.

One of the first things I did was try and locate the highlights of the flowers and leaves and underpaint them with white. This way, when I add the orange these areas will naturally be lighter than the rest of the leaves and petals. I also used crimson red on my darker areas of petals and purple on the darker areas of leaves and stems.

I do know that the vase and the distortion of the stems in water are going to give me fits, but if there is no challenge, is there any point in continuing?

Flowers for Still Life

One of the nice things about holiday flowers is that they all go on sale the day after. So the day after any holiday, but especially St. Valentine’s day, all the really pretty flowers are available for take home.

Makes getting subjects for artwork much easier and affordable. The bigger the holiday the wider the selection available.

Yes, many of them are damaged, and some faded. Don’t overlook the imperfections, however whe
n selecting interesting subjects. 

White Rose

Today is bright and sunny after weeks of dull, gray snowy skies.

I am working on color correcting my white rose drawing. How do you color correct white?  In nature or the real world, colors are seldom absolute. Even something that is actually made a single color seldom appears that way. It will have various tints and shade due to the lighting, the complexity of the object and natural contours. As artists we need to be sensitive to this. It is how we get our 2-dimensional drawings to represent a 3-dimensional world.

So today I color corrected my white rose.

Actually the white rose is not completely white. They seldom are. They are usually tinted a bit cream, blue or in this case, blush.

Looking at the heart of the rose I see the blush shading to a deeper pink to peach and coral. I even see a little green and violet in this rose. All of this must be brought out in the finished work.

But the light is fading--so I need to stop until I can see all the find shading/tints and details.

Working Petal by Petal

Erasing the grid lines from each petal as I work it--locating and isolating each in turn. I am trying to work building the gradual blending from light to dark, noting both the shadows and highlights. As with all real objects, I have both cast shadows and contour shadows. This is what gives work depth. As I work I must keep in mind the shape. These petals are not flat. The go up, around and out. They have dimension. And the challenge is to show this in each petal. Color and value gradates up and out of the petals. While there is a natural change from the blush to white, there are also qualities to these hues. As the petal goes away from me, even the white will become darker, tinted as the light shifts.

There are also the bright highlights where the light source hits the rose dead on. These must be the brightest, purest whites of the piece. But even where the “color” is darkest. There will be light and dark qualities to the shapes. Parts in deep shadow will be almost gray to almost deep blush.

So I work with layers of blush, pale pink, salmon white and a full array of grays, warm and cool, with hints of very pale blue to blue-gray. Even a hint of green and violet.

White on White on White

Working on the white rose.

Just as with paints brands, colored pencil names and colors will vary from brand to brand. Light blue from one company may well be a totally different color than light blue from another company.Just how light is light blue? How deep is deep red?  Color ranges will be similar but each brand will have its own distinct hues and colors it chooses to put into a pencil.

Unsurprising this also can apply to white. In truth, white is not an absolute color, but will have qualities all its own. It can be bright, warm, cool, flat, shinny. Titanium white is not the same white as flake white or zinc white.

So working with white pencils will be the same. Each brand will have its own white.  And each brand and line of pencils will have its own qualities. There will be other differences too. Coverage, how transparent or opaque that pencil is. How hard or soft the "lead". And some brands will lean toward the warm (yellow) or cool (blue) tone. Even many of the grays will appear when viewed alone to be just about white. Only when compared and used next to the most opaque white will you see the qualities of the grays.

Many manufacturers have a range of gray. They can run from 10% warm to 90% cool. Other brands will have names but the numbers will indicate that they are different colors.

This is very good when dealing with white objects. Working with several white and a full range of grays will help to contour and object. Even if the viewer cannot detect where one pencil starts and another leaves off, she will see the object, in this case the rose as having dimension.

Using different white also helps to alter and manipulate other colors. It is hard to shade from light to dark, but using layers of whites and grays helps you to move the pigments towards the effects you want.

The order you apply the pencil can make a difference. You get different colors if you layer pink then white than when you put white and top with pink.

How much also makes a difference. Two light layers will blend differently than a heavy layer. So a heavy layer of white with a light layer of pink will look different from a light white layer and a light pink layer.

You can also burnish layers with a harder white, like a Venus or Veri-thin pencil instead of the much softer standard prismacolor pencil.

