Handy Color Studies

 

12/5/21 A confusing secondary triad

Once I understood why life-drawing models are an intriguing and challenging subject for studying color temperature, I figured I needed to practice during life-drawing sessions. But then I remembered that I have a “life model” on the end of each arm! They aren’t as fun to draw as Shawna, but my hands do show a range of subtle color temperature differences, especially when I exaggerate them by drawing with Art Stix in garish, saturated hues.

Sometimes with these exercises, the results look more like value studies than color temperature studies, since the side that faces the light tends to be warmer than the shaded side. I knew I could easily be confused by this, but I tried to keep color temperature firmly in mind as I worked.

By the way, I stopped sharing these on social media after the first one because some followers were alarmed that the reappearance of the hand meant a return to self-enforced COVID lockdown! Nothing that dramatic . . . it’s just a “handy” life model.

12/9/21 My trusty CMYK triad

12/13/21 Three fun analogous colors that were relatively easy to work with in terms of color temperature.

12/19/21 This complementary pair worked well for this experiment because the cast shadows looked slightly warmer than the form shadows, and those are the areas where the two colors mixed (into an unpleasant green).

Review: Kokuyo Dual Color Pencils

 

This set of 20 Kokuyo Dual Color Pencils came in a plastic case.

You all know of my love for rainbow pencils. I’ve tried many, and while I love them all in principle, some are mostly a colorful novelty and not recommended for use. A long-time favorite has been the seven-color one made by Camel that is sold under various brand names (CW Pencils carries a custom version of it). Soft and richly pigmented, it is also unique in being a true rainbow arranged in a wheel so that each hue could be used independently (sort of, in theory; I wouldn’t bother, though). I reach for it most often when I want a rainbow pencil to use and not just ogle with heart-shaped eyes.

I may now have a new favorite – not necessarily to replace the Camel but to use in a different way: Kokuyo Dual Color Pencils. Made in Japan, the Kokuyo set includes 20 pencils (an alternate set includes 20 mini-size pencils). Each core is made of two hues mixed in a checkerboard fashion revealed by the unfinished end. (I’m not ashamed to admit that I squealed with delight when I discovered the ends!).

Thick, soft cores

Checkerboard cores!

The attractive barrel is also unique: Half the unvarnished cedar (wood type unstated, but my nose says it’s cedar) is painted with a geometric pattern. I have lately seen more pencils, both colored and graphite, with a half-painted natural barrel that I find fresh and modern.

A half-painted, natural wood barrel.

The Dual Colors call to mind two other rainbow pencils in my collection, both Czech-made by Koh-i-Noor: the Tri-Tone and the Magic. With three hues in the Tri-Tones and two or more hues in the Magic pencils, each core swirls the colors together. The Kokuyo Dual Colors, however, are much softer than either.

Kokuyo Dual Color, Koh-i-Noor Tri-Tone and Koh-i-Noor Magic pencils

In making my scribbled swatches (made in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook), it was easy to reveal the two tones by rotating the pencil as I scribbled. I wouldn’t bother trying to isolate the individual hues; these are meant to be used together. Pencils containing analogous hues or two shades of the same hue work best; complementary pairs are less appealing. And I don’t have much need for the one containing two shades of similar grays.

Swatches made in S&B Epsilon sketchbook

Although these pencils are fun to use in the typical unicorn-rainbowy fashion (by that I mean gleefully and without regard for precise color application), they can also be used in another way: allowing the dual tones to work together harmoniously to add richness. When I saw this potential, I picked out three pencils that came closest to the CMYK primary triad that I have been exploring lately – a yellow/orange, a magenta/yellow, and a blue/violet – and sketched a peach. I’m not sure the triadic part of the experiment worked as it typically might, but if I were choosing colors in a more conventional manner, I could easily see using six or seven pencils to capture this peach with a range from yellow to violet. Here, I’ve done it with three; I probably could have done it without the yellow/orange. The soft cores layered beautifully in a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook. And somehow it’s more fun to use two colors in one stick that mix without effort.

8/7/21 Kokuyo Dual Color in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook

I repeat: I love rainbow pencils. And I especially love these.

