There are Rehearsals in Drawing? Painting & Drawing Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Yes,  Rehearsals are in Drawing and Painting.

No, this isn't about Studies or Notan Sketches
A Drawing Rehearsal is a Fundamental Part of the Drawing Process.

Flowery Butterfly Card, 5.5 x 4.25in
With Butterflies and Flowers you can create Cards for any Occasion - See Spring Classes Below

The Dictionary defines a Rehearsal as "a session of exercise, drill or practice, usually private, in preparation for a public performance".  As a visual artist your public performance is your finished artwork and your private work place is your studio.  You are probably thinking you do lots of drills and practices and really don't need/want anymore.  This however, is very different.

So you ask What is a Rehearsal in Drawing and Why would I want to do it. 

A Drawing Rehearsal is an incremental part of the drawing process when using pen and ink.  There is no eraser or 'do over'.  When the line is drawn it is there.  You either make something with it or start again. So a Rehearsal is common practice. 

How to do a Rehearsal in Drawing
Take your pen, pencil or brush and hold it over the spot where you need to put your mark.  Do not touch the surface of your paper.  Move your pen as if you were drawing the line but do not touch the paper.  As you move 'feel' what is happening. Ask yourself these kind of questions:

• Does my mark 'fit' into that space? 
• Is my hand/arm comfortable to make that movement?
•  Do I need to rearrange my picture so I can come at it from a different direction? 
• Should my mark be curved more, longer, shorter, higher, lower . . . .?
• Where should I rest or lift as I draw a long line?
• Should I have breaks in the line? Where should they be?

Flowery Bouquet Card: 4.25 x 9.25 in
A Rehearsal is done first before drawing flower stems and lines bordering the page.

 Of course not all lines are that crucial to the completed project.  Some will be buried with crosshatching, others will become a wispy branch or the suggestion of a figure in the distance.  But some lines are crucial, you only get one chance to draw them.  That is when the Rehearsal becomes very important. 

Examples:

My card, Flowery Bouquet, is quite long and skinny.  It is designed to fit into a business envelope.  (A really neat shape to play with, but that is another story.) When it comes time to draw in the flower stem, I wanted a loose, curvy continuous line.  My rehearsal sweep with my hand made sure I had a comfortable stroke moving down the page.  A rehearsal was also needed for my bordering lines to determine how far up and into the page I wanted them to go and which direction I wanted to move my hand.  In the end I turned my paper sideways and went right to left.  

My card, Flowery Butterfly, at the top of the page also has a border.  My Rehearsal helped me decide how tight to make the curves, where to put breaks and also how far to move into the page.  The little leaves are a great way to camouflage a rest spot if you had to stop and regroup. 

The Rehearsal is not limited to just drawing with pen and ink.  There are certainly times when painting that you need to make that special line or sweep.  I realize you have the luxury of a "redo" in acrylic and oil but isn't it nice to just do it once.  A simple little Rehearsal of the movement may be all you need to Draw It and Leave It.  

Want to Beef up Your Drawing Skills in a Fun Way?
Learn the power of 'the line' and 'the Rehearsal' - feel the free flow of ink on paper.  Join me in a Spring Creative Card Class.  You will be using Butterflies and Flowers to create Whimsical Cards for any occasion.  Just imagine the fun of giving such personalized cards to family and friends. Cost $35 supplies included. Contact Wendy to register.  Classes are small and fill up fast.

Schedule:
Easter Monday, April 2, 10-12pm Expression Art Gallery, Maple Ridge
Saturday, April 21, 10-12pm, Art by Wendy's Studio/Gallery, N. Surrey
Wednesday, April 25, 1:30-3:30pm, Mandeville Gardens, S. Burnaby

Are you ready to try something new? You will be surprised how new skills and ideas can creep back into your work in so many ways.

Next Post:  Keep that Line Lively and Loose

My Etsy Store: WendyMouldsArt  is always open and new things added all the time.  