You might find that although the prismacolor is nice and soft you might find it more useful to use the harder faber-castel white for adding highlights. And the Veri-thin make a much sharper line.

Each brand will react differently with mediums and solvents also.

Getting it right takes work and practice and experimentation. So we all need to take time to play with our colors. Get to know them and how well they play with others.

Starting New Colored Pencil Drawings

I am starting several new colored pencil drawings.

Working on very toothy papers, I do not tend to draw free hand directly on my support. I will select materials, either an idea or a photograph (I only work from my own photos, so this is my work completely). Once I know what subject I want, I will play with it on sketching paper, doing thumbnails with simple designs. ea. I will block in basic shapes, shading etc.

Note on working with thumbnails. work within the general shape and size aspect of the work you are thinking of doing. Otherwise, the piece might not be as pleasing as you anticipate.

Once a general idea is done, I will do the more realistic sketch on tracing paper. it is easier to draw and erase on. This is especially true if you decide to draw a complicated image, such as the close up of a flower.

I will grid this work. Sometimes, as in the white rose I have started, I will print out on standard copy paper the photograph I want to use as the subject. This is reference. I will actually grid this, and use it to draw the design onto the tracing paper.

I usually work on tinted, high grit paper, such as sanded pastel paper, mat board or colourfix papers. These do not erase well. So I will transfer the design from the tracing paper to the board with light artists transfer paper. I find that these lines erase much easier and more completely than putting grids on my good paper with either white pencil or graphite. Sometimes I have trouble removing graphite from sanded and colourfix. Graphite also has a tendency to put dents into the mat board, and that you just cannot get rid of.

Another advantage of drawing on the tracing paper, and then transferring it to the good support is that you always have your starting drawing for reference if you get lost. And with a very complicated, detailed drawing this happens more than you might think. I

I do number my grid, ea. lower left corner is 0,0 and I mark each row and column along the way.

If I have a color copy, I also mark this with the exact same grid!

So now I have several drawing layed out and ready to go.

Critique: Small Round Pot

 

My niece sent me a snapshot of her sketch of a small round pot with the text “drawing round things is hard!”

 

I can see that she had trouble with this.

 

Why?

 

Well, its not uncommon to have trouble with any round symmetrical object, or any asymmetrical object for that matter.

 

It can be hard to keep focused on what you actually see. The brain has a tendency to “fill in the blank” even when there is no blank.

 

The problem here is with the “math”

 

Her “measurements”   don’t add up.

 

I can tell from the sketch that there were a lot of false starts and more than a bit of erasing.

 

This is one reason some drawing teachers have students practice drawing with a pen rather than a pencil. No erasure allowed. When we erase and redraw over and over we tend to get frustrated, and things get bigger. More “incorrect”.

 

I also see that she got distracted by the shadows and the patterns on the vase. Distracted too soon by details she lost the overall shape of the object.

 

If you look at the pot, you will notice that it is almost twice as wide at the top than at the bottom. Also, at this angle, the opening of the top of the pot is almost 1/3 the overall height of the pot.

 

What would have helped?

 

A couple of things.

 

One, a plumb or center line. Do not be afraid of putting guidelines in your drawings and sketches. These should be light lines easily erased. You can use a straight edge, but really any reasonably straight line will do. Putting in a horizontal base line to indicate the bottom width and a wider horizontal line for the top of the pot would also help. This would automatically give you guidance for the correct slop. You can see that she has her sides almost straight. The pattern got in the way.

 

Don’t worry about any pattern when sketching out the shape. This is not important at this point.

 

The strong shadow also became too important. Because of the focus on the cast shadow she did not discern the contour shadows.

 

I can see the growing frustration in this sketch.

 

Rather than going on and on. I think some sketch lines over her drawing will say it all. I have added a couple if guidelines to this sketch showing how easy the use of centerlines can help.

 

Relax.

 

Try again.

 

 

 

Now For The Critique

My niece has just started to draw

--so I suggested she try to draw white objects and drawing from life, not photographs.

Her drawing of a spoon.

I am going to post copies of my niece’s drawings. Remember, these are her first drawings. 

Working from life gives you a very different point of view. Yours.

In art only one point of view matters, the artist’s or yours.

When drawing try not to move around a lot. You will naturally want to. We all want to see what is around the bend. This will give you access to more of the object, but as you move around, you will find inaccuracies and distortions creep (or leap!) in your drawings.

