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| 2/28/20 Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelles in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook |
Neither of us is hot on bell peppers, so we don’t buy them.
Whenever I’m in the produce area, though, I look at them longingly, thinking about
how much fun they would be to sketch – all those shiny, complex, curvy contours
and vibrant hues. This week I had the ideal opportunity: Bell peppers were
assigned in my botanical drawing class!
Before class, I sketched in my usual way with watercolor pencils. As expected, the rich colors and
reflective surfaces were a fun challenge.
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| 3/1/20 Prismacolor Art Stix in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook |
The second one was done with Prismacolor Art Stix with
looser color and less detail. It was also fun, but challenging in a different way.
I kept wanting to make it sharper, but the flat, dull edges of the Art Stix wouldn’t
let me. It’s fascinating to me that it’s so challenging to be loose.
Finally I took the pepper to class. I enjoyed this
assignment more than any other in this class so far. In addition to being fun
and challenging, it was deeply satisfying to render all those curving contours and
subtle changes in value with graphite.
I’m not done with the pepper, though. In fact, I have a green
one in the fridge, too. I’m sure I have a few more sketches coming before they
go bad.
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| 3/2/20 graphite on Strathmore Bristol 300 smooth |
Mouthwatering! The graphite pepper looks so elegant. How many grades of pencil did you use to make the range of tone with such fine detail?
ReplyDeleteAnne
Thanks, Anne! I used grades 3H-2B in Tombow Mono and Mitsubishi Hi-Uni, which are a couple of grades softer than average (European) pencils. The 2B was used only in those tiny, darkest spots. And I kept them all very sharp as I worked -- a key to getting smooth tones, just like with colored pencils.
DeleteI've just stumbled upon your blog via Well Appointed Desk, and I have to say you are truly an inspiration. I have always been interested in drawing but was told I didn't have the talent so I stopped trying. My daughters have encouraging me over the past year to begin drawing, giving me pencils and sketchbooks. Last year I managed to fill almost a full book and was looking for motivation to do more this year and your blog has definitely given me that push to do more to pursue something I really enjoy. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so happy to hear that you are inspired! If you go back to the beginning of my blog, you'll see how I got started! And I'm still learning every day. Keep on drawing! :-)
DeleteReally beautiful drawing! Elegant is the right word for your pepper! I wasn’t aware that keeping a sharp point helps with getting smooth tones. Any more advice about that?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Re: sharp points: I've learned this about both graphite and colored pencils: The sharper you keep the point, the easier it is for the material to get into the tiny spaces on the tooth of the paper, even if the paper seems smooth. Then when you apply the next layer, the very sharp point can go back in and fill in any spaces that might have been missed. It's easy to test this yourself: If you use a flattened pencil point, it just skims over the high points on the paper's surface, so all the receding areas show through. Hmmm, maybe I'll show this on the blog sometime! Thanks for the idea! Your questions often give me good ideas for posts! :-)
DeleteThanks Tina! You continue to inspire me also on my drawing journey!
DeleteYou did great sketches of the pepper. They are such fun to sketch or paint...both outside and inside. These look good enough to eat, and I love red peppers. Hope to see more!
ReplyDelete