Friday, May 30, 2014

Back in the Studio

Luce, for Julia Kay's Portrait Party
9x11 inches, colored pencil on toned sketchbook paper

Spring is going wild outside here in southern Wisconsin, and I have been having a devil of a time making time to do any art.  I think I can chalk it up to a basic need to get outside after that very long and brutal winter.  My body needs sunshine and fresh air!  That said, I think doing my art, as much as I love it, is a little like exercising in that once I let it slide it is hard to get back into the habit.  

So, earlier this week I put aside planting flowers, pulling weeds, and photographing headstones for a few hours of drawing.  It started when I went digging for my materials for the summer figure drawing program I like to attend at UW Whitewater.  I have a "go" bag of drawing materials, a couple large pads of paper, and other miscellaneous necessaries, but all of it had disappeared into the morass of my art attic and needed locating.  Looking at the various pens, chalks, and pencils got me considering my small stash of Derwent Coloursoft pencils, and I suddenly had to use them.

This is the small portrait I did from a photograph for the Flickr group Julia Kay's Portrait Party.  Luce must have taken a shot of herself sitting at the computer, hence the lighting.  But I liked her expression and the way her hands framed her face, so I chose her to draw.  I have done a series of these portraits using very few pencils, and adding a textured background by rubbing over an embossing plate.  It's quick and easy, and makes an interesting but not overwhelming background.  

Clearly I need to replenish my stock of these buttery soft pencils, because I like the effect here very much.

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