This is what happened here.

When drawing the oriental spoon, Niece tried to draw more of the bottom than what she was seeing. This is natural, as your brain knows that the spoon need to hold the soup. She was also distracted by the pattern that was on the bottom. She brought the pattern up onto the side, where it is more easily seen. We tend to focus on patterns so she might not even realize that the pattern is confined to the bottom. She also shows a bit of the white which she would not see in the spoon at the angle she has drawn it. It is always tempting to add what we know, but restrain yourself to what you are actually seeing at the moment. 

She has also drawn the bottom of the spoon completely flat. While we all know it is flat, it has to be to rest easily on the table, we DO NOT SEE IT THAT WAY. At the angle she is drawing, we see not the flat bottom but a slight gentle curve. 

The sides are a bit wider than the bottom and we can be deceived by that curvature.  Both sides are the same height, we know this in our heads, but what do we see? Because we are looking at the spoon at then angle, what we see is that the back side appears to be taller than the front. In our heads we know this is not so, but THIS IS WHAT WE SEE. 

Sorry did not mean to shout, but look carefully. Because we are looking slightly down on the spoon the sloping side closer to us appears smaller, as it slopes away and down from our vision. The opposite side because of the angle appears larger because it is sloping up and away or outward. We actually see more of this side. Also it is well lite and appears lighter. The side closer is sloping down and under and is darker because of the shadow cast by the upper edge. This surface has both a cast shadow and a contour shadow. Which is why it is so dark. The spoon is actually a uniform porcelain white. We also see contour shadows on the handle which is concave. There are also highlights when the lamp is glinting off the smooth porcelain. We also have strong lines where the top and sides meet. These can be softened. You only see a slight blur where the contour shading begins. A minor detail, the handle at this angle is a little short. I suspect that niece turned her head a little.

Does this mean this is a terrible drawing?

No. We can all see what it is. Most people would be amazed at how accurate it is. It is a fairly accurate drawing of a white porcelain Chinese spoon. Very good for a first try. But a good critique gives the artist something to think about and strive for. Knowing niece. I know she can do better and will with experience.

Drawing is like any other skill. It takes time to get really good at it. Time and a lot of practice!

We learn to draw by drawing.

  

Drawing White Objects

Notice the shadows

My niece has just started to draw--so I suggested she try to draw white objects and drawing from life, not photographs.

Why White?

One of the best ways to do this is to draw simple white objects against a white background.

Why?

1. There is no distracting color
2. There is no distracting pattern
3. You can see value clearly
4. See how shading shapes an object
5. learn the temperature of white
6. Understanding the difference between contour shadow and cast shadows

White is Not Always White

Notice the contour shadows

When we think of white we think of the absence of color. Not so! Have you ever gone looking for white paint in a paint store? How many shades of white are there? White has color. Actually white has all of them! But lets not get into that. White also has temperature. There are warm and cool whites. Whites that tend towards the yellow, whites that tend towards the blue. How does this effect drawing with graphite? Even a white egg will have value shifts in its contours.

See all the shades of white

While it is a challenge to draw, using white objects against a white background will teach you more than almost any other drawing exercise. Drawing these from life will help you focus on their true shape and size. Working with a couple of similarly white objects will also help you learn to evaluate relative size, placement and even texture. One of the classic drawing exercises used for many years in drawing classes the world over is drawing a white bowl of eggs. Or a simple grouping of eggs on a white tablecloth. Many an art student remember this and shudders! 

Simple shapes are not simple

Also by drawing white you are not deceived by differences in color intensity nor distracted by pattern. When you are first learning to draw ( and even after if you are honest) you will find different colors will catch your eye first or distract you from other objects around it. This is natural. We all have our own color preferences and sometimes dislikes. When you are using a monochrome media, like graphite, interpreting these colors into a value rich drawing can be both rewarding and a little confusing. Learning to judge which red is brighter, lighter or should be more value rich then the mustard yellow or purple can lead to really exciting drawing. Learning to focus also on the contour shading of an object, seeing the small value changes in a solidly colored object will help you draw that Chinese vase so it looks real, round and almost popping off the page instead of like a flat cutout.

Where are the edges?

