Covid #6 challenge: More fabrics

Good morning again. A couple of really strong and interesting fabric works were submitted yesterday. Both are uniquely individual to the artist and reflect their particular style of drawing.

JMcG loves fabrics. She also enjoys using strong darks and has been working on the technique of building up to darks with successive layers rather than excessive pressure. Using layers creates tonal gradient without the shine or paper distortion that pressing gives - and JMcG had done a really nice job with this work developing this. Using Derwent Graphic pencils ranging from F, HB, 2B, 4B, 7B and a touch of 9B this work is an excellent study in fabric folds. It is not overworked or heavy handed in the darks but has good dark shadow/valley recession, tonal range/gradients and highlighted peaks. I think the tassels need more study, but we will look at negative drawing in an upcoming challenge for this.

 This is good work JMcG - J says she hasn't tried the yellow task yet... why not draw this scarf in yellow as well?

'Scarf in Graphite' by JMcG

𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋

GW had drawn her linen scarf, and she has taken a very different approach in technique. Using a linear style rather than tonal gradient GW had concentrated on the form, shape and texture of the scarf. Bold linework of thick/thin marks accent the folds and delineate how the fabric is twisted. Close attention to the linen texture is created with hatching and cross hatching, carefully worked out in dark and lighter pencil.

Although this is not strictly a tonal piece, it is an excellent observational study with strong graphic sensibilities. I like this one a lot.

'Linen Scarf in Graphite' by GW

𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋

Artist of the Week: Helen Edwards

If you have not come across Australian artist Helen Edwards' work, I encourage you to visit her online exhibition HERE. A particular interest to her is the study of fabrics - have a look at her Scarf series:

'The fabric or veiling motifs allow a level of freedom and freehand in the expression and depiction of self. In the Scarf series (2016), Edwards depicts herself in various states of movement but the scarf provides protection, an obscuring – mirrored by the drawing Homage (2016) where, head down, hair acts as the veiling. 

Covid #6 Challenge: Fabric continued

I have had a bit of feed back on this one - it is a challenging exercise! So I am going to let it run a few days more before posting another challenge to give those of you who are struggling with it a couple more days. Watch that knot video if you are stuck, it really is helpful. 

KMcD took inspiration from the video and drew two very nice interpretations of a fabric knot. Drawn using F, B2 and B4 Staedtler pencils on 110gsm it shows a good understanding of the shapes and form of the knot. I think the drawing could benefit with a bit more attention to the tonal gradients easing away from the darkest shadow areas to create less 'line'. But I must compliment KMcD on a strong graphic drawing that works very well.

'Scarf Knot in Graphite' by KMcD

She drew the same scarf again using Rembrandt pastels on 185gsm paper. Again, she has observed the shapes, forms and shadow areas well. KMcD has also achieved in this pastel work the appearance of a soft and cozy wool scarf. Consider adding some white pastel touches to create highlights here and there.

KMcD tells me she did several other drawings before returning to the knot. These are both good works with nice observation. 

'Scarf Knot in Pastel' by KMcD

EM has also done several attempts at the fabric exercise, also bleeding a bit of the 'yellow' study into it as well. These studies are the result of a morning's house cleaning - two works of the grubby dust cloth. Lol, I too, prefer drawing such an item as to using it! 

The first is in graphite, 6B, 2H and then B. The second is using Faber Castell: Light Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, Dark Cadmium Yellow, Dark Chrome Yellow, Alizerin Crimson, Warm Grey III and VI with tortillion. Both were done on standard cartridge paper.

Again, good observation of the forms and shadows. I would be tempted to add a little white chalk here and there on the peaks/ridges to add a bit more highlight to the forms. Good work.

'Dust cloth studies' by EM

EM also attempted to draw the knot found in a slinky tee shirt top. Done in purple, fuchsia, grey and white pastel with a bit of 6B graphite. Although she says she is not too happy with it I think it is a good effort, the knot shape well observed with good 'mountains and valley' forms. What has let her down is the paper she has used and I would encourage her to try again on a better pastel paper!

