Color Theory

There is a marked difference between graphite and color pencil, more than just the color. The color pencils I used for this image are Prismacolor. The colors can be blended but its important to choose wisely which of the 128+ colors you want for the various parts of the drawing. Trying to adjust the blend by adding a little of this and a little of that can quickly end up with something that looks very much like mud. I think I used somewhere in the nature of 20 different colors for this which isn't a lot. Complimentary and tertiary colors can go a long way to simplifying the selection and avoiding muddyness. Fully half the choices were various shades of grey although it doesn't show that much. The top structure of the dock has mostly warm greys in it while the pilings have cooler greys. The relationship between the warm and cool colors is nearly as important as the choice of color overall and can affect the outcome in subtle, but striking ways. Notice the way some of the diagonal boards are handled with warm grey for the sunlit part and cool greys for the part in shadow. Things like that can go a long way to creating a convincing rendering. I am reminded of a quote from my undergrad drawing instructor, Chris Johns, who said, " In the end, its only pigment on a surface. The picture is all in your head." The Impressionists had it right. You don't need all the information on the page or canvas to convey the image, just enough and let the mind fill in the rest. Think Seurat. Just enough. There's magic for you.

Tools of The Trade

My favorite tool is the yellow number 2 pencil. I have tried a lot of the different various drawing pencils out there and I do use them for different things but I use a yellow pencil for my graphite work 90% of the time. I like the way the line flows from the point. I try to keep at least three sharpened all the time that I am working. A lot is going on when I use them and I don't want to be interrupted by continually sharpening. I just switch off when the point gets too dull for the section that I am working. One of the things that I have learned is a sharp point is crucial in order to gain the type of detail I want. I suppose a lot of that comes from my experience as a jeweler and repousse artist. I still tend to work small and an 8 x 10 seems huge right now.
The quality of line, let me say something about that. Pressure is everything. A light pressure gives me a light grey. More pressure darkens up the line as I bear down. Ok, maybe that seems to self evident but think of it this way: I get at least 3 to 4 levels of grey in the same stroke depending on the pressure. A lot can be done with just that. Sharpness counts too. A fine point can only take so much pressure before it snaps. The only way to learn that is to break a few points. A blunter point can take a lot more pressure. That is one good reason to use several pencils at the same time because I can pick up one that is slightly used and apply a dark heavy wide line when I need it.
Other tools? I use several kinds of blending stumps. They vary in hardness and size. I use several different erasers also. Kneaded erasers are good for feathering, i.e. removing just some of the graphite to lighten areas without taking all of it up. Sometimes I trim shapes out of my white eraser to get a knife edge for branches or narrow parts. I even use a powered eraser on occassion.
More later.

First Post

I am trained as a metalsmith and a sculptor but drawing was the first art I ever did and it has always been a big part of what I do as an artist.
Its only since I moved to the Low Country that I have felt motivated to carry my drawings through to a highly finished state. The area around here has so many beautiful and picturesque views it has become a principal inspiration and pencil seems the best outlet for that right now.
The image above is a composite done from a number of reference photos of live oak in the area. Live oak are wonderful subjects for drawing with all the detail they have and will be a subject I will return to frequently.