To draw well, whether it is hyper-realistic or fantasy, abstract or cartooned, you need to understand the difference between cast shadows and contour shadow. You can read all you want. You can copy master drawings, use photographs, but until you do it yourself, from life learning to make your own judgments, you will not really experience the whole joy and freedom of drawing.

Learning the technical side of the art is freeing. Just as learning the scales when learning to play an instrument gives you the muscle memory to move with the rhythm of the song learning to see the contour shading frees you to draw what you see accurately. This makes it easier to manipulate objects when you want to. Understanding them helps you turn them inside out and create believable imaginary objects.

All white but not the same color

This is a Critique Not a Criticism.

A critique looks to analyze. Yes, it will point out the “faults” or something like that. But it is not supposed to slash, bash or trash a work. But to look for both the good and bad. The point of a critique is to improve. Not just the artist who is being critiqued but those that look at the artwork.

Learning to critique both your own and others artwork can help you as an artist and patron both improve your own work and your appreciation of artwork in general.

So this is a critique.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about critique. And this is perpetuated by a lot of “art classes”. So often students are made to feel that they must find something wrong, something to criticize and denigrate in a work of art.  Honest evaluation and analysis is essential, but active bashing of the art and artist is not.

“If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all”

While this is good manners, undeserved praise helps no one. Honestly is needed here. It is not necessary for a person participating in a critique to have all the answers. Sometimes simply listening to the artist is an amazing amount of help. When a piece does not work, and the artist knows it, putting your finger an just what is wrong is harder than you think. Helpful, tactful suggestions can unlock the artist’s creative view and lead to a solution. Or even another leap of creativity.

OK, enough preaching.

This is a critique.

My niece, a lovely, talented girl (she gets it from me) has recently discovered painting and drawing. She was invited to attend one of those wine/cheese paint a picture parties. While everyone had a good time, something for her clicked.

First Painting

But she also recognized that these parties, while fun, did not offer enough. I encouraged her to simply get a few pencils, a sketch pad and draw. Draw from life. Simple everyday objects.  Preferably white.

Now, those of you experienced in art know the value of drawing white on white objects. Many of you have fond/hateful memories of drawing a pile of eggs or marble busts in school. We all did it. But there is no better way to actually see what you are drawing, undistracted by color, pattern and texture. White on white helps you see the contrasts and values that make up and object. You start to see both cast shadows and contour shadows that you might not have been consciously aware of before.

So here is the critique. Niece texted me a simple drawing she did of a white oriental spoon. In the photo is the actual spoon.

First Sketch

Now for a first effort this is rather good. She placed the spoon on a white cloth. 

I have never been an advocate of the harsh

critique. Or as I call it, the drill sargent,s technique of critique. I am not preparing anyone for war so why act like it. I also find harsh criticism unhelpful. The point of critique is improvement. Anything that totally discourage or eviscerates a person really is not helpful.

The point of a critique is not to elevate the person giving the critique but the person receiving it.

Sometimes in schools or in groups people are made to feel if they do not point out “mistakes” or they cannot put others work down, it somehow lowers their own work. We do not advance by putting others down but by improving our own work. When you undertake a critique it should also reflect and result in improvement in your own work.

Giving A Critique

When asked to give a critique, do you suddenly feel intimidated? Put on the spot? Almost exposed?

I could never do that! Why what would I say? I could never be mean!

I could never be mean.

That is the crux of the matter. The idea that critique is or should be “mean”. That only harsh criticism is real critique.

Well, it isn’t. The really harsh stuff seldom does anything other than make the giver feel superior.

There is a body of thought that truly believes that tearing someone down is the best way to build them up, make “real artists” of them.

What it does do is rip them apart in an effort to remake them in your image.

So when asked to give a critique, remember it is not a criticism. Look for both good and bad. Encouragement and suggestions. But remember they are only suggestions.

Each artist must work to their own vision.

Brookgreen Landscape

 

 

 

Brookgreen Gardens is in South Carolina. It is a wonderful place to stroll among beautiful plants and art. It started as a sculpture garden and still displays sculpture among the many exotic planting. It also has a zoo of farm and native animal.

The price of admission is good for 2 days, and you are welcome to come and sit, sketch and photograph anywhere and for any length of time.

Well worth a visit if you visit the islands along the coast of South Carolina.
 

Many shades of Gray.

Working on this heron, I am using many, many grays.
 

