Drawing Skills Part Two : Observations In Nature 

Listening to feedback from my tutor regarding my previous assignment, in Part Two I hope to use a lot more colour, making a conscious effort to use less black (in terms of shading and line) and to try to create line through use of tones and highlights, dark against light and visa versa. I hope to also go into more detail behind the mechanics of how I decide what medium to use and how I have chosen a composition.

First up, Exploring Coloured Media. ( Page 51 )

This has been a real eye opener for me in terms of the array of different mediums to try,  as I find myself quite stubborn at the idea of trying anything new. I have been happy with Felt Tip and Biro for many years and then when I did venture out into Watercolor,  I felt the need to include Biro along the way. Pastels & Charcoal were too messy, oil paint smelt too much and Colouring Pencils did not blend the way I wanted them to. At least that is what I thought before doing Part Two of this course.

I have found it a useful and an enjoyable exercise, stocking up on different mediums (everything from wax Crayon, Watersoluable Pencils, Charcoal Sticks, Pastel Pencils, Soft Pastels, Oil Pastels and Colouring Pencils ) and just having a play about with them to see what they do.

Top 3 Left Colouring Pencil             Top 4 Right  Pastel
2nd Row Left  Wax                                        Bottom 4 Right Oil Pastel
3rd Row Left Colouring Pencil                                                                

Using a Scratch Technique with wax as well as quick live sketch of our cat.

These fruit don't exist, I was looking at shading with Pastel but without any use of black, my shading came from a navy blue pastel for all forms of fruit. 

Again, similar to the previous exercise, only this time with Colouring Pencils. At first, the subtle shading did not quite feel enough and I had to fight the urge to darken it slightly, but over time, the more I look at my art with less black, I am finding it looks more natural. 

Check and Log
Which of the medium you have experimented with did you find most expressive?
Which medium do you think lends itself to very detailed work? 

Pencil - Pencil is good for many things, fine detail, shading, and mark making/cross hatch. It is probably the most versatile medium. Of course a pencil lacks colour so that all of the work must come from the artist to create tone and shadow, through pressure, strokes and how to hold the pencil.

Pastel - Great for covering large areas such as backgrounds, and good blending capabilities. Pastel can be easily erased and works with water to create a soluble effect. It is not as precise as a pencil but can be used in an expressive quick way to fill your paper with colour. Good for creating quite subtle colour and tone.Messy, very messy.

Pastel Pencil - A combination of the above two really, making this one of my favorite mediums. Precision can be created with a sharp point while using the side of the tip has good shading capacity too. Smudging and how your hand lies on the paper is a concern forcing the artist to plan what area to paint.

Oil Pastel - Big bold rich colour, that is surprisingly blendable makes Oil Pastel an interesting choice. Colour can be layered without deterioration and it can be scratched with a scalpel  to create some fascinating marks and highlights. If a thinner is added to oil pastel, it can be worked on the paper like oil paint yet it will never have the precision of Pencil or Ink.

Markers - Good for doing detailed work, with a rich colour, but a particular skill is needed in terms of layering to create new colour and tone. Often, the quality of the marker is as important as the artists skill. and quite impossible to remove if a mistake is made. I find Marker quite limited if used alone.

Colouring Pencils - Again, quality is what counts with colouring pencils, any type will have the detail and precision to draw and shade but it is the most expensive brands that are able to blend effectively. A good quality colouring pencil will have similar attributes to Pastel Pencils but with more durability to stick to the paper.

Charcoal - Practically as versatile as a pencil, it can have the same accuracy but with better blending capacity. Charcoal is perfect for quick, spontaneous sketches, especially for moving subjects. Due to its messiness  charcoal is best on larger scale pieces, but it is easy to erase with a putty rubber or even piece of bread, the effect in itself can be interesting.

Pen and Ink - Bold striking detailed strokes perfect for illustration. Pen can be used in a tight and rigid style for the most detailed of work, and yet in an expressive way, can be used in a loose sense in combination with watercolor  allowing the ink to bleed into the colour. Although difficult to recover if making a mistake, with a good selection of strokes and marks, an artist can create realistic piece of work with ink.

Wax Crayon - I guess wax has similar properties to oil pastel, without the rich colour. It does create good texture and is effective with a rough paper. It is relatively inexpensive but probably more difficult to master compared to some of the other mediums. I find it particularly useful as an undercoat for Watercolour, the wax being a waterproof barrier against the paper to create highlights.

Watercolour - Spontaneous and fresh, Watercolour is good for creating quite expressive work. Colours bleed to together to create happy accidents, and it is a good medium when drawing outdoors, for skies and landscape. The transparent nature of watercolour make it a difficult medium to fully master as mistakes are harder to remove. On the plus side, compared to Oil Paint, it is a much cleaner medium, no need for thinners or difficulty to maintain, everything is water based. Used thickly, watercolour creates a good gouache effect but its vibrancy lies within relationship with water.