Drawing with an eraser

It is said that 'Life is the art of drawing without an eraser' but in the current sessions we are looking how 
an eraser, rather than deleting mistakes we make,  can be used to bring highlights to our work. 

Here is a selection of drawings where the eraser is as important in its execution at the pencil

 In this drawing of a glass it would be easier to shade the whole of the interior of the glass with its shadows, dark lights and reflections and then pull the straw out using an eraser afterwards than to try to shade around the straw.

Light and the self portrait

Some of these are portraits; some are self portraits. Each of them has different light and shadow effects. See if you can determine where the light is coming from in each then choose the best light source for your own self portrait.

Anthony Green RA

I love Anthony Green's work and often use it to illustrate different points in my lessons. Here is a small collection of his works for your enjoyment.

In this one he has painted a beach scene in the curved lens of his glasses.

He often puts himself at the centre of a painting. In this work he has opened up the walls of his living room to show the curtains, cornice and ceiling so the viewer gets a full '3-D' experience of the interior.

 Another fascinating interior with his lovely wife in the bath.






In the painting below he uses negative space  AND distorted perspective to reflect the strabge shell in teh rim of his glasses.

What is an artist?

"He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with 

his head and his hands is a craftsman. He who works with his 

head, hands and heart is an artist."

Drawing as meditation

Drawing is the practice of seeing, not looking; it is the practice of focus and observation.

Drawing is also the practice of trying to understand what you are looking at. That might sound weird but the act of drawing has the effect of slowing down time and slowing your thinking process too. 

Think of some object or building that you see, use or pass every day. Maybe it is your motorbike, maybe your favourite chair or the local bakery. Now imagine stopping and drawing that thing for an hour.............................. 

 As you analyse its shapes and proportions you may start to see it differently. As you try to describe the textures and tones by making different marks with your pencils, you may begin to feel differently about it. 

As you draw, you may begin to discover how you actually feel about this thing or what kind of relationship you have with it. That may also sound weird, but these are the possibilities that open up to you as you draw.

Drawing is most rewarding when you are experiencing a state of flow; of existing in the moment. Flow is that state we achieve when we are completely immersed in an activity and are focused on that alone.

Through this immersion into the act of drawing regularly, of creating drawing after drawing, the artist soon forms a trail of understanding. Just pick up an artist’s sketchbook and walk through the searches, detours, dead ends, and discoveries to see that drawing is a personal journey more than a technical production. John Berger, author of 'Ways of Seeing' confirms, “A drawing is an autobiographical record of one’s discovery of an event – seen, remembered or imagined.”

The human being is a sentient conduit that transforms the subject into an arrangement of lines which are as much about feeling as about representation. What you draw is what you feel; this is very revealing and enlightening. It can be frightening and frustrating too.

Warning - drawing will reveal your weaknesses. Any honest endeavour will do that whether you are trying to learn to play the flute or to improve your golf swing. 

Trust that this is a good thing.
Know that it is only revealed to you.
Believe that you are heading for a better place because of it.

• The discipline of drawing is a painfully wonderful practice. Over time, it has the potential to create more than great works of art; it can create great artists. Lashing ourselves to the sheet of paper, through a humble pencil, locates our focus on the transference of visual information between the drawing and that which is being drawn. We become the bridge, reaching across the expanse and bringing back, recording with each stroke what has been seen. Doing this enough times will change you. I am not waxing hyperbolic when I say that drawing is a transformational activity. Navigating the space between the drawing and the thing-which-is-drawn means we form a relationship with both. This cultivates an outer and inner awareness of the world we inhabit. Through drawing, we don’t just notice – we see.    Tim Parsley

Our drawings, then, are the evidence of our looking. They are the trail left by our journey. Or, as Peter Steinhart puts it in his book, The Undressed Art: Why We Draw:

“It is not the finished drawing that counts. It is the time spent outside oneself, of which the drawing is merely a record, the ticket stub in your pocket after the concert.”

Painting water with watercolours

Water only exists in a painting because of the things that are reflected in it. Remember water has no colour. Sometimes the sand, rocks or weed underneath show through shallow or clear water, but mainly it is everything above the water that is reflected and that colours the water. As in this picture of the Taj Mahal, reflections are usually more muted that the object reflected.

Carefully observe the reflections in these different photos f Bamburgh Castle in Northhumberland, UK.  In every single case you can see the colour of the sky, the clouds and a reflection of the castle wherever there is water in the scene.

Getting this right is simply a matter of open-minded observation. Everything is there for you to see and to get down on paper in your painting.

In this scene, the wind has caught the surface of the water and provided a useful white stripe across the bottom of the trees.

 The only indication that there is any water here is the three reflections of the birds in the wet sand.

Artist - Robert Dudley

More of Robert Dudley's work can be seen at 

http://www.davidsonfineart.com/artists/dudley.htm

Small painting step by step

this is a little painting (20 x 25cm) that I worked up form a sketch and a photo

please excuse the shading on the paper, I was working by lamplight on a dull day.

Step 1 - pencil drawing

Step 2. ink in the drawing and erase all the pencil marks

Step 3. Paint in a wet in wet cobalt blue wash and 'pull out' the clouds with a damp tissue

leave to dry

step 4. working from top to bottom. 

• A pale wash for the tops of distant buildings
• Slightly stronger colours for the awnings and umbrellas
• Working wet in wet for the mottle yellow wash on the right hand wall

leave to dry

Step 5. I know I always say do your darks first but in this case I am simply painting in small shapes of darkness that I have already drawn - like painting by numbers. Placing these darks helps me to gauge the intensity of colours and level of contrast needed for the foreground

Step 6. Likewise I put in the foreground in layers of washes before I choose colours for all the people and produce.

Step 7. Now I am placing reds and greens. 

• I choose red for the motorbike and the lantern to balance the orange awnings. Actually the lantern is white and the bike was navy blue. 
• I have added some interest through the open window on the left imagining that the orange and blue awnings would be carrying on down the street to the right.
• I have added some shadows behind the lady in the front and in the middle  and put in some bowls and sacks under the shadow of the awning to the left.

Step 8. Gradually I add colour to the clothing on the figures trying to keep a balance of colour as I go. Sometimes I have to add shadows and texture to the tops and trousers and put in more shadows behind people to bring them forward.

I add more texture into the produce.

step 9. Add some more shadows under baskets and the red motorbike. strengthen the shadows under the market ladies to make it look sunnier.

Step 10. Finally, use a pen to highlight the main details in the foreground and to put a crisper edge on the yellow building. 
Insert palm trees in the background.