Opportunities Happening now: 

Have an Artfilled Day:  Wednesday, April 25

Gardenworks at Mandeville, 4746 Marine Dr. Burnaby

1.  Beginner Watercolour Class 10-12pm

Learn the secrets of Watercolour, the Big Wash, Wet into Wet, then drop in those Sprinkles of Detail to bring it all alive.  Just in time for your summer fun. 

2.  Creative Card Making Class 1:30-3:30pm

Start your Spring season off with a fun afternoon of making Creative Cards for those special people in your life; Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthday, Friendship, Thank You's are more meaningful with personalized cards created by you.  Learn tricks and techniques to put your ideas into action.   

Workshops $35 each, all supplies included. Register Now with Wendy 
They have a wonderful little cafe there which I highly recommend for lunch. 

Drop-In & Draw Sessions: 

 Mondays: April 2, 16 & 30- 10-12pm or 1-3pm

Expression Art Gallery, 227 & Lougheed Hwy, Maple Ridge,

Choose a morning or afternoon session. Bring your sketchbook or project and come and work.  I will be happy to give you pointers.  $15 Pre-Registration Required.  Contact Wendy Here. 

Good Follow-Up Session to the Marketing Workshop: 

April 9 - Building Your Online Presence with Wendy Mould, AFCA 6-8pm. Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC. $20 nonmembers $15 members.

How to Find Your Starting Point in a Drawing - here

3 Steps to Putting Magic into Your Art - here

Time to Crack Open that Travel Journal - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

You won't miss a single one if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Have You left Your Comfort Zone? Painting & Drawing Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Feeling like you been working all winter on the same kind of things? 

 Are you in danger of entering 'The Creative Rut'?

PERCHED ON THE LINE - 3 X 4 -Ink& Watercolour Matted $110
Part of my Constructive Organics Series 

Winter is a great time to move inside the studio and immerse yourself in your Art.  I find that my days fly, I don't mind the rain and who cares if we are snowed in.  I am in my Zone.  This can carry on for weeks or months and then suddenly I feel it.  That sense that this picture is 'Stale'. My Spark has dwindled.
For me I think it is related to spring.  It is starting to get very warm here and on the nice days I can work outside.  Time to pull out my plein air stuff. That may not work for you, for one thing the rest of Canada is still in Winter!  But there are other ways to 'freshen' things up.

Move out of your Comfort Zone . . . 
Try something new.  Take a course.
I don't mean bounce around from one thing to another but take/try something new and then take it back into your work.  This is where the real reward is.  When you make it yours.  Working this way has lead me into some interesting projects and spilled over to my other ventures in so many ways.

Have you painted in Oils?
Me neither, but a few years ago when I was arranging an Oil Painting Workshop for my art group one of my friends talked me into coming too.  It was really interesting and a great challenge.  I learned a lot.  It totally helped me in my teaching as I could understand how painting and drawing skills worked together.  It extended into my writing as I published several articles on painting and drawing skills and how they meet.  I also took some of the skills back into my own watercolour and graphite work.  You can read more about it here.

My First Oil Painting - 8 x 10 - 

Have you tried drawing with permanent inks?
I know, you are going to say that really isn't a stretch for me.  I love to draw with pencils and inks but I had never tried the Zentangle/Doodle kind of drawing.  I picked up a book, again another friend had talked me into it.  (I guess I am more easily persuaded than I thought) This proved to be a real turning point for me.  Since I got the book, I have found that using patterning has influenced my work in so many ways.  For example, as my regular readers know, I talk more about finding the pattern and flow when drawing your realistic bird and animal feathers and fur and developing the backgrounds. My painting above "PERCHED ON THE LINE" is another example.  It is all about integrating my ink pattern work with my realistic wildlife.  
Actually my daughter thinks I went kind of crazy as I incorporated patterns into my realistic work, started teaching Seasonal Creative Card Classes and of course blogged on the benefits.  You can read more about this adventure here. 

