Can you draw White with a Gray Pencil???

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

What does white look like?

Is White really White?

How do you do that with a gray pencil?

Arctic Travelers - 9 x 12 , Graphite - Available

When it came time to draw my snow geese, this was my problem!! 

I studied the drawing and determined what was pure white.  Highlights mostly.   They became my guide:  The Zero Value.  Everything else had some value of gray. I then worked up the scale, carefully creating shades of gray till the final dark was reached.

Of course I didn't stop there!!  I like to blend my graphite which gives that lovely soft tone to the light areas.   But it does require many layers to get the darks. For me it is worth the effort, I love the soft feathery look it gives my geese.

My Arctic Travelers are Lesser Snow Geese visiting the marshlands at Riefel Bird Sanctuary.  They come each fall from Wrangel Island, Russia, in the Arctic Ocean, north of Siberia.  Hard to believe they travel 5,000 km each October to winter on the farmers' fields and marshlands here in the Fraser Valley.  They can travel at pretty good speeds; some of  them have been tracked flying non-stop from Alaska to here (2500 km) in less than 36 hours!

The younger geese stay with their parents for quite awhile.  They have a light gray colour rather than the bright white. This threesome is the parents with one of their kids!

Capturing animals in graphite is one of my specialties, if you would like to commission a drawing of one of your pets Contact Me.  I would be pleased to work with you to bring your project to life.  See more of my Animal Commission work on my Commission Page..