Back to Charcoal Basics

 

approx.9' x 12"charcoal on drawing paper.

For the last couple of weeks I've been doing some drawing practice with old charcoal sticks I've barely touched in 40 years.  I thought I'd share this one because as I was drawing I remembered how nice it had been to work on hand-toned paper. 

I did this version first:

All well and good practice, but it was at the end of this piece that I remembered how I used to tone paper first and then do a lot of the drawing with the eraser. 

First 2 steps: 

- a light covering of charcoal (above)

- then blend it all by rubbing in circles with a paper towel, until you have a smooth gray surface.

Using a kneadable eraser, a harder plastic eraser, a charcoal pencil and a blending stump, I began getting the figure placed.

 

- nearly there and down to last details and heavier erasing.

The supplies I used - moving from upper left and clockwise: A couple charcoal sticks, kneadable erasers (for lifting color in a more subtle way), a few different plastic erasers including 2 with tiny heads that I just purchased (yay! new toys!) that are great for detail, two different types of charcoal pencil and lastly, the blending stump. I end up doing a lot of drawing with the blending sump when it gets dirty! Also, the more you can stop yourself from using your fingers to blend, the better. Our fingers have oils that can ruin a good drawing. Case in point - those two weird splotches in the bottom left of the drawing. I must have been holding the paper there or something. I'm not sure how they happened but there's no getting rid of them. 

I also want to note that the image (because it is only for practice purposes) came from an online google search of seated female figures.

Many years ago I had privilege of attending an author's night at a local café and listening to a presentation by the late Floyd Cooper. He was a children's book author and illustrator and he shared with us one of his tricks to making his illustrations so beautiful. He would tone a canvas with a light layer of oil paint, and while it was still wet would begin using a kneadable eraser to lift off color, acheiving that beautiful gradation of light and shadow and bringing form instantly to the canvas. 

This is one of his book covers that I believes shows this very technique.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Time to play!

 

Abstract #1 -  12"x12" modeling paste and acrylic on canvas.

Friday was my last day at New Madison Public Library where I've worked, part time, for the last 8 1/2 years. It is a lovely library with lovely women who became my friends and I would say I'll miss them all terribly, but I enjoy reading (a lot) so I'll be a regular patron and see them frequently. Win - win.

I now have extra hours in my week to pursue art, and this first month I plan to do a lot of playing. This is the first official piece by Tracy Onoz the retired lady. An artist who plays. 

I watched a few videos on Instagram that showed artists using modeling paste and wanted to get my hands dirty too. 

Step one: I applied strips of tape (artist's tape or painter's tape) in a simple grid pattern and around the edges. (tip - paint white acrylic or gesso over the edges of the tape so that when you move on to the next step the color does not bleed under the tape).

Step two: I added a bit of acrylic paint to some modeling paste just to give it some color but you can stick with just white modeling paste if you prefer. I applied a thick layer of the concoction to the canvas, stuck my fingers in, and swirled them around. Swirled my fingers around in circles like I was three years old!

Step three: I very carefully removed the tape when I was done swirling. I would imagine it's very difficult to remove the tape after the hot mess of modeling paste has dried. When I pulled up the tape, it didn't look like such a hot mess. It looked cool like this:

Steps 4, 5, 6, and however far I was going to take it, were just about coloring the swirls. 

I threw some paint around with a brush, a sponge, my fingers etc. Just . . . PLAYED!

I used acrylic paints, but I would imagine you can experiment with all kinds of materials.

Remember, I'm a novice at this, but I did read that you can put oil paints over modeling paste, you just can't put modeling paste over oil paints.

Added burnt umber paint around the squares.

Pulled in more of the burnt umber into the squares. Also, Iworked in some more dark green paint -watered down so that it flowed, and dabbed at it, while still wet, with a paper towel.

Then, I threw in some more flecks and details to get the image at the top. Is it done? Heck, I don't know. I thought it was done when I added the burnt umber around the edges. I was wrong. Haha! I watch videos of other people doing abstracts and always wonder how they know when to keep going and when to stop. I'm assuming I'll figure that out for myself at some point. I've got a lot more playing ahead of me.

Thanks for stopping by!

PineSol and Ipecac

 PineSol and Ipecac

    

    The morning began nicely enough. Four-year-old me woke up before my parents and did whatever it is that a four-year-olds do in the bathroom, in the morning, by themselves. The highlight of my daily routine was the consumption of a Flintstone vitamin. This particular morning, the usual administrator of that vitamin was still in bed, and I was feeling like a big girl. Admiring my big-girl self in the mirror, I popped one in, (let’s say it was a green Flintmobile), and took delight in sticking my lizard green tongue out at myself. WOWZA! I popped another one, (most likely a purple Wilma). This was fun!

