A Two-handed Approach

Tags

Antietam Farm, barn, canson XL watercolor tablet, farm buildings, graphite, illustration, oil pastels, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, springhouse, wagon shed, Waynesboro PA

wagon shed with vines

The Story Behind the Sketch:

The tendonitis I had quickly developed in my left wrist from over-use, had left me unable to sketch at all for a couple of weeks, –most distresssing!— but with the help of a brace, visualization/relaxation , and careful avoidance of use, I began to feel like I could try it again. 

After a three-week hiatus from painting-out with the group, I was missing my artist buddies. Hauling the chair, table, & other equipment needed for this activity, worked out okay thanks to help from friend George. The group went to the beautiful Antietam Farm outside Waynesboro, which has a delightful assortment of old  buildings including this wagon shed.

The Technical Stuff:

Canson XLwatercolor tablet, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, 5B graphite sketch pencil. Various acrylics brushes.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

Having some use of my right hand now, I chose to use both in doing this sketch. First I drew in the general outlines of the bulding with the oil pastel using my left hand. I found that, in “thinking with my left” so to speak, my sense of perspective was different; it took some getting used to.  I did some brush work with both left & right, eventually falling  into a rythm of adding color with one hand & brushing water over it with the other.

The picture seemed to lack definition, as I find my work often does when using water-soluble media, so I outlined almost everything with a graphite sketch pencil. I made a point of doing this with my left hand so as to stay in practice.

One of those things that happens sometimes with outdoor sketching is that you have to change locations halfway through the sketch due to some weather condition, in this case hot sun. My painting partners & I actually had to move inside the wagon shed. Needless to say; I had to “wing it” from there on out. As a result I’m not sure I got the perspective correct, but then again , with old buildings, things are apt to be crooked anyway!

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

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“Leash-time Sketching”

Tags

botanical drawing, graphite, Master's Touch, nature, sketch diary, sketches

Sundrop And Wild Grapevine Sketches

The story behind the sketch:I decided that our elderly cat Smokey, who seemed a bit depressed, needed a pick-me-up. It was time to end his mainly-indoor existence & let his feet touch the grass. I started taking him out on a leash, which he loves. My problem was that I ended up just standing around while he spends much of his time lounging on the ground & eating grass. A small folding chair & a bag to keep my sketchbook in solved the problem.

my experience in doing this sketch:

Leash-time sketching is different from normal field-sketching; It is “catch-as-catch-can.” When Smokey decides to move, I have to change subjects! I didn’t get any further on the sketch of the sundrops than a contour drawing. ( But I really observed how that plant is made, which is worth something in itself.) During the drawing of the wild grapevine, Smokey decided to take a nap—-so I had plenty of time to do some shading & detail on this one.

The technical stuff:

Because I had to carry my supplies around, I pared down to the absolute necessities: a #2 HB school pencil with a new eraser on the end, ( well-sharpened), and a “Master’s Touch ” brand hardbound sketch book.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Another Page from My Diary; Fox

Tags

animals, artwork, drawing, Emmitsburg Maryland, graphite, January, nature diary, red fox, sketches, sketching

RedFox in Graphite

The story behind the sketch: Spring is officially here, but I’d like to pay homage to Winter one last time, by sharing this page from my nature diary, entered back in January.

As my husband & I walked in the “natural” portion of a town park nearby, I was feeling rather gloomy since there was little color, compared to that of the bounty of wildflowers that had been growing there a few months ago at our last visit. But we found a treasure that was equal to or beyond the color of Autumn: a red fox, sitting out in a field, leisurely grooming himself in the sun. Luckily, he wasn’t aware of us, and I was able to snap several pictures before he finally realized he had observers.

my experience in doing this sketch:

At first,  I was only doing a “preliminary” sketch, very rough & all in one grade of pencil—just to kind of get the “idea” down on paper. ( Which I ran out of space on when it came to the fox’s long tail!) But later I went back & added more detail–just for the heck of it. It’ still kind of rough, but that’s okay; it doesn’t  have to be a super-detailed drawing; it  preserves a memory for me, & as I drew it, allowed me to familiarize myself with the way a fox is “made” , as simply taking a photo could never do.

The technical stuff:

A #3B Eberhard Faber Microtomic graphite sketch pencil was used to “rough-in” the image. Softer grades were used to add some detail–5-9B.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Inspiration is a Gift…

Tags

art, artwork, cobalt blue glass, Derwent, graphite, illustration board, money plant, nature, pottery, sketches, sketching

Graphite Still life of Money Plant , Pottery, and Jar

The Story Behind the Sketch:

…And then, sometimes a Gift is Inspiration!

