Why Graphite? Painting and Drawing Tips

Things started off very simply ...
In a way you might say I was silently, systematically seduced . . .     

"Happy Mother's Day" my family said.  They presented me with a Beginner Drawing Kit: sketchbook, pencils, eraser and a 'How To' drawing book.  I was a bit surprised and yet not.  I had mentioned to my husband that I wanted to try drawing.  He had marched off to Opus, our local Art Store, and after lengthy discussions with the staff, picked out supplies for me.

SPECIAL MOMENTS - 16 X 20, Graphite $550 Matted - Black and White has its own Secret Attraction

I was thrilled.  
I dove into that book and read it cover to cover.  Many times.  I tried some of the exercises.  I read some more.  I tried some of the activities.  I read some more.  I scoured the library for more books.  I tried some more.

I struggled.
Things weren't happening like the books said.  I wanted to continue but didn't know where to go.  I finally got enough nerve to take a one day drawing class.  It gave me tons of encouragement and new things to try.

THE SNOW CAPPED CAFE - 16 x 20 - $500 Matted - 

Then I went to a graphite artist show . .
His name was Harrison, he drew trains.  Not really my thing. But I loved his drawings. I loved the texture he got with his paper.  It wasn't paper at all. He used rising museum board as his base.  I loved it!

WISHFUL THINKING - 11 x 14 - $225 Unframed - I love the Contrast of texture, the rough edges on the branch and smooth fluffy hair on my cat.  

That was my turning point . . .
Using White Rising Museum Board, which is really a 2 ply mat board, I could achieve my goals.  It was rough enough to have a tooth so the texture I craved was easy to achieve.  But at the same time it was sturdy enough to take the punishment of a blender.  Life was good.

Why black and white . . .
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy colour but ..... there is something about black and white that really draws my eye.  I googled it to see why people love black and white.  It said it has a sense of 'timelessness' to it.  It does. But I am not sure that's what draws me.  I only know the texture and the gray tones really speak to me.  My birds and animals come alive when I work with it.

A FRIENDSHIP MOMENT - 16 X 20 - $500 - Whether it is rough strokes or smoke blending people & animals are alive

Is Graphite my only medium? . . .
My regular readers know I do other things.  Yes, I love graphite and its soft touch to paper but sometimes I just want a crisp line. Then I use my ink.  No surprise here, my favourite pens have black ink.  And of course, sometimes I like colour; then my watercolours are out in full force.

How do I decide what to use?
It depends on my mood and the subject.  The crisp linear shapes of poppies calls to my ink pens.  Combining with watercolour they are a treat. Animals will always call to my pencils, the soft touch with a blender means their fun will always will always be fluffy. I have do dabble in watercolour with my birds and animals and I find all my lessons in Graphite really help to make my birds more alive.    So, no there is no easy way to describe 'how I decide' what to use.

What are your thoughts?  Is graphite a 'real' medium for Fine Art for you or is it used for a sketch to help develop a painting?

Next post: Get Great Texture with Graphite

Using Graphite is on my mind right now as I prepare for my upcoming talk at the Surrey Arts Center, on Thursday evening, Nov. 1.   Join me.

Nov 1, 7:30-9 pm.  The Secrets of Graphite - Thursday Night Art Talks with Wendy Mould AFCA, CDM.  Surrey Art Center, 13750 88 Ave, Surrey.
Learn how to make magic with pencil - Artists have been doing this since 1564.

Opportunities Coming Up: 

  Thursday, Nov 22-Saturday, Nov 24

Paints'n Bloom Workshops & Art Show & Sale in Support of the Alzheimer's Society of BC
Gardenworks at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby

Workshop Day: Tuesday,  Nov 20

10-12pm - Beginner Watercolour Class

1-3pm Christmas Card Making Class

$40 ea. All supplies incl. Beginner to Advanced Welcome
Registration Happening Now Contact Wendy 

Artists reading this post also find the following valuable:

3 Ways to Turn Drawing Despair into Action here

Drawing a Seagull Part 1 and Part 2 Starting here
Using Edges to Make Soft and Fluffy Birds & Animals Part 1 and Part 2 Starting here 

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

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

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Working Big and Small - Painting & Drawing Tips

Smack! 

Swissssh! 

Smack! Swisssh! 

Smack!

Oh, that awesome sound! That feel!  There is nothing like a well hit golf ball.  It is effortless. When. It. Is. Done. Correctly. 

