The sketchbook doodle that turned into something special. To this day, it’s still one of my favourite drawings.
Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Pastel Pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Archival Sketchbook Paper.
There are many reference photos for iguanas on the internet. This drawing relies on three difference reference images. The drawing was done with a micron .005 pen and then coloring added with pencils. He was a lot of fun....I think there may be more iguanas or other lizards and reptiles in my future!
Fat little birds make me smile! The Eastern bluebird is a North American migratory thrush. My subject is a male with the most luxurious neck rolls! Drawn in Prismacolor soft core colored pencils on toned tan sketch paper.
More ballpoint pen experiments. This was trying to "blend" colors, using ball point pens in a similar way to colored pencils. I found Layering evenly to be pretty difficult, esp with the pens blotching and very very limited burnishing. The interesting thing is that the paper doesn't seem to get "tired" the way it does with pencils. This is just cheap printer card stock.
Pink tulips on toned tan sketch paper. This was my first time burnishing. I used the toned tan paper so that I could better see the effects of burnishing with a white pencil. I used Prismacolor soft core pencils.
Hand and drapery sketchbook drawing. This combo never gets old for me. Faber-Castell PITT pastel pencils, charcoal pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Toned Grey sketchbook paper.
It's never been my practice to stick pins into insects and collect them that way, but drawing them is quite appealing. These are created with Prismacolor pencils and a Micron pen.
A very closeup drawing in 4B, 6B, 8B pencil on Fabiano hotpress Studio paper. I bought some Pitt Graphite Matt pencils and wanted to give them a maiden voyage. They are much lighter on the scale of deep blacks than I expected. More like rarified F pencils. But I like them.
From a snap of me sitting in the waiting room. Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Pastel Pencils and white Prismacolor pencil on 9” x 12” Strathmore Toned Grey sketchbook paper.
The source reference image was from an impromptu photo shoot I did several years ago. The available light in the room was magical and the model was just sitting there meditating.
Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Pastel Pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Archival Sketchbook Paper.
This week, I've been doing pencil drawings of dogs---usually while listening to the news on my computer. Cardigan Corgi, Bloodhound, and Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound). Various graphite pencils on Canson Sketch pad paper. Random on-line photos as reference.
A few days ago, I started a Pigma Micron pen 005 drawing of a tiger. Yesterday, I decided that it would be nice with colored pencil. I used Berol (1990's) Prismacolor, Koh-I-Noor Polycolor, Faber-Castell Polychromes colored pencils.
Love dahlias, not just because they are so ornate, but also because they bloom so very late. The tuberous begonias and potted dahlias are still in full bloom at the start of November, how cool is THAT? (For the northern hemisphere and 47th parallel, no less!) This is a stylized drawing in colored pencils.
The clutter on my drawing table.. I tend to use pencils the most, with pens a close second and sometimes brushes. This is the neat look---when everything is put away in its box. More often than not, they are a bit more scattered on the surface. Micron pen drawing.
Meadhbh standing in front of a green wall. Simplified her hair and the leaves in the background a bit. Charcoal and pastel pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore archival sketchbook paper, scanned into Photoshop. Model: Meadhbh
A drawing that turned out better than I expected. Two hour seated pose.
Pencil, Charcoal Pencil, Pastel Pencils on some weird pad of paper I found in my closet.
This, not very ferocious fellow, was my social distancing Easter weekend project that I finished yesterday. A colored pencil drawing on Strathmore 400 colored pencil pad with several different wax and oil colored pencils.
Magnolias are spring harbingers in our garden, as well as our annual ornamental cherry display. Star magnolias are over, tulip magnolias are in full swing, and the occasional Southern magnolia is starting. Perhaps I should have done this with a gouache paint, but I used colored pencils. Oh well. Outlined after with various sizes of Pigma Micron pens.
Our garden: www.edgewoodgarden.com
Mantid on a rose bud was done on Strathmore Bristol with Derwent Graphitint (tinted graphite) pencils. I love these insects and they are all over the rose bushes this time of year. I tried to capture her natural grace and beauty as she stepped down from her rose bud perch while eyeing her prey.
This started as some scribbling with Inktense pencils on large plain drawing paper. Then I was done, I wanted to wet the the drawing to release the "ink," but I found that the paper would not take water without drastic buckling. So, it remains a drawing rather than becoming a painting.
Pastel pencil study of the intertwined hands of the Ambrogio Borghi sculpture, Chioma di Berenice. Faber Castell pastel pencils, Black and White Generals charcoal pencils on 9” x 12” Strathmore Toned Grey sketchbook paper.