Another drawing for the January Pen and Ink Challenge on WetCanvas.com:
The beautiful reference photo is by WC member Sandy1, and is called Buster the Cat:
This is my version:
Since I wanted to work in black and white only, I decided to zero-in on just the cat and crop out the rest of the photo. Just couldn’t resist all of that wonderful fur!
Since I’m on a flower drawing kick, and work from photos, I thought I’d share a process post. I’ll use my most recent drawing as example.
First, the inspiration:
I really prefer working from my own photos. Not that they’re wonderful, but because the copyright is mine and I feel better about taking license with the images.
I just love the colors in this pic. But drawing in pen and ink requires seeing beyond the color. Value contrast: light flowers against dark foliage, texture contrast: ruffled petals against smooth leaves, and shape contrast: lush trumpet-shaped flowers against skinny, spear-like vegetation take on more prominence.
So, because the color was somewhat distracting, I grayscaled the image in PhotoShop to get a better handle on the values.
Some might call this grayscale-ing step “cheating”. I don’t have a problem with it. It sure beats squinting endlessly at a color image to differentiate values while trying to draw it!
There was waaaay too much information in the photo for what I wanted to draw. Editing was required. So, I cropped it down a bit.
Quite a bit. I knew I wanted the two main flowers, the one “spent” flower head and enough of the foliage to provide a nice contrast to the flowers.
At this point, I saw that all of that busy-ness in the upper right corner of the pic was going to be an issue. Part of it had to do with the diffuse light source: sun was filtering in, and there wasn’t an obvious lighting angle. But also, some of the foliage behind the flowers was sunlit, making too much contrast and competing with the flowers for attention. Not something I wanted to deal with in this drawing.
Part of the challenge of working from reference photos is to keep what works and get rid of/change what doesn’t.
So, my plan: darken that area to the point where the spent flower head and main diagonals of the foliage (the latter to behave like directional devices to help draw the viewer’s eye back toward the flowers) stay somewhat visible while the rest of the “stuff” (hopefully) faded into the darkness of the background. I decided to do the same to the partially hidden dead flower heads next to the main flowers: push them into the background by making them darker.
Anyway, at this point, I decided that the overall composition was OK, and began drawing. I started with the flowers; my thought was the amount of ink (detail) I put into them would determine how dark the background would need to be. As it turned out: very dark.
Am I happy with it? Overall, yes. As with every drawing, I learn:
Probably my biggest issue with the piece is that the background seems to have a rather “flat” appearance… I think I should have planned the upper right hand corner better. I know that it is necessary to minimize distracting details, like the bright highlights found in the photo. But in darkening things so drastically, I changed the effect: the drawing reads as less realistic to me than it might have been… more like a ‘study’ than a ‘moment in time’ if that makes any sense at all?! I need to pay closer attention to the play of light to get a more convincing effect.
I’m pretty sure it’s finished. Some tweaking may still be required… I just can’t tell right now. A couple days on the Wall of Judgement should do the trick.
6-1/4″ X 8″, pen and ink on smooth Strathmore 500 bristol.
Normally, I just don’t do portraits. In a nutshell: they’re hard.
Which is probably why I need to do more of them.
So, here are a couple from the Monthly Pen and Ink Challenges (December and January) on WetCanvas.com:
Reference photo: curly red hair, good lighting from WC board member jaimemonbebe:
(Obviously, I concentrated more on the face than on the hair. 
)
And reference photo: sun thoughts from WC board member devymarie:
I really enjoy participating in the challenges. I don’t necessarily capture portrait likenesses too well, but it helps me to work faster, and concentrate more on capturing the essence of the subject rather than being so hung up on the technique.
Some progress on the day lilies…
In my previous post, the flowers seemed extra dark to me… perhaps it was simply that they were totally surrounded by white paper. Now that the darker foliage is taking shape, they seem somewhat lighter by contrast. I’ll need to continue pushing the foliage into the background (darkening it) to make it more effective.
In treating this kind of background, I find that darkening by degrees is the best way to control my overzealous pen. So, I draw the shadowing and other detail of the leaves in their entirety, then go back and intensify the darkness by adding cross-hatching on top. Even though some of the detail may nearly disappear in the darkest areas, enough of the “structure” I’ve taken pains to establish remains visible, hopefully adding extra depth and realism to the drawing.
I have quite a long way to go.
Onward.
I hope you have all having happy holidays, and are looking forward to the coming year. I know I am!
