2008 February

Entries from February 2008

Thirsty, Update #5

February 16th, 2008 · No Comments

I really, really like Pastelbord. A lot. Seriously. I don’t see me going back to Mi-Teintes or Illustration Board anytime soon.

In progress scans of colored pencil drawing entitled Thirsty

Colored Pencil on Pastelboard, 8.5 x 14″

Larger version.

Thirsty, Update #4

February 16th, 2008 · 4 Comments

A little more progress:

In progress scans of colored pencil drawing entitled Thirsty

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord, 8.5 x 14″

Thirsty, Update #3

February 16th, 2008 · No Comments

Not much progress, but a better photo in better light as promised.

In progress scans of colored pencil drawing entitled Thirsty

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord, 8.5 x 14″

Thirsty, Update #2

February 15th, 2008 · No Comments

Ok, just one more update tonight – this time with a crappy photograph instead of a crappy scan.

In progress scans of colored pencil drawing entitled Thirsty

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord, 8.5 x 14″

Thirsty, Update #1

February 15th, 2008 · No Comments

A really terrible quality, overly pink, washed out scan of the start of my latest drawing:

In progress scans of colored pencil drawing entitled Thirsty

Colored Pencil on Pastelbord, 8.5 x 14″

Since the pastelbord is too long for my scanner, its unable to lay flat on the scanner bed, so you get that awful shadow running up the middle of the scan. Ah, well – I’ll have a photo of it posted tomorrow after my next session with it.

This is the first time I’ve used Pastelbord; I ordered some to try out after seeing some folks recommend it on a thread on Wetcanvas. If you’ve never used it before, its very much like drawing on a fine grit sandpaper. Its taking some getting used to, to be sure.

An interesting thing that can be done on this surface that can’t be done on Mi-Teintes or Illustration board is working dark to light. In fact, it seems to work better. I’ve been putting down layers of peach or nectar and then going over them with cream and white and it works perfectly. And speaking of layers – wow, they go forever on this stuff. I’ve only put an hour or so in with it, but I can see I’ll be restocking. Heck, I even like the smell of this stuff…difficult to describe, but if you’ve ever been in an oil painters studio, it smells like that.

Self Portrait IV, Complete

February 13th, 2008 · 5 Comments

You’ll notice that this is the same image that I posted yesterday – I wasn’t able to take a new photo this morning because its dark, gloomy and raining/icing here so the light was poor. But, the additional details aren’t terribly discernible (fly away hairs, texture highlights on the sweater) in the photograph and the only significant piece missing is my signature.

Colored Pencil on Pearl Mi-Teintes Board, 16 x 9″

I have to say I’m very, very pleased with the way this drawing turned out. The technique employed is one I have been striving for since I saw Marcella Beaty’s “The Turk“* at the CPSA show in Bethesda, MD over the summer. I also feel that in a way, I “leveled up” with this peice. I found myself able to achieve details that I’ve struggled with in past drawings, and seeing details and colors that I’ve never noticed before.

And yeah, I went with the ultra creative “Self Portrait IV” for the title.

I’m going to look into getting a high resolution scan of the drawing done so all of the details are captured. For now, a break for a day or two, and on to my next!

* It took a fair bit of searching to turn up a copy of Marcella’s drawing. Since it took no awards at the exhibit (which is shocking and shameful on the part of the judges) the CPSA doesn’t display it on their website. (By the way, nice job with that inaccessible, search-engine-unfriendly image map, CPSA.) I found a copy of it on this thread on Scribbletalk, but you have to be a member of the forum to view attachment. So…I’ve taken the liberty of hosting the image myself so folks can see what an incredibly well done, technically masterful drawing it is.

Untitled, Update #14

February 12th, 2008 · 2 Comments

Almost there. Tonight – a coat of fixative , followed by additional texture details on the shirt and facial hair with the new layer that provides, and I think I’ll be ready to call this one done. Most likely the image of it finished will be posted tomorrow morning since I can’t get a good photo of the drawing without sunlight.