Quick Update

Don't have time for a big article today (hooray for generals) but here's the last two assignments from my drawing class. Enjoy!

Black and white charcoal on Acrylic prepared ground

Wet graphite wash on cotton paper

Thoughts of an Art Major

Some people might be under the impression that being an art major is easy. That it's all fun and games and that 'all you do' is draw. And I will admit, it's one of the funnest majors out there, I'm not denying that. But I don't think people realize what an intense mental process art is. Just looking at homework, art majors are usually asked to turn out/turn in two complete, finished pieces each week. Average time for those, (for me at least) 10 hours. If it's a small project. That is ten hours of intense concentration and focus on detail. Not to mention preparation time. Sometimes it takes longer to set up the subject and prepare the materials than it actually does to draw. It always bugs me when someone asks 'could you draw this for me?' Maybe, if I have a couple days or weeks to think about it and learn about it. Don't get me wrong, half the fun of art is trying new things, but artists aren't machines. You can't put in an order and get exactly what you expect exactly when you expect it. For one thing, we have to take time to sleep (most of the time).

Moral of the story: Be nice to artists.

And just so this won't be a horribly cynical post, here's a fun sketch I did:

Wet Graphite Wash

Today I thought I'd go over the steps to doing a wet graphite wash. In my last post, you saw some pieces done in a dry graphite wash, but wet is a little more involved.

First step- Cotton paper is great for these, because it has a really nice texture and thickness, and it's more resilient, so it's harder to dent with your pencil marks. In order to get an interesting texture, take some cheap paint primer and mix it with drywall compound. Then, paint it lightly over the surface of the paper. Don't try and get the coat even; it's more fun to have it thin in some areas and very thick in others. Once this is done, you can blow-dry the paper. To flatten out the paper, we use a special heat press for the classroom, but you can do it at home with an iron and a towel over the top of the paper. Once this is done, tape the paper down securely to a board. (Blue Painter's tape works best since it won't tear the paper)

Here, I have my drawing done and all ready to go. This one was really fun since we're learning about the scapula and spine in my anatomy class right now :)

Step Two- You'll need the following materials: Water (in a bucket and a small cup), paintbrush(es), powdered graphite, a flat surface

Here's all my stuff ready to go. I like to have at least 2 brushes, since some areas can be hard to reach. In the cup you'll need to mix about 1/4 in water with a small spoonful of the powdered graphite. Just to warn you, they will not want to mix. It's easiest to stir up from the bottom, like you would with a cake mix. Here's what it looks like when it's mixed pretty well: 

Pretty cool, right? Like liquid metal.

Step Three- Next you'll need to wet (with the clean water) the areas of the drawing that you want the wash to cover. Work in small areas, don't try to do too much at once. And don't be afraid of getting it too wet. Let it pool up pretty well. After that's done, dip your paintbrush into the wet graphite, and drop it into the wet area. Gently move it around so that it covers the whole area, but don't worry about getting it completely, as this will leave a better texture.

Once these areas are dry, you can go back and do another coat, erase, or smear them. Make sure they are completely dry before you do so though.

Last step- Once your drawing is completely dry, you can go back in with a regular pencil and refine the edges once more. Next, carefully untape your drawing from the board. You may want to carefully flatten your piece again. This time, sandwich it between two pieces of butcher paper before ironing/pressing it flat.

Now the only step that's left is to spray it with a fixative. This'll prevent the graphite from being smeared. And there you have it, a beautiful wet graphite wash!

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.)