With fine sunny weather it was important to make the most of it. The campervan was packed up with all the necessary essentials plus drawing materials and my partner and I headed for Port William on the Galloway coast, Scotland. With extensive rocky shores to explore, it was difficult to fit in any drawing time.
There was an array of colours and textures to record but little time to sit and draw them. As always I had my trusty camera to capture these views and store them in preparation for sketching when there is more time … probably during cold, dark winter months.
Collage illustrating colours and textures from the coast
Until recently I have not been big on backgrounds!
Also, very rarely have I used colored paper preferring to keep things simple!
That was until I was given some A4 black paper. The first sheet was used to draw a deer using just a white pencil and occasionally a black pencil to go over areas where I was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic with the white!
I enjoyed the simplicity of the process.
Portrait of a Deer using a white pencil on black paper
Then after that positive result I plucked up the courage to use some anthracite colored pastel mat for the Tawny Owl. The dark color as well as reflecting the nocturnal nature of the bird certainly creates impact that a white background fails to do.
Having been pleased with the results of using a dark color, I have now started on a Barn Owl using the same anthracite colored paper …although looking at the images below you would not think that!
The Tawny Owl is nearly finished but the Barn Owl has still got quite a bit of work to do before he is finished.
Work in progress of a Barn Owl and a Tawny Owl
One drawing that I did finish recently was this Badger… I wonder what impact a dark color would have had on him!
Portrait of a Badger
Too late unless I decide to draw him again… which I probably will at some point but in the meantime he will be my next study using mainly a white pencil on black paper!
Pastel mat by Clairefontaine has been my preference for color pencil work. It allows a lot of layers and you can work in a lot of detail but I don’t want to rely on just one type of paper from one particular supplier. What would I do if something happened to that supplier and that type of paper was no longer produced?
Therefore, I have been experimenting with other papers such as Hot Press watercolor paper by Arches, a Bristol board by Strathmore and a drawing paper by Canson. So far they have all produced mixed results. I still need to do more experimenting with the Bristol board and the watercolor paper.
Most of my experimentation has been on the Canson paper with the production of a Gorilla that I was quite happy with which l repeated on pastelmat. Although both produced different results I had no preference as they were both equally appealing for different reasons. Although sketchy the Canson one had a hairy charm that was appealing while the other had a much more refined look.
The gorilla on the top right drawn on pastelmat and the other three drawings on Canson a grain
After that experience I continued with the pastelmat for a while then I had another go at using the Canson… first with a fox which was completed earlier in the year and then more recently with a Badger.
The fox has worked well while the Badger is OK . Then I started on this Tawny Owl mixing pan pastel and colour pencil. It was then I remembered why I liked Pastelmat. The way you can blend colour pencil and pan pastel on Pastelmat is just perfect.
Collage showing the work in progress of a Tawny Owl drawing
In my view the pastel does not work so well on the Canson as I did try it on the gorilla drawing. It is not really designed for that. The pastel mat is far better but of course that is what it is designed for.
Clearly the paper you choose depends on the type of drawing you want to produce and the materials that you want to use.
While I will still use Canson as I do like the texture… it will be for specific projects where I feel the structure of that particular paper will enhance the drawing.
With regard to my main body of work, I will continue using the Pastelmat as it is still my preferred choice for projects that involve the use of pan pastel.
That then brings me back to my initial quest… the search for a back-up paper with similar properties to Pastelmat.
I like flowers particularly wild flowers. There is nothing better than to go for a walk in the summer months and spot all the different plants as they each take their turn to come into flower before disappearing for another year.
Collage showing nine different images of wildflowers
Drawing them forces you to focus in on the details such as whether they are hairy or not, how many petals they have and whether there leaves are arranged alternately up the stem or are opposite to each other. It is definitely a good way to get to know them better. But the drawings I am currently producing… while useful for identification are at this point just sketches.
Collage showing sketches of flowers
It will be sometime before I can represent them in a way that I am really happy with.
I still spend a lot of time photographing flowers. Most of them are just snaps as represented in the gallery above. These are OK for recording purposes but I really want to capture the subtlety of texture.
Photographing them out in the field is hopeless… particularly if like me you live in a windy part of the world!
The other option is to bring the flower inside and while it is useful in terms of having full control, the downside is that it wilt fast so you have to be quick to capture the moment. Also, you are in effect destroying the flower in the process of photographing it. Is that right?
I did for a while buy interesting flower shapes from florists but that was proving to be expensive! Although, I did produce some pleasing results as illustrated in the gallery below.
Cut- flower collage
They are of course not the wild flowers that I really wanted to capture.
Capturing that delicate subtlety of wild flowers will take a lot of photographing and a lot of playing about… but hopefully I will get there.
I am more used to drawing hairy and feathery textures but when I decided while out walking to start drawing some of the early flowers that are now appearing on local walks I had assumed that it would be fairly straightforward.
Drawing the initial shape was not the problem and the petals so far have not given me too much difficulty but what I had not anticipated was how tricky the leaves were going to be.
Each leaf has a subtle blend of different greens.
Take a close look at a leaf … it can be on a flower or a tree … it does not matter. You will notice immediately that there is a difference between the top and bottom surfaces of the leaf. The top surface is usually shiny while the lower surface is more of a mat green. Also the veins have a darker shade on one side and are slightly lighter on the other side.
