I haven’t visited Harmony for a long time, not even sure why. It’s a great place to get unstuck (and I am stuck thoroughly with an abstract piece right now), to unwind after a stressful day, and to doodle away no matter what your circumstances are.
Harmony is perfectly capable of helping you make realistic art, but that I could do on my own, right? So for the most part me and Harmony create strange things like this one.
Looking back at all my attempts to make colored pencils play nice with the digital canvas, I have to admit that they certainly prefer a traditional linen one. So the blank digital canvases that I still have will be used for other media. For example, a graphite pencil:
Miniature – graphite pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
Things learned with this one:
– only soft graphite works, harder grades scrape the priming off the canvas without leaving noticeable marks
– for blending, small sponge makeup applicators and bristle brushes work best
– common erasers are of little help when you need a highlight or to scrape off a mistake, but kneaded eraser works wonderfully (I am using a Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth eraser that comes with its own case and like it better than other brands I had before)
– an x-acto knife can be good for small bright highlights, but using it requires care because it easily gets deep into priming and scrapes it off
– areas treates with a x-acto knife are still good for blending tools, but pencil marks behave unpredictably, so better be avoided
My other canvas experiment that is yet to be finished is a mix of the black India ink and graphite. I am not sure how I like the result so far, but we’ll see.
Mark McGuinness posted a great article on the Pinterest for artists issue, Pinterest: an Opportunity for Creators – or a Threat?. A lot of good points there, but do not stop with the article itself or with links to posts in other art marketing blogs about Pinterest. There is a lengthy and insightful discussion in the comments very well worth reading (I could not help but add my $0.02 too).
To me, the amount of attention that Pinterest is getting is amazing. How comes that images of artworks have been shared everywhere for a long while now, from Facebook to Tumblr, often without artist’s consent, and nobody made a big deal out of it? Or did opponents of image sharing only now caught up to the new reality? Is it really such a big deal? Pins are small, unfit for reproduction, even on a very amateurish level. Plagiarism concerns? Artists risk that every time they put their creation on display. Traffic stealing? Now that was probably the most unusual claim I’ve heard, complete with the total lack of supporting facts. Puzzling…
This one was created with Derwent Coloursoft pencils, not my usual Prismacolor. The good thing is that these pencils are really, really soft and blend together easily. The bad thing is that in just a few layers it becomes impossible to add more color. The next stroke tries to lift off what’s already on the surface. This is not such a big deal with lighter colors, but getting good darks with Derwent on canvas (at least on a digital one that was used for this piece) turned into a challenge. The solution: use a softest graphite pencil you have. Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth 7B worked quite well for me.
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
Most of this one was done with an artificial light, and today I was going to put finishing touches on it while we were at the Pescadero Beach. But the sunlight showed me that more than just that was needed. Good thing that the weather was very warm and without strong winds, or the miniature would travel back home to be finished there. I must say though that colored pencils start to lay on the canvas in a funny way as humidity goes up. I think if I was working with water soluble ones, I would end up with a painting without adding water.
Russian Ridge View and Summer Day in Santa Cruz Mountains were accepted into the juried exhibition at the Pacific Art League. The juror is Kenny Harris.
Commemorating PAL’s 90th anniversary, the exhibition “Ode to California” is about the historic transformation of the state, its people, place and culture.
Pacific Art League is located at 668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301-2545.
The exhibit is open July 1 – 28, 2011.
You are invited to the reception which is on July 1, 5:30 pm – 8 pm.
Russian Ridge View – colored pencil on colored paper, 9″ x 6″
Summer Day in Santa Cruz Mountains – colored pencil on watercolor paper, 14.5″ x 10.5″
One of my drawings, “Running Free,” was selected for a juried exhibition at the Pacific Art League. It is called “Fur, Feathers & Fins.”
The exhibition is open from June 3, 2011 till June 23, 2011.
Pacific Art League is located at 668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301-2545.
I will be at the reception during the Palo Alto First Friday Art Walk. It’s on June 3, 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Finally, a miniature on a digital canvas that was not a struggle:
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
I noticed that colors almost do not smear at all on this type of canvas and put dark branches first, then moved to the clouds. It worked – branches stayed dark, clouds stayed clean, no mess at all. And it probably helped that I used harder Derwent pencils for the branches and my usual Prismacolor ones for the rest.
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
That’s the pleasant part, always good to finish even a little piece. Now, the unpleasant one: this miniature, like the previous two, was done on a digital canvas, and apparently it has a shorter patience with multiple layers of color than a traditional canvas does. In the process of “thinking” about earth colors right on the canvas I found out that I better make up my mind quicker, or the color will start to chip off. It didn’t really come to chipping off, but from my previous experience with paper I know the feeling that the pencil gives you right before the surface gives up. That’s a little disappointing, or maybe it’s a good opportunity to learn how to be more decisive.
That’s right, this little piece went with me over half of the globe and back. I had big drawing plans while visiting with my family and friends in Russia, and as it usually happens very little of it got accomplished. In fact, this is the only thing I managed to finish in 3 weeks, all done either in flight or in airports. Yay for working small.