So much like drawing . . . .

You take your pencil, set it to paper,  Swissssh your arm and watch.  A perfect line appears. One that accurately describes your subject. It feels wonderful.

But life is not always like that . . . .

Wendy with the Indian Pipe Mushroom Family - Charcoal & Conte 

They say you need to do your 10,000 hours in order to do something really well.  I hate to agree with Them but I think they may be on to something.  I had a bit of an experiment going on with  two of my students last week.  They are both very talented and do lots of drawing and painting, but always working small, sitting at a desk/table.  I felt they needed the experience of working in a larger space and really getting their body involved with their work.  I also knew that future Art Classes for them would be working on easels and they needed to feel/have that experience. 

So we tried a little experiment . . .

First off we did a normal session working with some Indian Pipe Mushrooms as our subject.  (I know, I seem to be totally on a mushroom trip right now. It must be our fall weather.  And the best mushroom growing conditions in years). 

For this first session we worked our normal 1.5 hr session on developing a cluster of Mushrooms using our usual graphite pencils. 

Session 1:  Small Graphite Drawing using Derwent 2B, 5B, 8B pencils

Session two was the same subject, but now on 18 x 24 inch paper.  Again using graphite but much larger pencils.

Session 2: Large Graphite Drawing with 2B and 6B Sticks

Session three, same mushroom cluster,  same large paper but now using charcoal and with sepia conte.  All sessions were 1.5hr. 

Session 3: The Indian Pipe Mushroom Family, Charcoal and Conte 

Results were interesting . . .

1.     With each session we got more done.  You would think the smaller pictures would be finished the fastest but in fact that was when the least amount of work was completed. For both of the other sessions we had to spend a bit of time to learn how to use the materials before starting.  So in fact the last 2 sessions had less drawing time.

2.    Values got bolder, more varied.  The Mushrooms became more alive and interesting

3.    Less erasing.  When I explained in the third session that with Charcoal you really wouldn’t be doing any erasing there were a few worried comments.  However, once they got into the drawing, those disappeared.  In fact, the only erasing was at the end to bring back a bit of the light.  This was more a result of inexperience with the material than anything else.

Takeaways . . .

1.     More confidence - definitely a big win here.  Working with the same subject, learning about its characteristics meant lines and strokes were more confident and purposeful.  

2.    Using the full body for the big swoops - this may be related to the confidence but it was great to see the big swoops happening rather than the short stroke, stroke, stroke, to do a long sloping line

3.    More standing back to evaluate - Standing is a bit tiring,  OK, I admit it.  It is one of the downsides of working big.  I did find I was tired of standing by the end of a 1.5 hr session.  But on the upside, because you are standing you are more apt to move around. Step back from your work and evaluate what is happening.  This is a big one.  You see the drawing as a whole, rather than your little working spot and this puts you in a better space to see what is happening in terms of patterns forming, composition, and values. 

Does this mean I can’t work smaller? ? ?

No, I still plan to work at my drawing table and enjoy myself immensely.  But it does mean I will explore a subject more, spend more time drawing and working with it.  It is also a good reminder to keep lifting my drawing and putting it on an easel and sitting back and studying it.  See what is happening as I work away.

Do you work big and small?  Any observations/takeaways you have from that experience?

More thoughts on focusing longer on a subject see here.

Opportunities Coming Up: 

1.  Nov 1, 7:30-9 pm,
The Secrets of Graphite - Thursday Night Art Talks with Wendy Mould AFCA, CDM.  Surrey Art Center, 13750 88 Ave, Surrey.
Learn how to make magic with pencil - Artists have been doing this since 1564.

2.  Thursday, Nov 22-Saturday, Nov 24

Paints'n Bloom Workshops & Art Show & Sale in Support of the Alzheimer's Society of BC
Gardenworks at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby

Workshop Day: Tuesday,  Nov 20

10-12pm - Beginner Watercolour Class

1-3pm Christmas Card Making Class

$40 ea. All supplies incl. Beginner to Advanced Welcome
Registration Happening Now Contact Wendy 

Artists reading this post also find the following valuable: 

How to find the Right Sketchbook Friend - here
Is Your Sketchbook Ready for You? - here
Have You Felt the Freedom of the Line? - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

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

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

Time for a Photo Shoot- Painting & Drawing Tips

ARE your gloves, toque and scarf ready to go?

At this time of year the rains start.  It is cold, wet, gray and dreary.  For many it is depressing.  Not enough light.  Where are the Vitamin D capsules.