When my friend Carole gave me a lovely pottery pitcher with a motif that reminded me of  money plant seed heads, “Still Life!” was the first thing I thought of. The wheels started turning; I knew had some dried money plant out in the shed, & could probably dig up a piece of cobalt blue glassware  to coordinate with the dark blue designs on the buff-colored piece. A painting was my original goal, but after photographing and doing a “preliminary” sketch, I decided I was pretty satisfied with just the sketch itself. 

The Technical Stuff:

Crescent Cold Press illustration Board, 3B & 9-B General’s Graphite Sketch pencils, Derwent Graphitone water-soluble graphite pencils to help make a soft background tone on the wood siding. A paper stump was used for the delicate blending on the seed heads.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

I had taken photos of three different arrangements of the objects used. After narrowing it down to two, I asked for advice  from artist friend George on how to combine the best features of each. I think his advice was good. ( Sometimes it really helps to have a “fresh eye” look at things like this.)

 

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

A Hairy Situation

Tags

3B, 9B, animals, artwork, colored pencils, cream-colored paper, drawing, graphite, Hair Sheep, Prismacolor pencils, sheep, sketches, sketching, wax-based pencils

Hair Sheep in Graphite & Colored Pencil

 

The story behind the sketch:

The painting-out season is nearing an end, so I was looking through photos from the various locations where my artist’s group has met this year. I found a really good photo that my friend Karin had taken at one of the farms, the subject’s being what is known as a Hair Sheep, according to the owner. Basically, this is a “self-shaving sheep”.

my experience in doing this sketch:

Well, it was a bit of a struggle! The wool and skin were the same color, so it was hard to visually separate the the two. I ended up making the wool darker than it really was to remedy this.

The second problem came from working on cream-colored paper; it’s okay for some subjects, but it does make it harder to get a strong contrast between lights and darks. To get the sunny look I was after, I needed intense darks, & no matter what grade of graphite pencil I used I just couldn’t get them. I finally resorted to using a black Prismacolor pencil,—– & called the drawing “done”.

The technical stuff:

3-B pencil was used to sketch-in the rough outlines, with just about every grade of pencil between & including 9B , with the addition of a black Prismacolor pencil. ( For those of you unfamiliar with Prismacolors, they are wax-based pencils that are relatively soft, and very nice to work with, the colors being more intense than the colored pencils you probably used as a kid.)

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2011. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

The Appeal of the Unfinished

Tags

art, artwork, Creatacolor Monolith, Derwent, drawing, Eberhard-Faber, graphite, H pencil, illustration board, sketching, strathmore, tree, wagon wheel, water-soluble graphite, wood fencepost, woodless pencils

tree and wagon wheel in graphite

What is it that is appealing about an unfinished work? It could be that it’s  like a flower; something beautiful unfolding. It could be the mystery in it; the potential, the chance for our imagination to fill in the blanks.

I  also think that it’s due to the delicious contrast present in an unfinished work; the bright white against  the darkness of the places already “filled-in”. It’s like the brilliance of a sunny day.

The lesson I learn from this is to let some white areas in the finished drawing, and try not to add so much detail to the darker areas that I lose the brilliance. In other words, fight my tendency to get carried away!

The technical stuff

Strathmore Illustration board, vellum finish, is the substrate. 2B sketch pencil used to outline basic shapes. Cretacolor Monolith woodless pencils, 2B & 9B,  used to achieve good darks.  Derwent Graphitone  water-solubles for areas of solid tone, Everhard -Faber Microtomic H to do some very light shading  and to clean up the edges on areas where the graphitone or creatacolor pencils are used, as they leave a slightly ragged edge, at least on this paper.  ( I always knew there had to be some use for the ‘hard” range of pencils; just didn’t know what it was till now. )

Summer Treasures

Tags

art, artwork, botanical drawing, Creatacolor Monolith, Derwent, drawing, Eberhard-Faber, graphite, illustration board, plants, Queen anne's Lace, sketching, strathmore, water-soluble graphite, Wild Carrot, wood fencepost, woodless pencils

Queen Anne’s Lace

The story behind the sketch:

Ugh–Summer heat. 90 humid degrees and then some. I just want to stay inside & hug the air conditioner. But the fact is that if you dont go out into the heat, you miss so much beauty .Summer is filled with treasures, among them the wildflowers. Queen Anne’s Lace has always been one of my favorites.

