So here is a bit of a how I do it post....
I often get asked what steps I go through
and what I use to get to a finished drawing so I took some photos and scans as I went
well I sort of did... I kept forgetting
but that is probably a good thing or this would have been 50 photos long
but this is a bit of a basic run through
I started with my pencil box
it has the dreaded, disgusting marmite jar on the front
which was a smart arse gift from Sandra
who has been engaging in vegemite vs marmite wars with me for some time now...
and while I would like to not have such an abomination on my desk
it holds my commonly used pens and pencils perfectly
which perhaps means she is perhaps winning the war... for now
I worked in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook for this one
though I often work on loose paper as well
and used my usual Uniball eye fine pen
which is called other eye related names , like Uniball Vision in other places
no clue why companies do that... seems unneccesarily complicated doesn't it
I use sizes 2 and 5 watercolour brushes
which I pretty much use for every piece of work that I do
I'm not fussy about brands as I tend to be a brush abuser
though one here is an Art Spectrum and the other is Winsor and Newton series 7
I don't go for the really cheap ones... they never work as well
or stand up to the abuse so mid range brushes suit me
For paints I love the Koh-i-noor brilliant watercolour wheels
these are my everyday paints and I just blu-tak them onto an old plate to form my palette
this is a serious love too... up there with chocolate and tea type love
I have so many different types of watercolours
but these are my go to for pure pigment and ease
I add a splodge of payne's grey from a tube to the centre on one wheel
and a blob of permanent rose to the other
payne's grey has to be the most versatile colour ever
perfect for shadows, or deepening colours
and permanent rose is the ultimate pink and works wonderfully with colours like orange
so with those additions I am covered for almost anything I would want to paint
the Koh-i-noor's aren't lightfast in the long term
but for work in my sketchbook or work I am going to be scanning they work perfectly
you can't go past the clear brilliant colour
I start with a bit of an outline in pen
if I work in pencil I am a bit precious and tend to not concentrate and observe
so pen makes sure I don't drift off with the pixies mid drawing
I am looking for the correct angles like along the edges of the box
and once that is right then I have a reference point to line the pens up against
again I am looking at angles and work from the far left first getting in the first pen
then over the the far right and get the ones near that edge in
then back to the left if you know what I mean
If I work from just one side then I am likely to get the scale wrong
and run out of room with four pens left over
so I go back and forth and work towards the middle
in retrospect it might have been good to scan those steps to make it a bit clearer
but I am not great at the whole planning thing at times
Once I am happy with the general positions I strengthen the lines up a bit
adding a a few details as I go
at this stage I always start to see all the places I have done a dodgy job
but I have learned to like the dodgy bits
It took time to trust that it will turn out
and no it doesn't always work
but it is a bit of paper and some scratchy lines
hardly worth stressing over
my sketchbooks and drawers are filled with almost drawings, some of which are truly awful
but there are also drawings that I thought were rubbish
but with a bit of paint turned out just fine
I have learned not to judge them as I go
nothing could stand up to the sort of scrutiny we often apply to our art
First layer of paint is usually quite strong in application
I am looking for the strongest areas of colour and also putting in the main shadows
I am not too precious at this stage either
a lot of people get caught up in shadows
but I like to look at it in terms of colour
the colours are deeper in places, and lighter in others
and I try to get those basics down
I am constantly looking up from the page to the box
lots of quick looks
not lengthy gazing and contemplating
more subject , pallette, page... subject, palette, page...
and I am constantly cleaning my brush as I go... it is like a nervous tick...
swirl the brush and look at the subject
check the colour and get it on the page
the quicker the better at this point so I am not overthinking it
I then strengthen up all the colours a bit more and correct any glaring errors
basically by painting over them
and if it is really bad then I use some gouache
which is the magic eraser of the watercolour world
but there wasn't a lot of paint to add to this one so it was just bits and pieces
like on the left hand pen and the marker towards the back
but basically the paint is pretty much like the previous scan
once I am happy with the paint it is all about adding pen
I am looking at adding detail and shape with the lines
it isn't just an outline but more about finding the edges
and also reinforcing the shapes of things
the lines on the top of the clips have directional lines so our brain reads them as receding
and the slight curve in lots of lines on the pens gives them a bit of shape
I also make sure that the pens that are sitting behind others are a bit darker
so it is clearer that they are shadowed and it is at that point that the front ones always emerge
Finishing off is always about grounding it on the page
so I added the shadows to the right of the tin
and strengthened the shadows along the front, top edge of the tin
which helped it pop forward a bit more
I then added some light washes of blue and purple into the shadow
which lifts it and adds a bit of interest to what would be a fairly bland drawing colour wise
which meant I added some to the background as well
but it was looking a bit flat
so I picked up touches of green in the background
which tied into the green on the tin
and it looked pretty finished so I called it done
I worked on all three of these at the one time
adding paint to one as another dried
and pen to another while the other two were drying
I love working on a few things at once
which may say something about my attention span
and speaking of attention span
mine is being sorely tested by such a long post
so I am off to do some drawing
happy painting all...xx