But it doesn't have to be that way . . .

THE NEW APARTMENTS - Lots of secret hideaways can be found in the dark corners of the forest

Get your gloves, toque, scarf, rain gear and for me the best invention ever - waterproof runners.  Head out and see a different world: spidery trees silhouetted against the storm gray sky; angry clouds swooping down over the rolling farm land; busy squirrels scurrying along the fence.  There is lots happening even though it is gray and dreary.

THE JOY OF SOLITUDE - framing the shot but still including lots of foliage information 

As many of you know I have a young dog, Max.  Let me tell you that gray, dark and dreary doesn't stop him.  (Well, actually add heavy rain and he really starts to wimp out).  But at any rate, he wants out for walks, every day.  We head out at least twice a day for at least 40 minutes each.  So I know, there is lots happening out there even when you think all is still.

PRETTY BUT POISONOUS - Names for future paintings POP into mind, when I am drawing from my experience

This is really a great time of year for artists. . .

Getting good Reference Material is tough.  I know you can hop on the internet and surf away, but painting from your own experiences, brings more emotional involvement into your work.  New adventures translate into more enjoyment for you, new inspirations, new directions, and better work.

THE HIDEOUT - Set my aperture speed so colours were rich and warm, rather than washed out as they would have been on Auto Focus

Max and I went on a photo . . .

It was AWESOME.  We have had a week of cool rainy weather, great for the mushrooms.  I grabbed my camera and Max and I headed out to Tynehead park. (the old wooded section, for those that live near here) It was wet and dark tramping through the trees yet surprising pretty.  Many of the leaves were down, so the ground was covered with rusts and golds, the long, straggly moss was clearly visible draped from the trees.  But more exciting of all was the mushrooms.  Max and I found lots of them.

THE FAIRY VILLAGE - I try and step back to get lots of location information when shooting my subject

THE FAMILY GATHERING - I zoom in, zoom out, try different angles.  You never know when you will capture that special shot. 

Some things I think about when shooting:

- change my camera settings to see what looks good.  My Auto Focus was gray but when I used the Program Mode and changed my Aperture Setting (closed up the light getting in) I got lovely golds and browns in my pictures.

- shoot my subject as closeups but also zoom out, try different angles.  Collect information on the setting that could be added to a drawing or painting.

- kept myself Open to new subjects.  Who knew I would find so many different kinds of mushrooms once I really started to look for them.  I photographed 10 different types on that one trip.

What was Max doing ?. . . .
You probably are wondering what Max did while I was kneeling on the ground, straddled over logs, squatting down behind trees.  He was being the most wonderfully trained dog I have ever seen!!  When we found our first mushrooms, I was so excited I drop the leash and started shooting.  He stood around, wondered a bit, but basically stayed within a few feet of me, dragging his leash.  He trained himself.

MAX - He is becoming the Greatest Artist's Companion!

There are great spin offs from every Photo Shoot and not all are predictable. . .

- I have, of course, already started to enjoy a few random sketches of my mushrooms

- My students have already expressed an interest in drawing and painting them.  I can't wait to try some of them in pencil

- Naming future mushroom paintings will be easy as I am already bubbling with names and painting ideas. (see last post on The Naming Game.)

- A new series may be born: one that might not have any wildlife in it but then again, maybe it will.  I wonder what kind of wildlife would be wondering by a mushroom.

- Writing and talking about my mushroom paintings will be easy, my adventurous day already has some great memories to infuse into my talks.  

For me the life of an Artist is more that just working away in the studio, what about you? What else do you do?

Wendy's Work is always available on her website:  "Art by Wendy" & at her Etsy Store: WendyMouldsArt

Opportunities Coming Up: 

1.  Nov 1, 7:30-9 pm,
The Secrets of Graphite - Thursday Night Art Talks with Wendy Mould AFCA, CDM.  Surrey Art Center, 13750 88 Ave, Surrey.
Learn how to make magic with pencil - Artists have been doing this since 1564.

2.  Thursday, Nov 22-Saturday, Nov 24. 
Paints'n Bloom Workshops & Art Show & Sale in Support of the Alzheimer's Society of BC
Gardenworks at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby

Workshop Day: Tuesday,  Nov 20
10-12pm - Beginner Watercolour Class
1-3pm Christmas Card Making Class
$40 ea. All supplies incl. Beginner to Advanced Welcome
Registration Happening Now Contact Wendy 

Artists reading this post also find the following valuable: 

How to find the Right Sketchbook Friend - here
Is Your Sketchbook Ready for You? - here
Have You Felt the Freedom of the Line? - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

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

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy

What's in a Name? - Painting & Drawing Tips

"Pacific Harbour Seal: Sunbathing"

The name came instantly to mind.  I love it!