8/14/21 The hand is baaaack!

Day 407

You saw the first half of this drawing on Day 386, when I received my first Pfizer dose. Yesterday I received dose No. 2, so I could complete the drawing – and with it, the series!

Grateful and relieved to have my vaccinations done, I’m almost as relieved to stop drawing my hand. Strangely, though, I also feel a bit of anxiety: What will I do now as my daily ritual? In the same way that drawing my hand became a symbol of enduring the pandemic, letting the series go is perhaps symbolic of emerging from my cocoon of safety and re-entering the unpredictable public world.

There’s a lot of talk these days about what it will be like to return to pre-COVID life. Eventually unmasked and without needing to distance, we might look like we did pre-pandemic, but we have all been changed. Even if the world returns to “normal,” we will be different.

Unfortunately, we have a long way to go before we are post-pandemic. Infection rates are climbing again in Washington State, especially with new COVID variants, and an alarming number of people have no intention of being vaccinated. I may be somewhat safer, but I am not without uneasiness. Although I plan to get out more, I will be taking small steps. I’m still wearing a mask. And I’m still washing my hands. (However, it may be a long time before I draw one again!)

Thank you, dear readers, for staying with me – I’m sure you became as weary of this series as I did! If you didn’t, and if you ever want to see the 407 hands again, you can use my search label “hand” on this blog. Or to see the images together, view my Flickr album called “Wash My Hands.” Just for fun, I used the lazy girl’s digital collage method below: screenshots of my Flickr album.

Almost There

Chisel point of Sharpie used on its end to make marks instead of "drawing" lines

For the final week, I continued to use unconventional materials, and I must say I’m relieved to be done – I’m out of ideas! And not all of them were good; the worst by far was embroidering a bubble wrap envelope with dental floss. With my history in fiber arts and needlecraft, I thought the embroidery would be a snap. What I didn’t know was that the needle wouldn’t easily pierce the plastic on the bubble side; it merely stretched it. Halfway through each stitch, I had to cut the plastic away from the needle. Almost as bad was that the flimsy plastic often tore if my stitches were too close together – an embroidery nightmare!

This afternoon, I will receive my second Pfizer vaccine and will make the last drawing in this series (I’ll show it here tomorrow). How will I feel to finally stop what I’ve done for 407 consecutive days? Although on some level I grew tired of drawing my hand long ago, I managed to stay engaged by keeping the exercise challenging. As I’ve mentioned, this series has pushed me to try many things – new materials, new approaches, heck, even a new drawing hand, twice – that I probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise. More than anything, though, I came to rely on the ritual of starting each pandemic day consistently: Eat breakfast, finish coffee, draw hand. When everything else in our world has been turned on its ear, it’s important to have things we can count on. 

Staples

Painter's tape

Bubble wrap envelope embroidered with dental floss

Sharpie on bubble wrap envelope

Brush handle and India ink

Acrylic matte medium dries clear, so I photographed
 it as quickly as possible while it was still a bit wet.

Here's what it looked like when it was completely dry.

Crest toothpaste applied with toothbrush to corrugated cardboard. One more to go!

Unconventional

 

Pencil eraser used as stamp

For the remaining days of my series, I am challenging myself to use unconventional materials – either the media, the tool, the support or all three. I don’t test first; I simply decide what I’m going to use, then hit it.

Of the 398 drawings so far, the one done in ketchup is the only one that no longer exists; after the photo was taken, it went straight into the trash (we have an ant problem as it is). It was also the most disappointing in appearance – I always thought ketchup would be a brighter red.

My favorite so far is the blending stump used with fountain pen ink. I’ve only ever used a stump with graphite and charcoal, so I had no idea how it would behave with a liquid medium. The soft marks are surprisingly beautiful.

Every idea is worth trying.

Toothpick and Simple Truth organic ketchup

Blending stump and Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-peki ink

Sailor Naginata fude de Mannen fountain pen and Iroshizuku Yama-budo ink on Kirkland brand paper towel

Mitsubishi Dermatograph grease pencils on newsprint

Vintage rolling date stamp

Q-Tip and India ink on catalog page