A further complication is that no two leaves are exactly identical and as each leaf hangs off the plant they will also curve in different ways. Blending the different greens to replicate this requires a bit of thought.
Now it would be easy to ignore all of this and settle for a generalized impression of each leaf but that would not look natural and anyway where is the challenge in that!
A sensible approach would have been to take one leaf and play about with it until it was reasonably representative. I on the other hand just jumped straight in there and started with the entire plant.
Collage showing work in progress for Wood Anemone
Getting the leaves right on the Wood Anemone is going to take some time and while I put the practice in I can take time out as thankfully spring and summer have other subjects to be inspired by :-
The days are getting longer and when the sun is out you can feel the warmth making local walks more enjoyable.
In the local woods splashes of white, gold and pink are appearing as spring flowers make the most of the light before they are shaded out by the leaves in the trees.
Here is a gallery of three different flowers that I can spot locally:
From left to right are Wood Anemone, Lesser Celandine and Cuckoo Flower
Photographing flowers is not always easy. Getting the right light and suitable equipment to get as close as possible to capturing the detail is only part of the problem. Just as you have everything set up along comes a breeze and you end up with a shaky image. But this year the challenge is to draw flowers from the photographs that I have taken and double check their details from diagrams within field identification books.
Another advantage of drawing the flowers is that I can isolate a particular specimen from the background and if I choose to do so, emphasize a particular characteristic.
This way you get to know the plant better. Everything from the intimate arrangement of petals and leaves to whether the plant is hairy or hairless. These finer characteristics can only be appreciated by observing a plant carefully.
Here is a start on the Wood Anemone, the first of my spring flowers. It is also known as the windflower and while it looks delicate it is in fact strong enough to withstand a stiff breeze. Another interesting observation is that the petal like structures are described as sepals. Usually in other flowering plants these are the structures that protect the petals but the Wood Anemone is described as having no petals!
I have chosen the Wood Anemone as it is a good indicator that spring has finally arrived.
Wood Anemone
The first point to note from this experience is that I have lots to learn about drawing leaves!
Photographing art to create digital images is necessary for the promotion of artwork but it is time consuming.
When you do not have the best of facilities!
There is nothing worse than producing dull grey images like the one above!
Thankfully many mobile phones are now capable of producing well lit images. All I need to do is make sure I photograph my work on a suitable bright day.
The images produced in this way are suitable for viewing on a computer, but I now want to create good quality prints. Unfortunately the majority of camera phones do not produce images of a suitable quality.
The ideal option for me would be to scan all my images as I do possess a scanner that has a high resolution option. This for a long time was my preferred way of recording all my artwork. But in recent times this method can no longer be used as the scanner can only do up to A4. Everything I do now is much bigger. I have tried to source an A3 scanner but there is no suitable model that is within my price range.
Another option would be to go to a local print shop but experience so far suggests that most print shops only offer low resolution scans for documents and marketing leaflets. Businesses that do offer these services are too far away for me to consider using in the short term.
Therefore the only remaining option for me is to photograph my own artwork. That is OK as I do have access to a Nikon camera that can create medium sized prints. Ideally I would like at some point to create larger sized prints but I guess that will have to wait.
Going to a professional photographer would be an alternative option but the cost prohibits that for the time being.
In the meantime it is up to me to make sure each image is well lit and is as sharp as possible.
I can make use of my own kitchen as it is big enough and in the morning it has an even light. This can also be enhanced if need be with daylight lamps and reflectors.
Good sharp images are also possible as I do own a good tripod and I can eliminate the potential for camera shake further by makeing good use of the camera’s timer option.
Despite this, images can still look a bit grey. The grid below illustrates the problems.
The first image represents the grey dull image that a camera can produce. The second image shows what can happen if you over use the brightness and contrast controls and the third is better but not perfect!
To remedy this I do need to make better use of the light metering possibilities on the camera. This is a skill that I have yet to fully master but I will persevere!
Thankfully I can experiment by takeing lots of images and then just delete what is not required.
Once the best image is selected then only minor adjustments should be required on a computer.
I suppose you could compare tweaking the brightness and contrast on a computer with displaying a picture in a gallery. If the lighting is poor the artwork will not look at it’s best. However a few minor adjustments to the lighting can make the artwork really stand out!
Is this a good comparison.
I am not sure but in the short time I have a lot of experimenting to do.
Now into the fourth month of a new year it is time to take stock of what I have completed this year.
There were a couple of wolf studies. The head portrait I would describe as my favorite.
A wolf collage consisting of a head portrait and a snoozing wolf.
A large amount of time was also spent on the big cats study that started with charcoal drawings and then progressed on to color drawings. I have no favorite as they are all different.
A Collage of four big cats rendered in charcoal and in colour pencil.
Lately I have concentrated on wildlife local to me. The latest piece to be finished is the roe deer. Again I find it hard to choose a favorite.
A collage consisting of a roe deer, red squirrel, red fox, and a hare
Still got drawings to finish such as the Pine Marten and the Orangutan. I will not rush them but I may need to revisit the Pine Marten. He is not turning out the way I would like!
Work in progress of a Pine Marten
Family Portrait of an Orangutan and Baby 2nd Work in Progress
