Ink and Graphite

Just thought I'd do a quick update, post some pics I did in my drawing class. We've moved on to drawing the skeleton, and I'm super excited to see what a wet graphite wash looks like (these are dry washes). Enjoy!

Anatomy and Me

So, this semester I wanted to learn how to draw people. Realistically, I mean. I had two options; here at Snow we have both a figure drawing class and an anatomy for artists class. I opted for the latter. Now, artistic anatomy is basically the same as any anatomy class, except we focus on the skeletal and muscular systems. I.E., the things that are visible on the surface. Last week in the lab, we got to look at the cadavers. That was a first for me, but it was pretty great. This class is the perfect melding of art and science, with a lot of memorization thrown in. This week, we started on the skull. Did you know there are actually more than 20 different bones in the skull? 'Cause I did not. Also, it's amazing what one lesson on the skull will do for your portrait drawing skills. If anyone's interested in drawing people, but doesn't want to take a class, may I suggest Eliot Goldfinger's Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form. It's what we're using as our reference book/textbook in the class, and it is amazing.

My Drawing Class

Let's take a minute and talk about drawing! Yay!

So this semester at Snow, my only real 'art' class (meaning we actually make art) is Drawing 2. As opposed to Drawing 1, where we learned to copy directly from life, shaded like madmen, and annihilated line, in Drawing 2 we are focusing completely on Line as an art form. And I've found that leaving line in my work is both easier and a lot more fun. So really quick, I'm going to go through some of my favorite techniques that we've learned so far in my drawing class.

Number 1: Ink Wash

An ink wash is basically where you use ink as a watercolor medium. It creates a beautiful contrast to the wonderful hatching technique found in most ink drawings. Plus, it's really simple to do. All you need is a Pilot G-2 gel pen. Most of the colors will work for this effect, but I prefer the black since it creates a nice blue-grey color wash. Although the gel pen is somewhat temperamental and doesn't always lay down ink smoothly, it's great for quick sketches and gesture drawings. Once you have the drawing/sketch down, you simply wet a soft watercolor brush, and gently brush over the painting. The ink should bleed beautifully, and it gives a nice sense of depth and shadow to even basic sketches. Depending on the type of paper, the ink will be easier or harder to manipulate. What's really nice about this technique is that once it's dry, you can come back in and draw over the wash area no problem. I love it!

Number 2: Calligraphy pen

This one isn't necessarily a technique, but I really enjoy working with calligraphy pens. They're basically chinese or japanese-style calligraphy brushes, but with an ink cartridge so you don't have to dip them. The one I have is fine-tipped, and you get beautiful, thick, dark strokes from them. While not great for detailing, they are absolutely unrivaled for getting a feeling of fluidity. Also, it dries really quickly. No mess!

Number 3: Powdered Graphite

While I have worked with powdered graphite before in my drawing 1 class to tone paper, but in drawing 2 we got to integrate it into our drawings. So, the assignment was to do a contour line drawing in sharpie. (we drew driftwood) And those turn out great, but they're just black and white. Powdered graphite, by the way, is just pencil graphite, but ground up into a fine powder. It's usually used for lubricating machinery, and is messy as all get out, but it's ever so fun. When using powdered graphite, you either need a shammy (cured lambskin) or a piece of felt to rub it onto the paper with. We used the latter to add tone and depth to our sharpie drawings, resulting in a much more dimensional drawing in very little time. (I'll try and get a picture up sometime)

Number 4: Ballpoint Pen

Now, I usually hate ballpoint pens. I think they are the most unpleasant things to write with, and I wasn't sure what to think when our Adam gave us a sketchbook assignment using a ballpoint pen. Oh, how wrong I was. The pen we use for class is a Zebra F-3 fine-tipped Ballpoint. And it is marvelous. I've never seen a better pen for fine detail. It doesn't go nearly as dark as the gel pen or calligraphy pen, but you can get wonderfully delicate lines from it. (like the picture below)

That's all for now!

College Update

Whew! It's been a while since I've posted. And by while, I of course mean almost two years. Well, I finished High School at Sky View, decided to enroll at Snow College, and am currently enrolled there as a sophmore. I've been able to take 2D and 3D design classes, Oil painting and Drawing 1 (pencil & charcoal). I'm currently taking Drawing 2, which explores ink and pastel more than traditional drawing tools, and Anatomy for the Artist, which explores surface anatomy and how to draw people. And on top of all this, I've still got to keep up with generals!

One of the best things I did over the summer was purchase a Wacom drawing tablet, which allowed me to start exploring the world of digital art as never before.

I'll try and keep you updated better than I have been, thanks for being so patient! (And for your time, here are a few, more recent, works of art from my hiatus.)

Some of the paintings that I've finished since my last post. the one on the left is titled "Old Glass", and the one on the right is titled "Lying in the Sun: Self-Portrait". The latter was put in an art show held on the USU campus. The other one was just for fun.

On June 20, I went to Washington DC to go to the Congressional Art Award Ceremony. This is a picture of me with my painting, "Spring in Cache Valley" as it appears in DC. If you happen to be in DC anytime in the next year, you can view it in the Cannon Tunnel. It's a tunnel that connects the Capitol building to the Cannon Building, which has the offices of the members of the House of Representatives. It wouldn't something you see on a regular tour, but you can ask your member of congress about how to get there.

A picture of me with the framed picture in the Springville Art Museum. March 10, 2012. This painting won the First Place Utah Congressional Art Award for Utah's first district. It will be hung in the U.S. Capitol for one year, and I won 2 plane tickets to D.C. to see it there in June.