'Slinky knot' in pastel by EM

As I said above, I will hold off posting a new challenge for a few more days - so get out your pencils, charcoal, pastels and have a go at fabric for me. HERE is another good tutorial to watch if you want a few more tips - it is only 5 minutes or so and he just uses one pencil!

Covid #6 Challenges: Fabric and Yellow

 Good morning all.

It's been a quiet sort of week here. One drawing in ink finished, and a few sketches for some planned works in the future. But not much progress otherwise. However, a couple of you have been keeping busy with these Covid Challenges.

DH is the first of you to submit something for the 'Fabric' challenge. I am very pleased with what DH has done. There is a bit of unfortunate camera flash on the image - this will sometimes happen when there is dense graphite as graphite is a reflective surface. But I can see beyond that flash to appreciate how well DH has observed the bumps, folds and valleys of the scrunched up tea-towel.

If you watched the video in the initial Fabrics post, you would have seen how the placement of very dark black on the edges of the folds works. DH has used that technique here and is quite successful. I also like how he has concentrated on creating the shadows and folds and how the striped pattern reinforces these curves and bumps.

DH was worried that he had gone to dark in the central (flashed) area, but I say no! Maybe could be even darker... maybe. But I think this is a very good observational drawing of fabric, and well done DH.

'Tea-towel Study' by DH

Hey there GW - great to see you here and drawing! GW has been working on her yellow studies, as well as oval drawing and has created this sweet drawing of spring daffodils. One of my favorite spring flowers.

GW has used a cartridge paper visual diary to create this work. Layering can get tricky on this sort of paper as the pencil fills and flattens the surface quickly. There is a little bit of 'bump' created by layering on this paper and I would like to see her try something on a 300gsm hot press - as this is a nice work and deserves to be on better paper!

I really like the range of hues she has used to build up her yellows and the final orange center. As well, the overlapping petals and the shapes are nicely observed. I would like to see GW use a yellow in her green first and then maybe a bit of blue or darker green to create form in the stem. Next time! Overall this is another good study and I am really pleased with her use of layers and build up of the yellow hues.

'Daffodil' by GW

Note:

I use your initials rather than your full names in my posts to preserve your anonymity. However, sometimes some of your classmates would love to know 'who' you are. You can make contact by posting a comment on the comment link on the right, or you could also sign your works with your names if you wish to be wider known.

Inktober is coming!

It's looming - INKTOBER! A drawing a day in ink. Register or go on line, the prompt list for October is up and running so you can begin today. I will be participating here on the blog, maybe you would like to join along? Anyone can do it, it is a lot of fun - and you don't 'need' to post your work - just draw for your own enjoyment. You can read all about Inktober HERE

Covid #6 Challenge: Fabric

This weeks challenge has been inspired by SW's red mask - so you can either thank or blame her! I thought it would be good to review fabrics with you, folds, creases, highlights, etc. This should be a tonal study so graphite or charcoal would be best. But if you choose to do it in color that is fine too, please remember the lessons you have learned over the past two weeks of your Hue studies.

Find a soft piece of cloth, a fabric that can hold a bit of shape but not be too stiff. Something like a linen tea-towel or silk or wool scarf can be good. Gently toss it onto your table top, or tie it in a knot (see link below), fiddle with it a bit if you wish. You might want to have a good light source shining across from one direction. Now observe the various peaks and valleys made by the folds. Pay attention to the dark areas and the highlights. Try and remember to draw the shapes you see, not what you think they should be - think of the six basic drapery lines: 

There are six basic shapes and lines that make up most drapery, which are the J shape, the S shape, the curved line, the V shapes, U shape and Pipe fold.