Working on my Lesser Blue Heron, I am constantly reaching for gray pencils. I have a lot of them!

 

 

Working Definition of gray:

adjective, grayer, grayest. 

 

1. of a color between white and black; having a neutral hue.

2. dark, dismal, or gloomy: gray skies.

3. dull, dreary, or monotonous. 

4. having gray hair; gray-headed. 

5. pertaining to old age; mature.

9. any achromatic color; any color with zero chroma, intermediate between white and black. 

10. something of this color.

Cool Grays
 

 

In art, gray is anything but dull. It is essential to any painting. You cannot work without gray. It is what gives life and depth to any 2-d artwork, what makes it pop or look real.

 

Far from being neutral or dull, gray comes in a wide variety of hues and chroma.

 

The definition of Chroma:

1. the purity of a color, or its freedom from white or gray.

2. intensity of distinctive hue; saturation of a color

 

But gray has its own intensity and saturation of color. And it does come in colors! Any pure color can and does have its version of gray. Warm, cool, French etc. I have a beautiful green-gray and a very useful rose-gray. Purples lend themselves to fantastic grays. Ask any floral or landscape artist how they could work without creating the essential grays. Same with portraits.

 

One of the things that makes both graphite and silverpoint beautiful to me is the vibrancy of the gray tones.

 

I love gray.

 

I could not draw or paint without it. Each time I create a painting I am mixing a new, exciting shade of gray.

And right now nothing is more popular than gray. Look at the color charts in any paint department. Gray comes in more than 50 shades and each is beautiful.

 

Lots of grays, from French to warm to cool.
 

Landscapes in Colored Pencil

I see a lot of colored pencil drawings/painting both from artists friends here and others that I have made through the internet. Most are beautiful and most are of single subjects, still lifes or portraits. Few are landscapes in the tradition of the masters.

Color pencil simply seems to lend itself to find detail of a single subject. A flower a beloved pet or the arrangement of objects.

Doing a landscape in colored pencil is less common.

Most I do single subjects in colored pencil. I seldom construct a complete picture, something with a background, mid-ground and foreground. I have to wonder why.

I am working on a landscape in colored pencil right now. It is of a scene in Brook-green gardens, a public garden in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is giving me fits. I am simply not used to working on a complete painting in colored pencil.

But I am finding that I must approach it as I would an oil painting. Even the way I hold the pencils is more like a paint brush, less like a standard pencil. So I am making brushstrokes with my pencils. Blending the colors as I would paint on a canvas.

Are you afraid of the darks?

 

Sometimes it can be intimidating to lay down that really dark layer. Afraid to go too dark. Even when you know, when all your artistic senses tell you that the dark is correct. It still can be difficult to commit to that rich full dark pigment.

 

While I don’t have as much trouble with this when I paint with oils, with colored pencil or any medium that you work light to dark I have trouble laying down the darkest colors. Without these rich tones however, you lighter hues just are not as rich and full as they need to be. With the truly well developed darks the entire piece will be flattened, monotoned and uninteresting. Unfullfilling. Without the darks the lights lack sparkle.

 

For the Birds

 

 

Here it is so far. My Heron.

 

So far I am simply trying to keep the shape of the bird, the location of the major feathers and keep from destroying the drawing. At this point, I am thinking, "why did I start this?"

 

I do this all the time.

 

Once I get into a project, I am sure it is beyond me and feel like a total failure.

 

I can't do this.

 

I am no good, I will never get these detail right, who wants to draw all these features any ways, and why, if I have to do it, I did not simply paint it, It would be easier!

 

Leave this to real artists.

 

I always feel this way,

 

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

 

 

Editing the Landscape

I think I might have bitten off more than I can chew!

This is a totally dense picture, and it will take a lot of patience to develop all the layers needed. Not just layers of colored pencil, but layers and layers of details.

I was working on it more or less as a drawing. Flat, laid out on a table, but that just is not working for me.

This drawing will have to be approached more like a painting, upright and looking to develop depth.

So it is back to the easel, upright and with my pencils held more like a brush. I need to see the entire drawing as it develops. I need to step away and view how each grouping relates to all the other areas of the work. With an oil painting, I would work dark to light, but with colored pencil I will need to work more like a watercolor, light to dark. I am working to locate the major shapes, the large blocks of value, and leaving my areas of light coming through the trees. How to select what to put, what to leave out.