Yet another flower rendering is in on the drawing board:
My mother-in-law’s day lilies were especially prolific this year. I couldn’t resist photographing this particular variety with its frothy ruffled edges and very dark throat striping… the contrast of that exotic extravagance against the smooth spikey foliage proved irresistible. (The fact that they were the most amazing shade of light purple-y mauve may have had something to do with it, too. ) The spent flower heads have interesting star shapes and textures all their own.
The flowers have so much ink in them that in order to get some contrast, I’ll have to go dark for the background. Probably very dark. Again.
Try as I might, I don’t seem to be able to see my floral subjects as separate from their surroundings… my preference, apparently, is to draw complete compositions as opposed to studies.
No pen and ink this time…
The date on this drawing is February 13, 1978. I was in college (the first time). I was experimenting with techniques I was learning at that time, and with new materials: graphite sticks and conte crayons on pebble board.
The drawing classes were challenging: the instructors forced us outside our comfort zone. The MFA grad student teaching this class, (First year general art students at that time usually had grad students as instructors. ) encouraged what I’d call “structural” drawing as opposed to fine rendering. She wanted us to “follow through” when making lines. There is a skeleton or framework behind things, and the construction shouldn’t be hidden.
For example: the horizontal lines of the window sash are visible through the girl’s arm. The rim of the flower pot is visible through the hand. The window sash handle is another example: it is drawn incisively with straight intersecting lines, and the lines are not tidied-up. The instructor de-emphasized surface treatment, so I’m sure I was pushing it to have done as much detail rendering as I did. (Sorry, I have no idea what grade I received, or if indeed this was done as an assignment. It was over 30 years ago, after all!)
Anyway. I’m posting this image because it reminds me of things I’ve not thought about in a long time. Mostly, it reminds me of what used to inspire me to draw. I remember vividly that the inspiration here was a photo of this child peeking out from behind a parent’s leg. The photo accompanied a magazine article about shyness in children. Other than feeling a kinship with the child (I was a painfully shy youngster), I was mesmerized by her eyes. The drawing grew from there.
The other stuff in the drawing? Not sure where it all came from… except that back then, I was fascinated by all things ephemeral/emotional/evocative. I was very comfortable blurring the lines between the real and the unreal as well. Some might think the drawing unsettling with its references to death/loss: the ghostly child, the pot of dandelions going to seed, bare tree branches and cracked window pane. Others see nothing dark… just an interesting drawing.
I’m not sure what I see in it. Mostly memories, I guess. And a reminder that inspiration can come from anywhere.
How about you?
Critique time. I’m glad I stuck with it and finished.
The main things I’m taking away from this project:
1. Work on editing. When working from a photo, it’s very tempting to try to render everything in it. Rarely a good idea. Which bring me to:
2. Be more aware of the value range. The eye can discern almost limitless colors, but far fewer values (the steps from light to dark). Pen and ink marks approximate values, and they need to be well defined for maximum impact.
3. While this point is more subjective, it’s certainly worth taking into account: Fit the technique to the subject. Perhaps a different technique or combination thereof would have worked better for this flower. The rose petals are so smooth that the pen lines (especially when viewed close-up) are a bit jarring.
4. While the technique is what it is, it’s still only the means to expressing the essence of what one wants to say. When it competes with the subject, it’s not a good thing.
5. Try not to over-do it. (Bwwaaaaahahahahaha!)
Sorry about that.
Well. Let’s just say I’m learning lots.
It’s not finished, so no critique for now… though I will say I’m beginning to get concerned about my seeming obsession with dark backgrounds. Egad.
Time to tack it to the judgement wall, and back away for awhile.
Every once in awhile a drawing comes along that I’m just not sure about… as in: Should I continue on and finish it? Or cut my losses and move on?
At present, it’s pretty much out of control: right on the edge of being overdone … perhaps even unsalvageable. I’m sure some would say it’s way past it’s sell-by date already, and is starting to stink up the place. They may be right. I don’t know.
Honestly, most of my drawings feel that way at some point during the process. I know I tend to go overboard with the ink. I don’t edit very well. In my zeal to capture the image in all its detail, I sometimes end up losing control of the drawing. Perhaps this time, preoccupation with a still-challenging technique has made this weakness more obvious.
Am I struggling? You bet. But it’s not a bad thing. I’ve been told that it’s not the “successes” you learn the most from, but the “failures”.
Hmmm. In that case, I guess I’ll press on and learn all I can.
