A Golden Retriever Named Reba - WIP 3

Hi All,

Here's another update of Reba. I'm very close to being done.

I'm continuing to use Prismacolor and Derwent Colorsoft pencils. What I do when drawing hair is I lay down the medium color first and then add the lighter and darker hairs on top of that. I continually play with the hair going back and forth with the light, medium and dark hairs until I get it looking the the way I want it. One thing with the Suede Board is the earlier layers are always a bit ugly. When working on Suede board, you need to hang in there with the drawing because it does go through ugly stages.

I tend to always draw a small patch to completion as I go. It's not necessary to draw that way on the suede board, it's just the way I do it. I work that way no matter what support I'm using.

As I have mentioned before, the suede board color is moccasin. If you should decide to try the suede board, be careful not to pick a color darker than moccasin, it would be difficult to cover if it were darker.

If you should have any questions at all, let me know.
Keep Scribbling!!
Gemma

A Golden Retriever Named Reba - WIP 2

Hi All,

Here's another update on Reba. I haven't gotten a lot done this time but I still thought it would be nice to keep you posted on my progress.

I just love the lighting on the reference photo and I'm having fun creating that lighting in the portrait.

I'm still using Prismacolor pencils and Derwents Colorsoft pencils. I have to say..... I just love working on this Suede Mat board. If you haven't tried it you should.

Keep Scribbling!
Gemma

A Golden Retriever Named Reba - WIP

Hi All,

I thought I would share the latest commission piece I've been working on.

This piece is being done on the Suede Mat board, the color of the suede is moccasin. I will be leaving the background as the suede. I'm using Prismacolor Colored Pencils and Derwent Colorsoft Colored Pencils. I really like using the Colorsoft pencils on the Suede mat board and I also really like the nice colors they have to offer. I am still working on the right side of Reba's face as well as the left side of the top of her head. Reba has a lot of red in her coat so I need to be careful to capture that and not be tempted to lean more towards the golden color that most of the goldens are.

The reference photo I'm using is the clients photo. I love how my client captured the lighting on this photo. It's very dramatic with a lot of highlights on the right side of Reba's face. It's a nice photo at a high resolution and very clear. The most important thing to remember is the finished piece is only going to be as good as the photo it's being created from. I don't know how many times I have been given a really bad photo and asked if I can fix it. The big problem with that is it's very difficult to draw what you don't see.

I will continue to post the updates so be sure to check back and remember..... keep scribbling!
Gemma

A Brand New Colored Pencil Kit!!!

Hi All,

Well... this is the reason you haven't heard from me for a while. I was working on my brand new "Ann Kullberg Colored Pencil Kit" and it was a secret until Ann announced it on her E-zine. This Kit will give you step by step instructions on how to create this cute little Yorkie on Suede Mat Board.

The kit includes the Suede board, the step by step instructions, a reference photo to work from, a contour drawing to trace and seven demo pictures of each stage of the drawing. The kit will be released for sale in about two weeks and you can purchase it on Ann's site at http://www.annkullberg.com.

As soon as Ann has the kits available I will be posting them on my site for purchase as well. When I do I will post a link of where it can be purchased.

This cute little guy is my Mother's dog (my brother.... lol) and his name is Chico. He is just as cute as a little bug. He doesn't realize just how small he is, only 4 pounds! He and my Rotties get along great but, as I said, he forgets just how small he is. I had a lot of fun drawing him so I hope you will enjoy drawing him as much as I did.

If any of you should purchase the kit and need help in anyway be sure to send me an email with your questions.

Keep Scribbling,
Gemma

Reflections - WIP - Finished!!! Again, LOL

Hi All,

Well.... isn't it funny how you post your piece on online and then see it on the monitor and start finding things you just didn't see before it was posted. That's what happened to me, so.... I tweeked on it a bit more and now I think I am happy with it, LOL.

Enjoy... and keep Scribbling!

Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - Finished!!

Hi All,

Yayyyy!!! I finished it, what a relief!

When creating the water I laid down a layer each of Moss Green, Dark Green and Dark Umber. I then used Gamsol to blend the three layers into the tooth of the Suede. When doing this I use a bristle brush, load the brush with the Gamsol and then dab it on a paper towel before I start blending the three layers.

I then finished the reflection of the lion completely. Now that the under layers of the water is down and the reflection of the lion I start glazing Moss Green, Bronze and Artichoke over all the water and the lion. I then went in and added some blue and light reflections.

I then sprayed it with fixative. It's all ready to enter into the CPSA Exhibition..... lets keep our fingers crossed.







Here is a closeup of the upper part of the drawing.

















Here is a closeup of the lower part of the drawing.









I hope you enjoyed this work in progress and if you have any questions at all please let me know. And....... don't forget...... Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 5

Hi All,

Well... here is the next update. I'm continuing to work my way down using the same techniques as before.

One of the things I noticed about the suede board is it actually seems to work better if you use a duller pencil. Although; I am using a fairly sharp pencil when laying down the fur. It's interesting.... drawing on the suede board really doesn't feel like drawing, instead it feels more like I'm painting. I just love it and I have to say I think this will be my support of choice more often than not.