My experience in doing this sketch:

I decided to go “big” on this, due to the detail involved.  The image size is about 8.5 x 14″  ( For me, that’s large.) I didn’t know exactly how to proceed with drawing the flowers; they are so complex. But I slowly began & kept adjusting, till I found the right approach. Too much detail made them too dark, & too little didn’t give them the texture they actually possess. Putting lots of darker shapes in between the parts of the blossoms helped. It was an interesting “puzzle”, working out how to make the shapes of everything stand out; darkening an area in the background to bring out a light object in the foreground, & vice-verse. The wood was a pure joy to do. Water Soluble graphite pencils made it much easier to achieve variety and texture, as well as a subtle background.

The technical stuff

Strathmore Illustration board, vellum finish, was the substrate. 2B Everhard -Faber Microtomic sketch pencil was used to sketch in somes basics & add detail, Craetacolor Monolith woodless pencils, 2B & 9B, were  used to achieve lots of texture & good darks. (I like these pencils because you can vary line width by angling the pencil.) Derwent Graphitone  water-solubles were used to get a soft background & fade it out at the edges, as well as on several places on the wood post.

Caricature

Tags

art, artwork, caricature, drawing, farm buildings, graphite, outbuildings, sketches, sketching

Outbuilding in graphite

The story behind the sketch:

I was in the mood to paint, & thought I would be brave  and sketch this building right on the watercolor paper & start painting. But after a few sketches & subsequent erasures, I decided to save the paper & do a separate sketch as usual.

My experience in doing this sketch:

I was running  out of time ; it was hot, & miserable, so I did this quickly . Surprisingly enough, the quick ones often seem to be the most appealing. I think this is because in sketching quickly, an artist almost does a caricature of the subject, be it person, building or other. The basic lines, shapes, & tones are rendered, & exaggerated a bit, in order to fix them in the mind for later, more accurate, detailed, paintings.

Will I ever actually do a painting of this subject? I hope so. But if not, I’ve gotten a pleasing sketch out of it. Maybe that’s enough.

Early Bloomer

Tags

artwork, botanical drawing, drawing, flowers, graphite, iris, nature, plants, sketches, sketching

The story behind the sketch:

This year, all the blooming plants are out about a month early, so we’re already enjoying my favorite flower, the iris.

Although this flower is a colorful dark purple and white, I wanted to see if I could still capture its essence in black & white.

my experience in doing this sketch:

Sketching flowers in all their detail, is , for me, a sort of meditation. In the best moments, the flower is all that exists in the world. I suppose that is Zen.

The technical stuff:

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the paper I used, as it was very old stock; it has a texture that sort of looks like parchment; just slightly toothy; good for getting a velvety look on the petals . I believe the graphite stick is a 6B, although I apparently, at one time, started to use the wrong end of it, where the grade was marked. ( Whoops!) A 6B pencil was used to get the delicate markings on the upper part of the fall.

It took a light touch and a sharp pencil to do the veining on the white upper petals. On this sketch I didn’t do any blending. It’s all “straight from the pencil”, using line to create gradations in tone.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2011. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Keepin’ it Loose

Tags

canson XL watercolor tablet, dairy barn, drawing from life, farm buildings, graphite, graphitone, sketches, stone house

Old Stone House in Water-soluble Graphite

The story Behind the Sketch:

On one of the unusually-warm days this  March, a couple of artist friends & I met at Renfrew park, Waynesboro, Pa.,  which is an old farmstead that has been preserved. Among the buildings is a simply-built stone house, which from our vantage point could be seen in the distance. I had brought other work to do, figuring I’d just enjoy the companionship & the lovely setting, but  succumbed to the urge to do something local.

The experience:

I decided to make this a loose, quick, enjoyable piece, so pulled out my  water-soluble graphite pencils & gave them a try on the water color paper I had at  hand. I enjoyed the freedom of drawing-in the lines, & then being able to blur them and spread them with a damp brush. I realized that I was getting the full benefit of being outdoors in a scenic setting; working from the 3-D honest-to gosh REAL thing—( as opposed to working from a photo) —brings me a sense of “merging” with my subject. I like it!

The technical stuff:

Derwent Graphitone water-soluble pencils were used, on Canson XL watercolor tablet. ( Not the best watercolor paper in the world, as it will “pill” if wiped-over when too damp  ; however it makes a great, inexpensive,  substrate for renderings where few corrections & little lifting or wiping-away will  be done.  It gives some texture to dry graphite lines , too. )

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2011. I am happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so— but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.