Critters of All Kinds

 

10/25/22 graphite in Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook (20 min.)

One of many things I am enjoying about France Van Stone’s “Critters” course is the variety of critters we are drawing. The dogs have been wonderful, but I’m also getting opportunities to draw animals I don’t often get to sketch from life (at least not up close and for as long as I want). The next three lessons were a napping fox, a cow and a bird (I’d appreciate learning its species if anyone knows).

For the fox, I used a soft Blackwing pencil and a Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, which has a slightly toothy surface that I thought would give the fuzzy fur a nice texture.

10/29/22 Rainbow pencil, Prismacolor in S & B Zeta sketchbook (30. min.) 

For the cow and the bird (sketched in a smoother Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook), I pulled out my favorite seven-color rainbow pencil with help from a dark Prismacolor (Blue Violet for the cow and Espresso for the bird). I love that combo! If you abandon any intention of isolating individual colors in a rainbow pencil, it becomes a tonal tool just like a graphite pencil – but with the benefit of fantastic colors. The hues all mix together randomly in a way that could never be done intentionally with seven separate colors. I have such difficulty avoiding being “realistic” and literal with color that it’s good training for me to simply surrender to the rainbow. Then I go in at the end with a Prismacolor to give umph to the darkest value and accents. The two pencils make a great team.

10/30/22 Rainbow pencil, Prismacolor in S & B Zeta sketchbook (25. min.)

My process of learning and practicing crosshatching is interesting to observe. With ballpoint, it’s all new to me, and France’s “dirty” techniques encourage looseness. When I have a pencil in my hand, though, I have to fight my more formal training. All my “serious” study of graphite and colored pencil at Gage Academy taught me how to model form realistically (a primary learning goal in Gage’s traditional culture), which is by nature a “tight” method: Slowly following the direction of the form with the marks and blending the marks and layers to be seamless.

Crosshatching combined with my self-enforced short timeframe has liberated me to scribble rapidly with straight, short marks (instead of following the form) – but not without care. When crosshatching, as France constantly reminds us, it’s still all about identifying values and using layers and layers of crossed lines to express those values. So I can move my pencil quickly to apply as many layers as possible, but my brain still has to work in the usual way to look for the forms and values. When I signed up for crosshatching with France, I didn’t know that I’d be “retraining” myself in this way – what a surprising benefit! I would like to be able to choose whether to be “tight” or “loose” – not fall back on a default setting. This crosshatching practice is getting me there.

(Reference photos provided by France Van Stone)