I can't remember if I told you where to get the Suede Mat board.... I get it from my framer so, if your looking for it check with your local framer. It can be quite pricey but it comes in a very large sheet of 30" X 40" so you can do several pieces from that sheet. The color I used on this one is called Moccasin. One of the things I learned from a fellow artist is you don't want to work on the darker colors of the suede board, you will have a problem covering it.

If you have any questions just fire away and.... by all means keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 4

Hi All,

Well I'm moving right along on this one. I really don't have a lot to say about it at this point. I've been using the same colors and technique and just moving my way down the support.

Oh.... I do have one thing to say, hahaha. When it came time to do the splash, I found I was having a bit of an artist block. So I decided to do what I preach to my students in my workshops... well fancy that, LOL. I cut a little square in a white piece of paper to make a very small window. I placed the window over the area where the splash was on my reference drawing and Voila..... it no longer was a splash. It suddenly became nothing but colors, shapes, lines and values. Another thing I will do at times is have my laptop near by with the reference photo on it and zoom way in on a small area, that helps too.

If you have any questions at all let me know.... and.... Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Me and My Dog

Hi All,

I thought you may enjoy what I did today. My other passion is showing my dogs in Obedience. Today I showed my Rotti, Harlow, at a dog show. This is a movie of her and I doing our thing in the ring. Just click on this link to view it: http://www.glassgems.net/HarlowDogShow022110/HarlowDogShow022110 .html

Let me know what you think by commenting.... it may not be drawing but it is another art.
Keep Scribbling,
Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 3

I finished the lions face and started working my way over to the grasses on the right side of the artwork.

I have about a third of it done now, I sure hope I can finish it before the Colored Pencil Society of America Exhibition deadline. The deadline is March 31st. so if I keep working hard at it I should be able to finish it. I tend to work very slow but I am trying really hard to finish this in time.

As you can see the grasses are starting to grow out of the water. Water is always fun to create but doing it on this suede board makes it so much easier. You can lay down your dark colors and then draw the reflections on top of the dark. It is so much more like painting than colored pencils usually are done on Stonehenge or Watercolor paper. I did the grasses also by laying down the darker colors and then drawing in the individual grasses on top of that. Then I came back with black and drew in some negative space to give it the depth I was trying to achieve.

I also like the softness I am able to get on this suede, it is wonderful to do animal fur on. The Suede Board can be hard to find at times but all you need to do is go to your favorite Framer and ask them to order it for you. It comes in sheets of 30" X 40" and in lots of really nice colors. You do want to be careful and not choose a color to dark because you may have a problem covering the suede board.

If you have any questions or comments just ask away. Keep Scribbling! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 2

This is the upper right section of the drawing so part of what has been drawn on the left is cut off in this section of the image.

I'm using lots of different brands of pencils on this one. I'm using Prismacolor, Derwent Studios, Derwent Colorsoft, Lyra and Polychromos. I really like the way the Derwent Colorsoft pencils work with the suede board. It almost behaves like pastel, it is very cool.

One of the things I really loved about the reference photo is the dramatic morning lighting. The subject is very light on one side and dark on the other. This type of lighting gives the painting a very dramatic feel and a warmth that catches the viewers eye. Hopefully I will be able to pull this off because this is what, I feel, will make or break this painting.

I'm layering lots and lots of colors to give it the real fur look. In the lighter areas I laid down the lighter colors first and worked in some darker colors and then went back to the lighter colors. In the darker areas I laid down the medium color and then the lights and dark on top of that.
One of the things I noticed in my last update was, I didn't get the values quite right on the log and the shadows from the lion on the log needed to be darker as well. This is something I corrected in this update. Personally I like the log much better now.

Here is a close up of the Mountain Lion head. You can see how I use lots and lots of colors.

If you have any questions just ask and I'll be happy to answer what I can.

Keep Scribbling!! Gemma

Reflections - Work in Progress - update 1

Here is my start on my colored pencil piece titled "Reflections". This is the upper left corner of the piece. The size of this artwork is 10" X 24". As you can see I tend to start in the upper corner (or the eyes) and work my way down and across.

I chose Moccasin Suede Mat board as the support. I love applying colored pencils on the suede board. It allows me to lay the layers down as if I am painting. I can add the highlights on top of the dark colors and still have them really pop. Typically I would have to save my highlighted areas because Colored Pencil is transparent, but with the suede board it reacts as if it is opaque.

I start out by drawing a very detailed contour drawing and then transfer it to the Suede Board. When I'm doing the fur on suede board or a sanded surface I tend to lay down a layer of medium color and then feather in the dark and light hairs. That tends to give it that real fur look. I used the same approach on the log, lay down a layer of medium color and then added darks and lights on top of that. I also use Gamsol to blend some of the areas. This helps dissolve the pencil down into the tooth of the suede board.

When I am creating my colored pencil artwork I break each piece of the reference photo down to little squares. This way I am looking at lines, shades, color and shapes. This approach makes it much easier for me to get the realistic look. If you decide to try this approach yourself you may want to take notes of what colors you used for the different areas. I personally don't take notes because I have worked with colored pencils long enough I almost always use the same color of pencils to achieve a certain look, but at first, I did keep notes. If you have any questions let me know and I will be happy to answer them.