The trees themselves are presenting more of a challenge. Both the rough texture of the bark along with the mosses and leaves covering all surfaces. These trees are a wealth of color and texture. Not just the bark, although that is challenge enough. These are old trees. They have lived and endured and they show it. Every time I look at them I see what a wide range of colors! From the darkest browns, up through actual white. Highlights and scaring. Mosses and lichens. Texture. What I do not see is actual black, except for the boles.

Green. Not a simple color under any circumstances, simply explodes here. The Spanish moss ranges from light almost white green down through gray-dark.

This is going to be a matter of editing. It does not work to simply try to draw each leaf and blade of grass. There are strong shapes here, but also highlights and texture. How do I convey the idea of the dense landscape without making a jumbled mess of it.  

Using Wax Blender Pencil

Working on a dark background can present real challenges for colored pencil. Unlike oil paints, you cannot count on pigments to overshadow the dark underlayment. Also, you do not get the reflective qualities of Titanium white, which is why canvases are usually coated in white paint before you start painting.

Titanium white is highly reflective. That is why it is chosen for this under layer. As the light passes through the layers of oil paint, it is reflected back and brighten by Titanium white.

White and super white papers perform the same function for colored pencils. Many do not realized just how transparent colored pencils are. But they are. Not as transparent as watercolors, but someplace more transparent than Quash. Now, you can get very good, very dramatic results using colored or toned papers and backgrounds, but you do have to know how to work with it.

For the small Heron drawing, on a dark toned paper from Colourfix, I am using a combination of studio white pencils, and a clear wax blender pencil from Prisma color. Putting down a layer of pure binder wax, which is what a blender pencil is, will give me a good base to blend in the many, many shades of white/blue and gray that make up this bird.

On this blue/gray background the pure wax is leaving a coating of white wax that will allow great blending. It will also add to the drama of the finished piece, acting as a reflecting layer underneath the pigmented layers.

Starting New Colored Pencil Pieces Part 2

 

Part 2

 

 Supporting the Art.

 

There are many, many surfaces you can use for colored pencil.

 

Anything you can drawing is valid. 

You can draw on paper, wood, copper, velum, tiles. There are few surfaces, however design with colored pencil in mind. Many multi-media papers list colored paper among the media acceptable, but many are actually difficult to use. 

What you choose depends totally on the end results you wish.  

Just about any surface that will accept charcoal or pastels has enough tooth to use. One consideration is just how much it can take. 

 

Charcoal papers tend to be thinner, lighter than pastel. With all the layering most Colored pencil artist do, most charcoal and even standard drawing papers tend to be too light and thin to take it.

 

Heavier pastel papers work well, and toned papers lend themselves to dramatic results.

I have been using Colourfix toned pastel papers for my more recent colored pencil pieces. They help to set the tone of the pieces, as well as providing excellent tooth and support for colored pencil. The rough, sandpaper finish provided more than enough tooth to hold multiple layers of colored pencil, and allowing the work and rework of the medium. It is also thick enough to allow the use of watercolor pencils, water, and solvent washes. All in all. a good choice.

For the Heron, I want the bird to stand out against the dim background, very similar to the mood of the location when I photographed the bird. It was in a dense forest setting, rather dim. And I want this feeling to come through the drawing.

 

For the landscape, I really want the humid, overgrown nature of the landscape to be highlighted. The medium toned paper will set the tone of the light, allowing me to go both darker and lighter. The photo was taken at the Brookgreen Gardens in North Carolina. Here, Many of the iconic plants of the south are on display.

 

 

 

 

Starting New Colored Pencil Pieces Part 1

 

Sometimes simply finding something you are sufficiently interested in to carry to completion is the actual artistic challenge.

 

While many scenes might catch your interest, is there enough there for carry though? What might keep your interest for  a quick sketch, a 20 minute drawing or afternoon painting will not hold enough interest for what can be days or even weeks in colored pencil.

 

Like a fine oil painting, working in colored pencil can take time. For a large piece this can be a major investment in time and effort.

 

Creating a work of art is more than simply copying a photograph. While a good photograph can be a good beginning, each artist adds/subtract, enhances, edits and refines whatever reference material she/he has.

 

Any work of art starts with an idea.