After a hectic weekend i managed to get back to the drawing board yesterday and worked up the layers of graphite on the neck of the labrador to completion,leaving just the ear for me to complete today.This is a simple drawing but it's been so nice to use some of the lovely darker/softer grades of graphite here for a change with multiple overlayering of 2B and 3B on top of the usual harder grades.The drawing positively glistens with graphite and makes the lab's coat look even more shiny.I'm hoping this will go down well at the summer shows this year as i'm always being asked 'have you got a lab?'.
8 comments:
This is just gorgeous, but I'm curious about your comment re. the drawing 'glistening' with graphite?
Must confess I've always thought of the graphite 'sheen' as being a problem as it reflects too much so I dull it down by spraying fixative. Do you just leave your graphite drawings unfixed?
Beautiful drawing, I can see all the minute lights in the coat.
hi sue,i think there are definitely two schools of thought on graphite glare,some artists dislike it and others dont mind.i fall into the latter group and i revel in my graphite glare! lol.i am a graphite artist and graphite shines so i live with it and dont ever fix my work.i think if i didnt like the properties that the shine can bring to a drawing i would probably be tempted to use carbon pencils as they are very flat matt black but i dont like the matt finish ,its just personal preference as with many things in art :-)
vic,thankyou as ever,therein lies the beauty of layers :-)
Fantastic artwork Clive, I'm very jealous !
Haven't read through all of your blog yet so you may have mentioned this but what sort/weight of paper are your drawings done on and have you ever lost a drawing because you tried to "lift out" a detail a little too hard ?
Have you ever worked in colour or pastel ?
Gary
hi gary and thanks.i work on arches hot pressed watercolour paper and its pretty heavyweight,300lbs or so off the top of my head.i havnt lost a drawing for ages as i very seldom give up on anything(way too stubborn) but i rarely use lifting out in my work,only on very rare occasions.i'm never entirely satisfied with the results from lifting out,can be a bit too loose for me.ive tried many colour mediums and the ony two that i could ever get a grip on were oils and oil pastels and i guess thats something to do with the amount of control i can exert over what happens when using these.
http://evamariagey.blogspot.com/
Hi!
I often see your drawings, I usually paint with color pencils.
I made a drawing in black and white. What do you think?
Do you use special or HB pencils, H and B is enough?
If you can advise me I will be grateful.
Excuse my English because I'm not very good.
Thank you =)
hi eva,your wolf is very well rendered,i particularly liked the portrayal of the fur on the neck and chest areas.it is rather delicate in tone and perhaps a bit more range of tone would give the image a bit more contrast and solidity.i always use a full range of pencil grades when drawing from H right thru to 5 or even 6B sometimes depending on how dark the image will be.building up the drawing in layers will also give depth,solidity and a far greater range of subtle tones to work with.
I really enjoyed this and am glad that all these people asked you so many questions. They answer a few of my own ;-) The fur texture is fantastic and I was interested to hear about the knitting needle over on bird forum, I was trying to work out those lovely thin hairs after the Saker.
He/she has a very lovely expression that has been beautifully captured :)
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