     I have no recollection how many shades of color I explored before there came a knock at my kitchen door. My friend Patty had come over to play.

     “Come in, Patty! You’ve got to see this!”

     In the time it takes to say ‘where the hell was social services?’, we polished off the entire Flintstone cast, and went outside to do whatever it is four-year-olds do in the backyard, in the morning, with no parental supervision. 

     Before long my mother came tearing out of the back door, empty vitamin bottle in her raised fist. 

     “Tracy!” (I can still hear the panic in her voice.) “Did you eat all of these vitamins?!”

     Well, actually I had help, but I was socially developed enough to understand that a person didn’t rat out their friend. I nodded and was whisked away to the emergency room where I was given a dose of Ipecac.

     I understand that our sense of smell is the sense most closely linked to memory. It’s no surprise that every time I smell PineSol I become nauseous. I remember myself in a wooden chair, the smell of PineSol thick in the air, a gray plastic bucket in my lap, waiting to regurgitate vitamins that would have most likely made me extra healthy. 

    If you’re wondering about Patty, I haven’t seen her for years. I hear she became a superhero.

                                                                            

Hi there! Where did July go? I had no posts because it was quite the party month. I did move ahead a little bit with current ideas but didn't finish anything (except party prep). Now I'm getting back into my groove. You may or may not have noticed that I added labels to my blog. You can see these at the bottom of my headline art. I wanted to make things a bit easier to navigate. The story above is one I did quite a while back and would have sworn I posted at some point. I realized it was missing when I went to bed last night and my brain kicked in, began reviewing and commenting on the day, and I didn't remember labeling it. I hope you enjoyed! I'll be posting more in the near future. Maybe I'll even find some other tidbits I forgot to post earlier.

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Day Memories

 Snow Day 7 x 10" pastel

I'm currently reading a book titled "The Midnight Train" by Matt Haig. With no spoilers, it is about an old man who dies and boards a train to eternity. During the trip he views the passing of his life outside the train windows. The train stops at pivotal moments during his life where he can examine them more closely. I'm enjoying it very much, but there was one sentence that I appreciated so much, I had to stop and write it down: "Doesn't the mundane starch of reality always turn to sugar with memory." Goodness that struck home! You don't aways comprehend the happiest moments or times of your life until they are reflected upon.

I was on vacation recently with family and was thinking how I couldn't wait to get home to journal about it and review the photos. It's as if, even though I try to "be present" (and I think I do a pretty good job of that), I can't fully process how wonderful it all is until a can take that time to reflect - let it become sugar. 

This piece is from a photo taken more than 20 years ago. It's a beautiful memory that has become more beautiful with time. My kids are grown. We don't get snowfalls like this very often anymore. Life speeds by - like a train. When it is my turn to board that train, I hope it stops here. I will soak up the joy of my babies and throw myself down into the snow and make a snow angel and bask in the blessings that my life has been so full of. How sweet is that?!

Speaking on the piece itself, I haven't done a pastel for a very long time - years actually. But I was just in the mood and pastels are a quick medium. Here are the steps:

I did a small pencil sketch first then switched to Nupastels and pastel pencils on colored pastel paper. 

The last thing I did was tone down the snow a bit. Didn't want it to be quite so brilliant of a blue.

I'm not sure how much time I invested, but each step was less than an hour.

Thanks for stopping by!

Waterfall at Lake Cumberland

 Waterfall at Lake Cumberland 16x22" oils

This one has been in progress for 26 years! haha! I started it 26 years ago after a big family vacation on a houseboat at Lake Cumberland. This one holds a lot of great memories. It was our first evening on the lake and we were looking for a place to pull over to tie up for the night. We kept checking little inlets and agreeing "this is fine, just pull over." The holdout was, I believe, my brother-in-law who wanted to keep on looking. We ended up at this beautiful waterfall. (The heron was inserted from another photo). 

I started it 26 years ago, and it has just been pinned up on my studio wall this whole time waiting for me to decide I had enough experience to finish it. Below is what it has looked like all this time. You may not see a big difference, but I do! Haha! I finished the heron, made the water splashier, gave a bit more depth to the background, and hit the rock with a palette knife to give it more texture.  Woo hoo! DONE!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Swans

Swans - oils 12 x 22"

My most recent piece and some of the steps:

I started on a clayboard surface with a yellow ochre wash. I think it's more difficult to start on white and if you're not too heavy handed with paints (as I tend to be), some of the warmth can shine through.

The neck of the big swan was just a bit too long so I shortened it a bit.

For me, the water was the most challenging part. I think I did a decent job with it.

Thanks for stopping by!