![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgPHtBIXg2whWt5f2JmHO27a9smYE3EF9hDHxumIGYzwpMwj6C5yiaKui2OGQOT7RkEz1sWLhd2X7ZYEMaT40Ny4J_WQAfwI6z8kLHZXXeKCqF4G3JFQMysqFjCr5u36cRttjoVNcHg/s640/4-24-19+vintage+Mitsubishi+bicolor%252C+Zeta%252C+Wedgwood+neighborhood%252C+Seattle.jpg) |
4/24/19 Wedgwood neighborhood |
As you’ve
probably noticed, I’m always looking for ways to minimize my sketch kit, even if my attempts are more hypothetical than real. Both last winter and this year,
I included a red/blue editing pencil in my minimal kit simply because it conveniently
enabled me to carry two colors in the space of one stick. But I had it all
wrong.
I’m
starting to learn that the real talent of a red/blue editing pencil is that it
may be the ultimate minimal sketch kit. I’ve been using bicolors to help me see and interpret values more accurately, and the
red/blue pencil is proving to be an excellent tool for that. While a single graphite
pencil could be used to study values (Eduardo Bajzek’s workshop was all about that), it takes me a long time to express a
full range of values that way. Using red and blue together, on the other hand,
works like a shortcut in getting that job done. I’m diggin’ it!
The house below in the Green Lake neighborhood (which you saw a while back in ballpoint from a different angle) was actually
yellow (another mind-bender for literal me), and the roof was dark gray. Since
both the front and the rooftop were in sunlight, I could have made the roof red
also, but it was still darker than the yellow siding, so I made it blue. I also
liked the contrast between the red and blue, which was in keeping with the warm
yellow front and the cool gray roof.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PTlgcgiYjucmKa_YdztZq0arB3sd6W3GENcH-F-Hm0c6kwbzGIwoBvsmgofPldOl_hIpiBj_e9SChP4abIRSuYKAyEb6_gRSQA2j0ypr2JDHwVC_7Ec90XP1fxfiJxhMPLvJtTmErw/s640/4-27-19+contemp+Mitsubishi+bicolor%252C+Zeta%252C+Green+Lake+neighborhood%252C+Seattle.jpg) |
4/27/19 Green Lake neighborhood |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-O48oLrU2T95_wEbghtVH3ue7kxvlX2RnEvC1iBdlwaLZZAlzJBae1ZB_d3V-YgOglZ5C3nVp7L36KCDI2LMzRQBqy7vo9vJWEJW5H5BaEdCUcOSlOH7nud6xlNtPoteCYpPPgk2COA/s320/4-26-19+vintage+Mitsubishi+bicolor%252C+Museum%252C+Zeta%252C+cherry+picker+at+foot+of+Space+Needle%252C+Seattle.jpg) |
4/26/19 Seattle Center |
Of
course, the red/blue concept as I’ve been using it – with red representing warm/lighter
values and blue representing cool/darker ones – works best when both light and
dark are easily apparent. In the sketch below (which you saw a few days ago), I realized after I began that the composition
I chose was all in shade, so it ended up a mostly monochrome sketch. In fact, I
pulled out my much darker Prussian blue Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle pencil to give the paler bicolor blue a hand with the
darks. Ironically, the green grassy field
between the machinery and the Space Needle was in full light – so I had to color it red!
One
more irony: Although I worked as an editor for more than 30 years, I never used these red/blue pencils for editing. It’s never too late to find the
right tool for the job.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWHsi5eBdFeaDdmmiYm5yxt_0UmY5l18G4Jdw6CDOJcCx1xt7wv3T_jo10hbooaVmJVzC3Xtz-riGkMsWbjmXM5brYhXrp5ps60hzNOk8NOTnWu9ItN6SVfNDcn5TkweZn_5o3Nqp0Aw/s640/Mitsubishi+red+blue+editing+pencils.jpg) |
Top: vintage Mitsubishi red/blue editing pencil; bottom: contemporary version. The contemporary vermilion is a touch warmer than the vintage red, but they are otherwise identical in look and feel. |
This seems to be working well for you!
ReplyDeleteThanks -- I'm really enjoying experimenting with these colors!
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