Butterflies and Flowers teach you the freedom of the Line

Looking for a New Adventure?
Learn the power of 'the line' and 'the broken line' - feel the free flow of ink on paper.  Join me in a Spring Creative Card Class.  You will be using Butterflies and Flowers to create Whimsical Cards for any occasion.  Just imagine the fun of giving such personalized cards to family and friends. Cost $35 supplies included. Contact Wendy to register.  Classes are small and fill up fast.

Schedule:
Easter Monday, April 2, 10-12pm Expression Art Gallery, Maple Ridge
Saturday, April 21, 10-12pm, Art by Wendy's Studio/Gallery, N. Surrey
Wednesday, April 25, 1:30-3:30pm, Mandeville Gardens, S. Burnaby

Are you ready to try something new?  Have fun with your new adventure, you will be surprised how it creeps back into your work in so many ways.

See you next week - Find the answers to the Question: There are Rehearsals in Drawing?

My Etsy Store: WendyMouldsArt  is always open and new things added all the time.  

Opportunities Happening now: 

Have an Artfilled Day:  Wednesday, April 25

Gardenworks at Mandeville, 4746 Marine Dr. Burnaby

1.  Beginner Watercolour Class 10-12pm

Learn the secrets of Watercolour, the Big Wash, Wet into Wet, then drop in those Sprinkles of Detail to bring it all alive.  Just in time for your summer fun. 

2.  Creative Card Making Class 1:30-3:30pm

Start your Spring season off with a fun afternoon of making Creative Cards for those special people in your life; Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthday, Friendship, Thank You's are more meaningful with personalized cards created by you.  Learn tricks and techniques to put your ideas into action.   

Workshops $35 each, all supplies included. Register Now with Wendy 
They have a wonderful little cafe there which I highly recommend for lunch. 

Drop-In & Draw Sessions: 

 Mondays: April 2, 16 & 30- 10-12pm or 1-3pm

Expression Art Gallery, 227 & Lougheed Hwy, Maple Ridge,

Choose a morning or afternoon session. Bring your sketchbook or project and come and work.  I will be happy to give you pointers.  $15 Pre-Registration Required.  Contact Wendy Here. 

Good Follow-Up Session to the Marketing Workshop: 

April 9 - Building Your Online Presence with Wendy Mould, AFCA 6-8pm. Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC. $20 nonmembers $15 members.

How to Find Your Starting Point in a Drawing - here

4 Ways to Grow the Sketchbook Habit - here

Get Those Values Working for you - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

You won't miss a single one if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Using Edges to Make Soft & Fluffy Drawings/Paintings - Painting & Drawing Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

CATCHING SOME SUN, WIP - when finished matted 11 x 14, $225

It was a special treat when Max and I rounded the corner on the trail and I saw this little Varied Thrush.  We were walking in our favourite wooded park a few weeks ago.  There had been a light snow fall the night before which was already melting in the warm sunlight streaking through the trees.  I saw a few birds off in the bushes, much larger than our usually fair.  As I watched them the sunlight suddenly caught one and I saw that flash of orange.  I know right away it was an illusive Varied Thrush.  Well, illusive for me.  They are not usually found in the suburbs preferring the more forested areas but in winter they may visit us looking for food.  This was such a treat I just had to paint him. 

I find birds and short haired animals a bit of a challenge when it comes to creating that soft fluffy look. I think that it is because Edges play a more important role than values to create that softness.  With furry animals you have those wispy pieces of hair flying and they help in a big way to tell the story of the texture.  With a good splash of value changes you are there. But unfortunately small birds don't really have those wispy pieces. (see my last post on building a fluffy look with values here)

What do I mean by Edges?

I know there are many different ways of talking about Edges but for me Edges are "the transition areas between shapes".  This can be the outside edge of an object but also the many different shapes within the object.  In the case of my Varied Thrush, where the wing and body meet are shape transition points but also the colour changes on his chest are different shapes with transition points.  Each of these transition spots forms an Edge.  What happens at these spots seems to go a long way in telling the story of the texture of the object.  

