OMG!! This is a Razzle Dazzle Triple Chocolate Brownie

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

You know the feeling.

You take that bit of the Triple Chocolate Brownie, you feel the soft gooey center, surrounded with luscious dark chocolate. But there is a hint of something else!  It makes everything sooooooo good.

Sometimes that happens in the studio and it is so exciting. You start to work, things are perking.  The colours are blending nicely, strokes going on well.  A great baking session is happening. You know you have another Triple Chocolate Brownie on the way.  

Then you step back and look. Things are Really Good.  You can feel it. This picture is special; this is a Razzle Dazzle Triple Chocolate Brownie!

GENTLE - 12 X 16 - Graphite

Want to make a Razzle Dazzle Triple Chocolate Brownie?  You have done it before but somehow it doesn’t always happen. And that is alright.  Not every picture will reach the Razzle Dazzle level but Triple Chocolate Brownies are nothing to laugh at.  They are wonderful.   However to make something new things have to change. Try a different colour, brush, subject, or place, doesn’t have to be big.  Just give things a shake. 

For Gentle, the change was the paper.  It isn’t paper.  It is a drawing film.  But man does it change things up.  The texture, the blending, the crosshatching, they all have a different touch.  The contrast between them is exciting. 

Okay, I know it is my grandson again but who could resist the subject.  I caught this candid shot of him with our neighbour's cat, Alvin. He is a friendly cat and went over to say hi to Liam.  Liam just reached down, gave him a gentle touch and then the two of them moved on. A gentle moment.

I know you want to know all about working with this film.  I talked about it a bit when I tried coloured pencil on it.  (see my March 2015 Post - How to have fun with Colour Theory  The coloured pencil worked great.  Vivid, clean marks.  It also allowed blending of colours.  When I saw that I knew I had to try graphite.  While we were camping I gave it a go.

Here is the scoop:

Working with graphite on the film was very easy when I wanted dark marks.  I could easily blend and build my dark tones.  Problems occurred when I was searching for the soft tones. I tried harder and harder pencils as I could not get my touch soft enough.  (That has never been a problem for me.  Usually it is my darks I can't get dark enough!) I was finally using a 6Hpencil to work on his shorts to get the lighter values. 

The skin tones were another story!!  No pencil for them.  I used a blender and a soft paintbrush to get the soft subtle tones. A toddler's face, can have no hard edges. You know what happens, an instant Old Man.  That was a challenge!!  Even with a blender.  I found I used the paintbrush to put graphite on but also to take it off and smooth it out.  It definitely made the difference!! 

Erasing can be deceiving.  Yes, it comes off.  No, you will never get back to clear. But it’s very hard to control.  It takes pressure to remove a mark so more comes off than you want. Reworking becomes the name of the game.

Did I like it? Totally.

I loved the way I can create that beautiful contrast in the texture.  Not only does my cat come alive but my little person does too.  ( you probably looked at the person first but I do love my animals)   I am sure once I work with it more I will work out the kinks.

So . . . 

Change things up.  
Get your  Razzle Dazzle Triple Chocolate Brownie underway.

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Have a good day,

Wendy