• Sharp folds or creases are drawn with the V shape. You will find this shape in areas where there is a lot of tension in the fabric, such as jeans pulling across the hip joint or where the fabric is crunched.
• Soft, shallow folds are drawn with the U shape.
• S shapes and curved lines are used to denote draping or deep folds, usually indicating curves of the figure underneath.
• J shapes are used to convey the look of cloth when it gently folds onto itself or folds around the body wearing it.
• Pipe fold – think of organ pipes in a row and you have the general idea

Remember to consider whenever you are drawing any type of fabric the direction that the fabric is going to be pulled in. Folds are caused wherever the fabric is being stretched or pulled or folded; figure out how exactly you want the fabric to move and arrange it on your workspace. Folds are accented and highlighted by light and shadow.

Observe the example below and see how the I have used the above basic shapes along with light and shade to create draped fabric.

'After the Opening' ©Linda Weil

Consider studying some of the masters of fabrics, like Albrecht Dűrer: 

Fabric Study by Albrecht Dűrer

You can also watch a few videos for more hints and tips. This one is good HERE.

Have fun! I look forward to seeing your work.

Covid #6: Weekend works

 Good to see some of you sitting down over the weekend and taking up this challenge. Thank you for sending in the works, I really do enjoy seeing what you create for it.

First up is KB who struggled to find a yellow subject, but then just looked down to her feet at her favorite old house socks. As she says, they are 'a million years old and quite patchy and almost bald in places', but full of character. Created with Faber Castell Polychromo pencils on cartridge paper, her feet are well drawn and look comfortably cozy. Good use of sepia and blue grey to create tone without becoming overpowering and retaining a high key tonal range. Hints of darker yellow-orange to lift the yellow and emphasis form.

'Favorite socks' by KB

KB thought that she should also approach a more serious subject (why? socks are serious!) and did a second work to explore use of yellow. Another good drawing showing how to achieve different tonal ranges in the yellow hues, in this case using a more liner approach to create the yellow fill. Good work KB, but remember, as I am always banging on about, consider using blues or violets over yellow to create your greens before reaching for that 'Leaf Green' pencil.

'Flower study' by KB

Next up is KMcD who has expanded a banana drawing to include a lemon and grapefruit creating this happy, smiling still life. She has used the Derwent watercolor pencils in a range of yellows; zinc, lemon cadmium, gold primrose and cadmium. Shadows are created with raw sienna and light oranges. KMcD noted that the work was initially difficult as yellow is hard to see on white paper until you start to layer, but as you build up it really starts to pop.

And this drawing does pop! Done well and the composition smiles at you.

'Yellow Still Life' by KMcD

HFC has had a bit of a break from drawing recently, but my not-so-gentle coercion has brought her back to the drawing board. And so good to see! She says she is not totally happy with the result, but I see a well observed drawing of shape and form. The central striations and line work in the petals create a good effect. I think the background grey shading is a little bit rushed, but overall a nice drawing of a cheerful, yellow viola. Good to see you back!

'Yellow Viola' by HFC

Now, EM, you are not supposed to do the same drawing as me, and do it better! lol. Excellent work on this lemon. I especially like how you have taken it a step further by cutting one open to see the interesting interior structure. A beautiful little work.

EM has used: Paper A5 Eraldo di Paolo 225gsm wc paper. Faber Castel colors: 

Lemons: Ivory (under all of the lemons) plus White, Cream, Light Yellow Glaze, Light Chrome Yellow, Dark Cadmium Yellow,  Dark Chrome Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Light Yellow Ochre, Brown Ochre, Bistre, Dark Sepia and Dark Indigo. 

Shadows: Dark Indigo plus Bistre.

'Lemons' by EM

And finally, SW has rejoined the party! She is doing a bit of catching up on the challenges and has sent me her 'Red' challenge that I think is well worth a look. It's an apt response to our Covid malaise. Done with color pencils EM has closely observed the fabric folds and highlights. Yellow is included in her range of hues to accentuate the red. Perhaps a bit more intensity of color and tonal contrast could be worked up into the drawing. It is a good drawing that explores folds and valleys in fabric.

