USEFUL TOOLS FOR DRAWING - VALUES AND TEXTURES

                               

The fundamentals of drawing is communication by making marks, to get an emotional
response to whatever the subject projects to the onlooker. Therefore it takes careful
and intense observation to be able to create something meaningful and skillful.

Whenever possible, try to do some sketching. It is useful to build up reference material, but it
also helps you to understand the subject so much better. When you sketch or paint from real objects,
and not from photographs, it gives you the opportunity to study the objects from different angles and
really makes it more original. The camera does not see as we see things. Everything is equally important,
while when you do real life studies, your eye focus on something specific and all the rest will be less important.
It is also a good idea to have a viewfinder as part of your art equipment when painting outdoors.
An old slide frame or a piece of cardboard with a window cut out in the center will do.

Take time to study different objects in order to develop a broad knowledge of different
marks and their individual qualities so that you can be technically and visually in control of your work.
Any mark is useful, but only when it is relevant to what is being expressed in the drawing.
If you want to create three dimensional objects, you have to observe light and shadow as well as
texture, colour or tonal value and shape. Always start by choosing the mid tone of the drawing and work
from there to find the value scale that you want to work with. A good drawing will have between 5 - 7 different tones.
Too many values in a drawing can flatten it and illuminates the impact it should have on an onlooker.

Practice the art of suggesting a texture, for instance the bark of a tree, the hard smooth surface of a cup,
a rough stone wall, a rooster's feathers, clouds, a man's beard, fur. Observe the contrast in textures for they
demand different kinds of marks that separate them. Observe the effect of light and shadow on the objects you study.

Indicate rather than portray when there are more objects, like bricks in a brick wall or buildings in a street scene, and find a focal point where there will be the most detail and tone for balance. Sharper lines and lightest/darker or brighter
colour in one area apposed to toned down colour and less detail in the rest of the art work, would automatically
indicate the brighter spot as the focal point in your painting or drawing. Do not let it stand out too much. Subtle changes are much better and will hold the interest of the viewer much longer.

Always keep in mind that negative spaces are just as important as the positive areas.
If you get stuck when drawing the positive, switch to the negative and see how easy it becomes to see
what is really there. Use things in the background to form a natural grid to line up and to see
the right proportions of your object. If you work on a face, draw a straight line underneath a curved line, and
then look at the shape of the space between the curve and the straight  line (that is the negative space).
It also helps to squint to see clearer what is there.
Always start out with light marks when you are in the block-in stage, for this is the most crucial stage in the drawing composition. Capture the bigger shapes and fill in the smaller ones when you are sure that everything vital is in place.
Your goal must be to create a likeness of the subject, whether it is a scene or a human form. A likeness can be captured with only a few lines. Big forms capture resemblance much better than small ones.

Measuring is one of the most useful tools for increasing accuracy in a drawing. It is also a way to correct and to ensure that everything is in the right relation to each other proportionally.
Measure the beginning and end of the eye and use it as a baseline and measuring tool for the facial proportions.
Mark a piece of paper with the length of the eye of the photograph and mark another side of the paper with the length that you want your drawing to be. Name them to avoid getting mixed up. Now you can use that new baseline for the drawing to enlarge or to make your drawing smaller, with perfect proportions.
Have fun when you draw.

Please leave your comments, it will be appreciated.

How To Draw And Paint Portraits

“ He that works in ignorance works more painfully than he who works in understanding; therefore let all learn to understand art aright,” Albrecht Durer (German, 1471-1528).

Durer was the first artist outside of Italy to become an international art celebrity. He was well traveled and widely admired. At the age of thirteen, he drew his own self-portrait, by looking in the mirror.

Artists from one period do not see more correctly or render more skillfully than those of another. Through all the different eras and cultures it seems obvious that artists record not so much what they see, but what they know, or what they mean. Cultural and religious beliefs also influence some artists more than others. None the less, every work of art is precious and represents something personal

