Artist's Drawing & Inspiration - USA (2019-09)

ArtistDrawingandInspiration 29

demonstration

lighteranddeepershade.Buildingthe
valuesgraduallygivesa softeroverall
effect.Sharppenciltipsareuseful
though,whena cleanedgeis needed
todefinethecurveofear,lipornose.
Sam’shairis likegossamer.I
intendtogiveit somedetailand
shadingtodefinehisface,butlet
thebulkofit decayintoobvious
pencilmarkings.It canbeinteresting
tolookat a drawingwhichhintsat
realityandsuper-detail,butwhich
alsorevealsitselftobea sketch.

stepFive

Dressingthesubject
Sam’sshirtandjeansarenot
significantinthemselves,butthe
shadow-shapesgivehisfaceananchor.
Abstractingtheclothesandallowing
thepencilmarkstohavesome
precedencedirectstheviewer’sgaze
tothemainfeature,theboy’sface.

stepsix

thehand
I love hands as much as faces. Our
handsaresoincrediblyexpressive!
Children’shandssooftensignify
curiosity,adventureandexploration.
Samhasjustdippedhishandinthe
waterasa preliminarygesturebefore

hebeginstosplash.Heis fascinated

bythesensation.Hestaresat his

handinwonder.I workonhishand

carefully,notoverdoingit,butgiving

it enoughroundnesstowarrantits

centralpositioninthepicture.

stepseven

Waterandpockmarkedconcrete

Thetextureofthebird-bath,along

withitsmoist,mossybowl,is funto

fillin.Somedefinitionoffeaturesis

necessaryhere,buttheeffectshould

balancewithmynephew’sfigure.

Finalstep

a littlefoliageandforeground

tofinish

Therehastobeanexplanationforthe

dappledlightwhichI havecarefully

portrayedfallingacrossthefigures

inthedrawing,soI recreatethe

overhangingshrub,givingit enough

densitytomakeit credible,but

allowingthemainfigurestostandout.

I thensmudgeinsomeforeground

withcharcoaldustandpluckout

someleaflitterwiththekneadable

eraser.Thisearthsthefigures.Thisis

thefinaltouch!I signwitha flourish

andstandbacktocontemplate.

Timetobeginanotherproject!n

aRtist’s

Hints

anD tips

• Keep your pencilssharp.
  I use 180 garnetpaperto
  grinda tip,then 800 wet-
  and-drytopolishit.I carve
  thewoodawaywitha pen-
  knife.A longsharpstem
  ofgraphiteis mucheasier
  toachievedetailwith.


• Blendingstumpsare great for
  givingshadowsa smoother
  surface,butblendingpencil
  overpencilcausestheunder-
  layertoshiftandbluralso;
  thisis usefultoremember.
  Forexample,I oftenuse
  a 2Bpencilovera 5Bor
  charcoaltonetodeepentone
  andspreadthesurface.


• Scribblingwith pencil or
  ‘dripping’charcoaldust
  createstextureforrough
  surfacessuchaspock-marked
  concreteorrustedmetal.


• Removingspots with
  a pointedkneadable
  erasercreateshighlights
  inshadows.


• NEVEREVERblow
  onyourdrawingto
  removestrayparticles
  if yourlipsarewet!!!


• Plan ahead.If you have
  a roughsketchora fully
  workedconstructionof
  thecomposition,your
  finishedpiecewillbe
  muchmoreconvincing.


• Turn your pictureupside
  down or use a mirror.Our
  brainsarelazy;oncethe
  brainseessomethingone
  way,it willhavetrouble
  refreshingitsperspective;
  doanythingyoucanto
  stimulateyourbrainas
  yourworkprogresses.This
  keepstheprocessandthe
  stepseven endresultinteresting!