 

'Red Mask' by SW

Artist of the Week: MARK SEABROOK

Check out Mark's delightful 'Soyfish' series... and his Hunters! Mixing period photos and movie stills with everyday objects and toys, they are delightfully irreverent.

Covid #6: Yellow Challenge

Yellow! What's not to like? And SB has shown she has no fear by jumping right into the challenge with the first work submitted, a very creditable and delicious looking banana. She has used Derwent Studio Pencils, which are a good quality pencil with a wax feel. Studios have a thinner barrel than the Derwent Artist pencils but are essentially the same interior core. This is a good review on them HERE if you are looking for pencils to buy - these are a good economical option although the thinner barrel and core means large areas of color can be time consuming to lay down.

But as you can see from this smaller work by SB, the pencils work very well and have a great intensity of color. I really like the shape SB has drawn, as well the use of blending lighter yellow/green on the tips of the 'nanna works well and helps to create a solid form. Her choice of using browns and greys for the darker ends is well considered. The only comment I would make is that perhaps the cast shadow could have softer edges? But that is pretty nit-picky of me, this is an excellent drawing SB! And I love the title.

'Breakfast' by SB

Note: If you are in the market for color pencils, bestcolorpencils.com is a wonderful site to visit to help you to make a choice

Our second submission is another banana! This drawing comes from JH and she has used Carbethello Pastel pencils for this work. She has built up from: Ivory, Neutral yellow, Naples Yellow, Orange Yellow, Light Ochre, Burnt Ochre, Lamp Black and Cold Grey #4. Interestingly JH has also used a Prismacolor colorless blender to blend the hues together. I have never tried this with pastel pencils but it seems to have worked quite well in this drawing. I think you would need to be careful using it on something like a suede or velour pastel paper, but for a 'harder' paper it appears to be successful.

This too is a lovely study of a 'nanna. My only comment is that I would not have used so much Lamp Black - if any at all, as it is quite strong. It is rather overpowering in the cast shadow.  I would have tried Ultramarine 405 followed by Paynes Grey 770 first, then maybe touches of the Lamp Black. But this is a personal preference and does not fundamentally detract from this study. 

A good work JH, you should be very happy with this!

'Banana Yellow' by JH

A return to Refraction:

DH has been otherwise occupied over the past few weeks, but has finally had the opportunity to complete the 'Refraction' study of a couple of weeks back. It is such an interesting and good work I thought it was worth showing.

Some of DH's ovals are not quite right - pointy on top right, a bit off on the bottom right of the water level - but overall they are well observed and not too wrong. This is a complex drawing with many things happening, refractions through the water and the top rim, reflections in the glass, distortions of the tones through the water of the background, printing (on a curve!) on the flask. As well as an interesting and deceptively simple flask shape that is actually quite difficult to draw. 

I great drawing with good observation. Well done DH.

'Flask Refraction' by DH

And finally, I just want to bring to your attention that
  FALCONS ARE NESTING!

Great Lock Down viewing of our Melbourne Peregrines atop the Mirvac building. She has a couple/three eggs and you can watch live-stream HERE 

Beautiful birds.

Covid #6 Challenge: A new Hue

 It's been fun to see your works and watch the different ways each of you have approached the challenge of creating tonal variations in Red. But now for a more tricky one:

YELLOW (3 ways)

Yellow can be difficult to work with as it is strongly affected by the addition of any other color. If you add too much blue or violet it turns green. If you add red it gets too orange. And then, if you add grey tones you can end up with a muddy olive color. When working with yellow it is important to understand that it is bright, light tone. Just about anything you add (except white) is going to darken and change the tone. So you need to start light, with your lightest yellows and only add darker tones in the final stages to create form and shadow.

To demonstrate I have prepared 3 drawings showing technique for 3 different mediums; Ink or Inktense or watercolor pencils, Prismacolor/waxed pencils, and just for DH, graphite over color.

Covid #6: Red continued...