PACIFIC HARBOUR SEAL: SUNBATHING - Matted 8 x 10 $130 on Etsy 

Have you struggled with naming your pictures?  Paced back and forth in the studio, asked your friends, searched the internet waiting for that illusive name to 'come to you'.  Or worst, resorted to calling it Sea Shore #37.

I have been there. . . .

Finished my picture, bubbling with excitement, ready to share it with the world.  Photographed it,  then ready set up the file to Save.  I can't. I don't have a name. Darn. What. Can. I.  Do.

A name is so important. . . .

It connects me with my work.  It is like a mini Artist Statement, expressing my thoughts.  Telling the world what I was feeling and wanting to express.  And from a financial point of view, having no name for my work, means I am missing out with an important Marketing Tool.  Now, if all that doesn't put pressure on you in the naming process . . .!!??

My solution. . .

I find it easier now to name my pictures and be really pleased with the results.  I have returned to my roots. My over riding Focus for my work: My goal is to bring the Secrets of Nature into your life.

For me it is about wildlife and nature.  I want my viewer to feel they have been out on hike or by the water and suddenly encountered an eagle soaring overhead, an owl resting in the darken forest, or a seal basking in the sun.  To me it is a special moment to meet nature face to face.  One I treasure.  I want my viewers to feel that as well when they see my work.  I want to bring 'the secrets of Nature into their life.'

OYSTER CATCHERS ON THE SHORE - matted 8 x 10. $130 on Etsy
(Part of At the Water's Edge Series)

When I focus on my goals my names come quickly.  They reflect my goal. My newest series At the Water's Edge, was born while camping on Texada.  (See the story of its birth here)  As each piece was completed, the names flowed.  They reflected my respect for the wildlife, and their place/reason for being on the water.  Painting what I feel is important, fills me with a wealth of ideas.

FOLLOWING THE LINE - Part of my Constructive Organics Series

 Another example of how this has worked for me, is an earlier series, Constructive Organic.  It relates real birds and animals with the concept of an environment that is part organic, part mechanical.  My names for the pieces in this series all reflected both of those elements.  For the name Following the Line,  the organic element is the action 'following' with the hard metallic element is implied with the sharpness of the words 'the line'.  (Read more about this series here)

As an Aside . . .

IS THE SNOW GONE - Matted 11 x 14 $225

The Marketing Relationship with picture names was made quite clear to me with my picture "Is the Snow Gone".  Any pet lover can sympathize with little Mojo as he looks out the door to see ALL THAT SNOW.  No way is he going out there!! When I show this piece it immediately catches the eye of animal lovers.  Pet stories follow and talk often leads to Pet Portraits, my specialty. The viewer's connection to me and my art is almost instant.
 (When it poured this morning and Max didn't want to go, I was thinking I could have called this picture "Has the Rain Stopped" and it would still have told the same story. )

Is naming your pictures a problem for you?  What is your solution for the 'hard ones'?

Wendy's Work is always available on her website:  "Art by Wendy" & at her Etsy Store: WendyMouldsArt

Opportunities Coming Up: 

1.  Nov 1, 7:30-9 pm,
The Secrets of Graphite - Thursday Night Art Talks with Wendy Mould AFCA, CDM.  Surrey Art Center, 13750 88 Ave, Surrey.
Learn how to make magic with pencil - Artists have been doing this since 1564.

2.  Wednesday, Nov 21-Saturday, Nov 24. 
Paints'n Bloom Workshops & Art Show & Sale in Support of the Alzheimer's Society of BC
Gardenworks at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby

Workshop Day: Tuesday,  Nov 20
10-12pm - Beginner Watercolour Class
1-3pm Christmas Card Making Class
$40 ea. All supplies incl. Beginner to Advanced Welcome
Registration Happening Now Contact Wendy 

Artists reading this post also find the following valuable: 

How to find the Right Sketchbook Friend - here
Is Your Sketchbook Ready for You? - here
Have You Felt the Freedom of the Line? - here

 Be sure to like and share my posts.

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

Have a great Artful Day,

Wendy