Those artists who give in to their inner yearnings and keep on practicing drawing, become better with time, and learn how to really see. Once you can really “see” what is before you, it is easy to manipulate. The artist's arm and hand becomes an extension of the eye and mind that convey knowledge, convictions, experience and emotions.
There are a few very interesting facts about the drawing tools in the times of the Old Masters.
They did not have pencils to draw with. Most drawings were made with natural red chalk or with ink,
applied with a small brush, a reed or a quill pen. Both the Greeks and Romans used metal lead in the form of a small thin disc called a “plumbum” (Latin for lead) for ruling guide lines on papyrus to keep their lettering even.
Later the lead was formed into rods, but it did not write well and after many experiments a workable pencil developed only after 1564 when a tree blew down near Borrowdale in England, exposing a deposit of graphite or black carbon in a pure, solid form, called “plumbago”, meaning “that which act like lead.” Supply was limited. Later more graphite was discovered in Bavaria and more readily available to work with.
In Napoleon's time a young inventor named Nicolas Jacques Conte, developed an improved formula of powdered clay and powdered graphite to form clay sticks, fired in a kiln, like pottery.
We are still using Conte Crayons today.
Modern pencil making is a sophisticated process, and we are fortunate to have all the varieties of drawing materials to choose from.

Pencils come in a great variety of softness and hardness of the graphite. The best way is to try some, because they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.
The softer the pencil, the darker it will be. The middle range would be around HB or F, and that is a good place to start. H stands for harder and makes it easy to remember. The higher the number eg. 4H or 5H, the less graphite will be released, and works well when you want to indicate distance in a landscape, or make very subtle marks.
Rather than changing pencils, you can learn to vary the amount of pressure that you exert upon the point. Heavy pressure will produce dark lines and slight pressure will produce fine, light lines.
Practice makes perfect and will help you to get to know your tools. Use a variety of textured paper to make marks so that you can become familiar with the paper and pencils that will suit you best.

We are all unique and will eventually develop our own styles. Therefore it is important to try different surfaces, materials, and art teachers, to help us get to where we are comfortable with who we are as artists. We are never to old to learn and should never think that we know it all. Above all, keep your feet on the ground and stay humble, no matter how good you become.
Experiment and discover the great fulfillment of being an artist.

Next time we will talk about Values and Textures

Light and shadows

When you look at these photos, it is obvious that the light of the top photo is softer than that of the bottom picture. Squint your eyes as you look at both pics and see how much of the colour in pic#2 is washed away by the light. This is the reason why you should not take pictures in the middle of the day in full sunlight.
Softer light will always give you more detail.
Each lighting situation will reveal different information for you to observe and work with. It is good to find the tonal values and mark them down first. 

                                                                                  Shadows are equally important and show off the light
                                                                                  when they are darker, but not dull. Use colour, not just

                                                        black, when creating those shadows.

Karkloof Falls in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

 

The Karkloof waterfall is not very well known and hides away in the forest where it is protected by an almost inaccessible dirt road. 

I took this awesome photo from far away,

because the water drops 

down 344 feet into a gorge.

Back in Canada

Hi everybody, it is so good to be back in Canada after a three month trip to South Africa. I was very pleased with the results of the art workshops.

We visited family and friends all over the country. The highlight was getting to the top of  Table Mountain(Cape Town) without mist or clouds.

 

   

 

Equally wonderful was our trip to Kar Water Falls in Howick, Natal. If you love Niagara, you will love Kar too. (Will show you next time).

At least, we did not stumble on snakes like here in Canada on our visit to Niagara Falls.


It was broad daylight and all the people were up and down next to it, but the snake went his merry way. I came quite close, but it didn't even bother him. His colours blends in well with the rock.
See the photo.

I just have to show you the lovely rainbow and the turqouise colour of the water.
Questions for you:
1) Can any of you tell me which colours to mix to get such a light turqouise?
2) Which colour do I have to add to brighten it up and bring sunshine into the water?

I will check to see who is right and then give you the answers next week.

I also have to show you the finished painting of the little baby that was posted before.
She is adorable.

Ist young artists to show their work here

Danae Couette at her work and sister Renee's

.

 

This picture was published in the Devon Dispatch 30May 2005

Looking back

These pictures are from the 2004 Commission from the City of Edmonton to paint the utility boxes in Old Strathcona.
It was the worst weekend to do painting outside, but the only one I have had. At one stage the wind took my anchored umbrella and threw it on the ground, a few yards away.

It was a fun thing to do, though, and it will be visible to the public for a few more years to come.


For me, it was a great honor to be amongst those chosen for this project, just months after I came to live in Alberta.

If any of you young artists want me to post some of your art on my blog, please e-mail me at herouxs@gmail.com with your information and pictures and I will do it for you. This blog is for you artists out there. Take part and get to  build your confidence and portfolios.

Don't keep it to yourself, share your talents with others.