Progress of sorts, because I didn't get to finish it today as hoped. Mark and I went out for a long walk and I started feeling tired in the early evening so the only large block of time I got to draw was in the afternoon. (BTW, the Emir of Kuwait died today and as everyone has the next 3 days off, they all decided to go walking along the corniche with us! I've never seen it so busy!)
Back to the point! In all my drawings, I cover all the paper with pencil. I'll only leave the white of the paper show for extreme highlights like the light in the eyes, a shine on metal or the tip of the nose. So this step is one that I always do - I lay down a 'wash' of pencil. It helps to blend everything into. Blending into a white page shows an edge, no matter how fine. Trouble is, for me, it takes a while to loosen up to start with and that's when I need to do this! I scanned this after one layer and before smoothing out the tone.
After scanning, I realised that all this analysing is stopping me from getting into the right frame of mind. It reminded me of trying to describe all the actions of driving a car whilst driving - you don't really think about it as you do it, a sort of instinct takes over. So I put on some music and felt much better!
The light was very clear today, different to the light yesterday evening, and the from the light from the spotlights in the bedroom (a typical house in the Gulf in that we have about 12-16 spots on every room! Throws a lot of shadows!) So this highlighted some more textures and shadows which I can add. I need all the help I can with that trainer at the back, I'm not happy with it at all. I'm using a 3B pencil as all the colours in the trainers are similar tones and I want to darken and exaggerate the edges.With the music on, time flew by and dinner beckoned. I'm too tired to finish so I'll put it on the blog anyway. Here I've started to look at small details that will bring the drawing to life - small shadows around the stitching, under the laces, and I see more things I hadn't noticed before! I took away a little edge from the back of the right trainer to bring it forward. I still think there isn't enough definition to separate the two trainers. At the stage I left it, the laces need working on and the left side of the right trainer has still to be done.
6 comments:
So if you lay a light wash of pencil over the whole paper and then decide later that you need an extreme highlight, I assume you use an eraser to lift the pencil from small areas? Or do you do a light outline first and not do the pencil wash in areas where you know you'll want or need white-white highlights?
Gorgeous work, Felicity, and it is wonderful to see the way you develop this drawing step-by-step.
I always enjoy and appreciate being shown how people - artists in particular - work. As well as being enlightening, and reminding us all exactly how much goes into something that when finished might look effortless - it is a nudge to think about how one works oneself. You are wondrously meticulous and disciplined while still remaining instinctive, but I know exactly what you mean about describing what you are doing. As soon as one thinks about the mechanics of walking, one starts tripping over. Thank you so much for going to the trouble.
These are just stunning Felicity. Its really interesting to here your progress through a drawing and see it as it developes. You have a real talent - do you ever sell your stuff? Have exhibitions?
Hello Felicity, Look who I found on Dijanne Cevaal's page. Great to see you are continuing to draw and am not surprised that you are making big impressions on those who see your work. I'll catch up with an email. Our time in UK is limited so more nomadic lifestyle this year. Love your everyday subject matter. Cheers, Sandy Lacy
Deb - I normally seee where the highlights are and leave them blank. If I'm not sure, I'll work up to it and sort of decide on the way! The wash isn't over the entire page, just the subject - background detail bores me (to do)and would be too time-consuming in pencil. I have used an eraser too but I find you normally can't get the paper totally white once it's been drawn on.
Hey Sandy! What a lovely surprise! How about setting up a blog yourself? Share those fantastic drawings - seriously! Keep in touch, I don't have your e-mail.
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