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
I will be showing during all three weekends of SVOS at the following locations:
Weekend 1
May 7 – 8, Site 539
Graniterock Design Center
1505 So. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino, CA 95014
See the map
Weekend 2
May 14 – 15, Site 501
Fongwei Liu Studios
3754 Pruneridge Ave , Santa Clara, CA 95051
See the map
Weekend 3
May 21 – 22, Site 481
Carolina Mueller Studio
10823 Wilkinson Avenue, Cupertino, CA 95014
See the map
All sites are open 11 am till 5 pm.
Join me and other artists for three weekends of art and fun. Come to chat, enjoy refreshments, and see the newest original art, prints, cards, and gift items.
My page at SVOS.org:
http://svos.org/artist.php?id=1907
As much as I enjoy the gessoed canvas, it has one serious problem when it comes to colored pencils: the unsupported area inside the mini stretcher bars. I found two workarounds: working with a very sharp point that does not require much pressure and keeping a finger against the back of the canvas when I need to burnish. Unfortunately, burnishing does not happen without pressure.
Slava suggested to try a digital canvas on a piece of wood. We had a few samples left from the time when he was in the process of finding the best canvas for his photography, and he stretched one for me. The sunset above is my first mini landscape on the new surface. Lessons learned:
– a digital canvas is finer and more dense
– it has more “tooth” (or what should it be called in this case?), and even a slightly dull point will leave white gaps on it
– it is not possible to correct small mistakes with a white pencil on a digital canvas
– all strokes, even those made with a dull point, look harsher on a digital canvas than on a traditional one
It feels like a good surface, I just need to adjust to it.
Fall colors are almost non-existent outside of urban areas here. The best we see when hiking is a few colorful trees or shrubs here and there. The rest is either brown or green that later turns bare. But there is a a nice aspen grove at the edge of the Stevens Creek Park, it actually turns golden in October. It’s a wonderful sight then – glowing trunks and branches against bright yellow foliage. The only thing that can make it better is a backdrop of either blue skies or water.
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
I know that Sunol Park looks pretty impressive in fall too, but for one reason or another we keep missing its autumnal beauty every year.
Sunshine, light clouds, and blue skies – everything our weather at the moment is not. I do not mind misty and rainy one single bit, but somehow it is not what I want to draw.
pastel pencil, 5″ x 7″
The original ($140.00), greeting cards, and prints are available in my Pastel Pencil online gallery. The original went to a new good home!
We had an artist trading card exchange at today’s CAG meeting. Here is my contribution:
colored pencil on illustration board, 2.5″ x 3.5″
That’s my first experience with the illustration board, I am not sure if I liked it. The thing has no tooth at all, very weird. Not sure who got my card, the exchange took place at the very end of the meeting and was a little hurried.
And this is what I got from a fellow CAG member, Sharon LaBouff:
I am very pleased to have Sharon’s little piece.
As it turned out, you can fit quite a lot into 3.5″ x 2.5″, more than I hoped to. If I planned a little more carefully, there would even be more space for the water at the bottom. Instead, I ran with the clouds first and fitted the rest into what little space remained. Morale: even for a tiny piece, start with thumbnails. I would love to do something with cloud reflections.
colored pencil on canvas, 3.5″ x 2.5″
About two months ago I received a rather unusual request to create an illustration for a book that was not finished yet and didn’t have a title. All I had to go by was a short foreword and a few more details from the author. The interpretation and medium was left up to me. On one hand, it was very enticing to have that much creative freedom, on the other, it was as reassuring as walking through a thick fog. The temptation prevailed.
To make myself feel a little better, I sent the author a rough sketch of what I had in mind, and to my surprise she enthusiastically approved it. Since I didn’t know which parts of the storyline are going to be the most prominent in the book, I went with the main theme of an abrupt change from a farm teen to raising the son on her own in a city. The shadow in the illustration is the girl’s son in the end of the book, grown up and capable of supporting herself, her concern for years and a final reward. Today I turned the illustration to to the author. Thankfully, she loved the finished work which made me happy. She is till working on the book, hopefully the illustration will give her an extra creativity nudge.
colored pencil on drawing paper, 9″ x 12″
I think my search for perfect travel-friendly fiber-tip pen is over. It’s been over a year since I started to look for something that could replace my trusted Rapidograph.
The dream pen that draws in pitch black is Staedtler Lumocolor permanent universal pen. The funny part is that I found it while cleaning art supplies bought at the last super sale at University Art. Somehow I never gave it a try after purchasing.
The ink is so opaque that areas of flat black look completely even, no cross-hatch effect, no distinguishable pen strokes. I am very happy.
colored pencil on colored paper, 4″ x 6″
We were hiking at the Shoreline Open Space today, watching egrets, ducks and sandpipers of all kinds, a pheasant even, but the best sighting happened when it was too dark for shooting. And by too dark I don’t mean my coffee hands that can fail even in the broad daylight. Slava said he would not even try either. There was a ruffled up small white egret on a tree stump, just a silhouette of her backed by glowing water. She looked totally like an evil spirit who felt safe enough in the dusk to show up while people were still walking around, and a very beautiful spirit at that. Since shooting was not an option, the sketch from memory will have to do.