Detail from CATCHING SOME SUN

Creating 'Fluffiness' through Contrast of Edges:

Contrast is a very powerful way to send messages to your viewer.  The contrast of the sharp edge of the wing feathers with the puffy lines in the chest area tell the viewer their texture is different, one is sleek and one is softer.  The same is true with the moss and branch.  The smooth edge of the branch contrasts with the short rounded edges in the moss, both the outside edge but also the color transition edges.  This re-enforces the idea that one is soft and fluffy and the other is dense and harder. 

SKETCHBOOK WORK - Blacktail Deer 

This young Blacktail Deer was one of the friendly fellows that greeted us on Cortes Island last fall.  He was most obliging in letting me get a few good shots of him.  With his short summer coat and in places very angular lines, it was a challenge to give him a soft, fluffy look. 

The contrast of the smooth, straight Edges around the face and the curved edges of the body help to tell my story.  But what happens inside his body at the edge of each shape gives a clearer picture.  (For me, I see shapes as the area formed by each different value) Looking at his neck, I see 2 shapes.  The darker area at the back and the lighter area in the front.  The value change between them is soft and gradual, telling my eye that this is a soft, rounded shape. This contrasts with the sharper, straight external edges of the neck.  The contrast (contradiction) between the two areas tells the story. This same story is happening all over the deer's body.  

The transition area between these value shapes is key.  Whether it is gradual or sharp the transition area tells a very important story about the texture of the surface.  I feel "where things meet" is a crucial part of any drawing or painting.  The most important stories happen there: texture, location in the picture plane and location in relation to other parts of the object/picture. Check out your paintings and drawing.  Do you feel the same way? Do you see other important story telling points?  

To learn more about creating that soft and fluffy look with your birds and animals check out my post How to Draw/Paint Fur that is Soft and Fluffy.  

Next post takes a break from Soft and Fluffy to look at the Crisp Line of Ink. In the meantime check out the opportunities below.

My Etsy Store: WendyMouldsArt  is always open and new things added all the time.  

Opportunities Happening now: 

Have an Artfilled Day:  Wednesday, April 25

Gardenworks at Mandeville, 4746 Marine Dr. Burnaby

1.  Beginner Watercolour Class 10-12pm

Learn the secrets of Watercolour, the Big Wash, Wet into Wet, then drop in those Sprinkles of Detail to bring it all alive.  Just in time for your summer fun. 

2.  Creative Card Making Class 1:30-3:30pm

Start your Spring season off with a fun afternoon of making Creative Cards for those special people in your life; Mother's Day, Father's Day, Birthday, Friendship, Thank You's are more meaningful with personalized cards created by you.  Learn tricks and techniques to put your ideas into action.   

Workshops $35 each, all supplies included. Register Now with Wendy 
They have a wonderful little cafe there which I highly recommend for lunch. 

Drop-In & Draw Sessions: 

Tuesdays: Mar 20,   Mondays: April 2, 16 & 30- 10-12pm or 1-3pm

Expression Art Gallery, 227 & Lougheed Hwy, Maple Ridge,

Choose a morning or afternoon session. Bring your sketchbook or project and come and work.  I will be happy to give you pointers.  $15 Pre-Registration Required.  Contact Wendy Here. 

Good Follow-Up Session to the Marketing Workshop: 

April 9 - Building Your Online Presence with Wendy Mould, AFCA 6-8pm. Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC. $20 nonmembers $15 members.

How to Find Your Starting Point in a Drawing - here

4 Ways to Grow the Sketchbook Habit - here

Get Those Values Working for you - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

 You won't miss a single one if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Painting Soft and Fluffy Birds & Animals Part 2 - Painting & Drawing Tips

NEW WORKS FROM THE STUDIO OF ART BY WENDY

Are your birds and animals . . .Soft and Fluffy?