 From KMcD a delightful observational drawing of red and green leaves observed on her daily walk. Rather than rewrite her details I will quote her:

'I added the green for some contrast but built up both colors with different colors.  For the red leaves, the subject leaves had a high orange color so I used middle chrome and orange chrome as the under colors.  I then used a combination of scarlet lake, crimson lake and rose madder lake, all Derwent pencils.  The shadow on the leaves was dark violet.  The green leaf was yellow and blue combined for base and then grass green and juniper green.  The branch was a combination of light to darker browns but I did wonder if I should have combined red and blue to make a brown.  It was really enjoyable to use the combinations as it really gave depth and tone.'  

This is a very good example of building up your tone and hues with layering different color pencils. Regarding the brown, I always do recommend you start with something other than a brown pencil, perhaps a gold ochre or the like. Most browns have a lot of black in them and can be a dead color to use but starting with yellows or red layers underneath can liven them up. Then some blues or violet over the brown layer in the shadows to make them pop.

'Red and Green Leaves' by KMcD

Covid #6: More Reds

 Great to see a few of you embracing these challenges. I hope more of my VAS and MMAG groups decide to join in - remember, drawing is like any skill; practice is essential. Practice, practice and more practice! I will be posting a new challenge on Wednesday so get your pencils out and start drawing!

JH has used Prismacolor pencils with layered technique to create this effective color pencil drawing of red grapes. She has used:
Prismacolor pencils: red grapes -cream, rosy beige, peach, rose, crimson red, black cherry and black grape
Purple grapes – blue violet lake, indigo blue, crimson red, black grape, black cherry
Stalks – cream, blue violet lake, indigo blue, yellow ochre, white
Shadows – blue violet lake, indigo blue, crimson lake, black cherry.

These combinations work well together creating a deep tonal range with good hue and saturation. Done in her visual diary the paper doesn't hold as much medium as a better paper and would have made layering and burnishing difficult. Its' the burnishing/rubbing with other pencils or a blending pencil that assists in creating a smooth and shiny result and visual diary paper cannot hold up to that treatment.

I fiddled with the white levels for you JH to bring up the white paper better. This helps to show of what a good drawing this is!

'Red Grapes' by JH

JMcG asked for all the worksheets and spent time exploring how to build up color and create depth and tone with layering and the use of complimentary colors for shadows. The homework she has done really shows in this excellent drawing of Red Chillis. JMcG hasn't specified what medium she has used, although she did say she tried using Inktense pencils for a different work she was not happy with. So not sure if this is color pencil or inktense - but either way it is a very successful drawing! I love how she has used the darker hues to create shadows and forms. Well done.

'Red Chilis' by JMcG

Finally, EM has outdone herself this week! Using Inktense pencils she has drawn this lovely rendering of a Royal Gala apple. Good attention to form and details. Plus, EM has taken 'steps' of her progress so you can all see how she created this excellent result!

EM, did you use white paint or gel pen for the highlights on the top of the apple?

'Royal Gala Apple' by EM

Covid #6: More works

 We have our first submission for Red! OLE was quick to take up the challenge and drew this striking,  stylized self portrait. Color pencils in crimson red, red-brown, red, brown, skin tone, white, light orange with tones added in HB pencil have been used to create an interesting and unique work.

'Red - self portrait' by OLE

And EM has drawn a Refraction work for us to view. She has used a medium outside her comfort zone - pastels - and it is good to see her stretching herself! These Lock Downs are a great opportunity to experiment with new things. She has used Mont Mart soft pastels and Eraldo di Paolo pastel paper for this. These are very much 'student' quality mediums,  I find Mont Mart pastels far too crumbly and dusty, but good enough to play around with!

I know EM loves detail work, so using the chunky MM pastels was a challenge for her. Her result is very good! The glass is nicely drawn, with dark shadow and white highlights, good ovals and transparency. The jonquils are outlined in blue creating deceptively simplistic shapes that work really well.

'Jonquils in pastel' by EM

Artist of the Week

One of my best friends and favorite Australian artists is Mignon Parker. Have a look at her beautiful works HERE. You can also follow her Instagram page for the most recent works.