Wise ~ And A Study In Colored Pencils

Can you tell by the disarray of my drafting table that I decided to do a little impromptu study in colored pencil?  ;)   Last night, I sat down to contemplate my next study in graphite, which must begin by popping a movie into my DVD player. Somehow, I messed up the loading of "The Pagemaster" (Just felt like I needed a little artist rendered imagination in my life. :) ), and it took me through the making of the film.  The hand illustrated animation captivated me, and the process of colorization was as always... inspiring.   

It was then that I began to look through my colored pencil technique books and pulled out "Colored Pencils" by Morrell Wise.  This particular book seemed to be colored pencil drawing in its most broken down form.  Plus, a fellow artist had recommended this book to me a year ago for the blending lessons.  Without delay, I dug out my Prismacolors pencils and began sharpening.

**Note** Please do not think ill thoughts of me, but you can see by the photo below that my next step was to pull apart the book.  It is so much easier to see the pages flat on a surface.  I do this with all of the art books that I study drawing techniques from.  The pages of the book will get three hole punched, and the book will get placed in its own individual binder.  On the thrifty side, damaged books can be saved and bought cheaply with this in mind. :) 

 Charcoal paper was chosen for the support... extremely toothy.  My inner need to have perfect lines and control kicked in and stopped all progress. It almost made me put the color adventure on hold.  Then, I thought of how smooth Bristol had such an astounding effect on my graphite technique, so I decided to move on to a smoother surface.   

**Note**   While looking back at this unfinished piece this morning, I am drawn to the loose pastel feel.  It definitely deserves to be revisited and finished. 



The colored pencil technique works from defining the depths of the shadows and working out to the highlights.  This greatly appeals to me, since I have always seen my subjects as being made up of shadows.  So... I pushed on.  Grabbing a scratch piece of transfer paper, I started again.   It was a little iffy for a while, until I began to blend the red of the cherries.  I could feel myself being drawn into the process.  Then, I worked on the stems.  The final highlight was Cream, and the second the color grabbed onto the Apple Green-- I was hooked.  At that moment of blending, it became evident to me why colored pencil is referenced to as painting.  The process is amazingly similar and reminds me of painting with colored wax.  

"Colored Pencils" by Morrell Wise is proving to be a great jumping off point on my exploration of colored pencils.  I am anxious to experiment on a few more surfaces and will be enlarging the subject to get better control of the thick waxy pencil points.  (Graphite has me trained on such a thin lead.)  The book also contains the "how to" of rendering an apple, strawberry, and a bunch of grapes in a similar step-by-step process.  Wise's book was published in 1985; so, as far as I know, it is no longer being produced and that is a great shame.  Lucky for us, places like Amazon and EBay can be a great help in purchasing a copy. :)



Baby Otter Finished

While finishing up this drawing, I remembered why I fell in love with the photo of this little guy so much.  Not only is he small and fuzzy, but he is in the process of being hand fed.  It represents humans interacting with nature in one fine moment.  Is there anything better than lending a helping hand to someone in need? 

My pencils were put away about an hour ago, and the photograph below represents the finish to a much neglected drawing...  There may still be some final touches over the next few days, but he is complete enough to be introduced to my blogging friends. ;)

   

I decided to start the 2013 year with this finish, instead of my usual New Year's post.  (That post will have its turn next.)  I believe that this little guy has waited long enough!  ;)    

Happy New Year! :) 



Merry Christmas!

Ornaments can be such fascinating works of art!  I have such a love for the indented vintage ornies that were made in Poland.  When the lights are shining brightly at night, they capture the colors like wondrous mini caverns of ice. :)  One can find them in various locations on my tree.   I have spent many a December evening gazing at their beauty... *sigh*  

I wish everyone safe travels and a Merry Christmas!

Baby Otter 7

Here is the proof below... The drawing board is still in my studio! ;)  I have spent a couple of nights getting the fur mapped out on the rest of the baby otter.  As you can see by the photo comparison,  I definitely need to go darker on my little guy's fur and work on the tone of the background.  I've started working my 6b wood case pencil's rich graphite into the composition but have not begun smoothing it in yet. 

The image is a little washed out on this pic...  But, you can see by the mapped areas the flow of the fur by the negative representation of the shadows.  These are carefully placed markers to the layers that will follow and to the highlights that will be chiseled in with the clic eraser.  The 6b is showing up on the rest of the fur and will fan out as the tortillon works its magic.  The transition from the mussel out to the nose should give some much needed dimension to the otter's head.  I think that will give the little critter balance in its own right versus the detail in the hands.

 

Baby Otter 6

Between filling in for vacations at work, tractor pulls, and gardening, I find that summer is quickly slipping by...  *sigh*  My mind gets preoccupied with all the new things happening in life, and the beloved drawing board and pencils sit patiently waiting in the studio.  As always, my stress levels start to climb due to the shift away from my artistic outlets, and I begin to fret over the small details in life... a miserable feeling trust me.  :(   I am now finally able to recognize the warning signs, so this last week saw a long awaited return to the little otter.  It is amazing how a mechanical pencil and a piece of Bristol board can improve my attitude and my outlook on life.  Art has always been a big part of my past in some shape or form and will be a huge part of my future... It is the one constant in this crazy thing called life where I feel that I belong... :)

Onward to the update...  The one hand is finished, and the face of this little critter is starting to take shape.  The areas being worked on are staying squared off.  With such tiny details in the fur, it is better to keep close to the grid in these tightly detailed spaces.  I brought in a touch of 6b wood cased pencil for a few of the deep shadows.  The edge of his hair on the background needs to be sculpted in and blended-- It is a little sketchy right now.  The hand is bouncing to the front nicely in the composition with the addition of the otter.  I look forward to finishing up the fur and getting the shading balanced.  :)    

Baby Otter 5

The little otter has acquired some more graphite on its fur and completion of one eye.  The hand on the left side of the composition is beginning to be developed, also.  The fur was coming along nicely, but the hand kept grabbing my attention.  I worried about the smear factor to the bottom portion of the otter, if I went back to working on the left side of the drawing.  So, I broke out from my usual method and decided to keep going on the top portion of the otter's head, while moving  from left to right on the bottom part of the composition.  The trading off should break up the monotony, and the darks can be adjusted simultaneously in the whole composition at the same time.  I have already done a little deepening of shadows in the finished fur. It photographed a little on the washed out side tonight, but you should be able to see where the piece is heading.  :)

Baby Otter Graphite Drawing 4

I did a little more mapping after the last session and decided that it was a big enough area to take to completion.  So, I began the process of blending and removing graphite with a white eraser.  After the fur was defined, more graphite was added to the heavy shadows, followed by some more blending, and finished with more defining of the dark shadows.  My Tuff Stuff eraser stick went into action to pull out a few long whiskers, and the kneaded eraser worked to blur the areas of fur that were out of focus in the composition.  The background was darkened slightly on the left to enhance the light fuzzy fur.  This is the most exciting part of the process for me...  It is the first glimpse of how the little critter is going to look.  :)