As a wildlife artist, birds and animals are my main concern. But as I started to work on this series of posts I realized that 'Soft and Fluffy" is more than just bird's feathers and animal fur.  It is about so many things: fabric, flowers, moss, leaves, faces. . .  It is a big part of Art Making, whether realistic or abstract.

CHECKING OUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD -  $225 matted to 11 x 14
Available at my Etsy Shop: WendyMouldsArt  

Creating 'Soft and Fluffy" things is like any new thing I focus on in my art.  Once I realize it is there, suddenly I start to see it everywhere!!

Soft and Fluffy for me is all about Values and Edges (See my last post How to Draw/Paint Fur that is Soft and Fluffy ) My latest picture "Checking Out the Neighbourhood" seemed to be full of  my thoughts on how tonal values create that 'soft and fluffy' feel. So I decided to use it.  Usually I relate tonal values to gray scales. But I found the concept of tonal values in colour was not an easy transition for me.  It is more than just making the green darker or lighter.

Creating a Soft, Feathery Bird: 

Picture Detail: note the different values in my Woodpecker

Take a close look at my Pileated Woodpecker.  BTW I was thrilled to see him in our backyard.  We sometimes get the smaller Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers but the big Pileated Woodpecker is a truly rare sight. We are in the suburbs of Vancouver, not in a rural area surrounded by trees.

When you see the gray-scale version of my painting you can see the layers of values that sculpture his shape.  There is the small areas of Black (10) in the shadow areas and the tiny area of White (1) by his beak, where the sunlight catches him in the shadows.  But elsewhere you can see Values of 2 & 3 on his back on the right, 7, 8 & 9 on the wing area on the right and several values in between.  Note even the "White" area has several values.  Some I would even call a Value of 1.5.  

For me the other important thing is the colour.  When I first started to paint I knew about the values from my drawing but didn't realize how to make them in colour.  I just used more paint, same colour to get it darker.  That really didn't make it interesting or alive.  I began to experiment with colour and values and as you can see now the "black's"of my woodpecker have all kinds of colours in them.  (See my post Values & Colour in Action for more information on this.)

Creating Soft, Fluffy Moss: 

Picture Detail: Soft, fluffy moss covers the branches of the Maple Trees in our yard

Looking at the Gray-scale closeup of the moss you can see the many different values that break up the mass.  This gives a sense of dense softness. Again, a variety of colours were used.  Warm and cold greens but also yellows and reds and browns.  When you look at moss it is not just one colour, it reflects the colours around it as well as the colours in it.

As you build up your values, try challenging yourself to introduce other colours.  At first it felt strange to me but once I let it dry and stepped back, I could see that it really did work.

Is it hard to get a 'soft, fluffy' feel to your subject material?  What do you find works for you?

In my next post I want to take a closer look at the other side of the equation - Using Edges to make Soft and Fluffy Birds & Animals.

Values and Edges don't work alone, remember to use a little HocuPocus in Your Work too.

Opportunities Happening now: 

Drop-In & Draw Sessions: 

Tuesdays: Mar 6 & 20,   Mondays: April 2, 16 & 30- 10-12pm or 1-3pm

Expressions Art Gallery, 227 & Lougheed Hwy, Maple Ridge.  

Choose a morning or afternoon session. Bring your sketchbook or your project and come draw.  I will be happy to give you a few pointers as you work on a drawing.  $15 Pre-Register Required. Contact Wendy Here

Good Follow-Up Session to the Marketing Workshop: 

April 9 - Building Your Online Presence with Wendy Mould, AFCA 6-8pm. Federation Gallery, Vancouver, BC. $20 nonmembers $15 members.

Looking for more Drawing Tips, check out these popular posts from the latest Drawing Series.  

How to Find Your Starting Point in a Drawing - here

4 Ways to Grow the Sketchbook Habit - here

Get Those Values Working for you - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.
 You won't miss a single one if you Follow by Email or Like my Facebook Page.
Have a great Artful Day,
Wendy