Hi Everyone! I’m Claire and a new member as of today. SO excited to be here. I have always loved to draw but never got any encouragement as a child or teenage and don’t think I showed any talent in high school that would make me stand out. However, when I became an empty nester, I thought about drawing again. I completed one course, but some of the content just didn’t stick and as I’m primarily a watercolorist (and in the last few years taken up pastels) I focused my energies on those 2 mediums. Then not too long ago I saw a graphite drawing posted in an FB group I belong to, and it just stopped me in my tracks. The artist wasn’t a professional, but it was in my opinion an exceptional beautifully rendered drawing, and it made me think of how much I’ve always loved graphite. I’m constantly in awe of what such a humble tool can create in skillful hands such as Mike’s. I often think (as a pastelist and watercolorist) of the old adage “color gets all the credit, but value does all the work” and never can that be more true than in a medium absent of color. I am really thrilled to be back on my graphite journey, as it’s a medium I have always loved and admired. Can’t wait to start! Here are just a couple of things I’ve done (a long time ago - nothing since) on my own.
[All fixed and inserted: ED]
The portrait was a double challenge because I’d only done one portrait before (of a very young girl) and on this I only used one mechanical pencil. Just for kicks.
Hmmm says files too large, so I guess you won’t see them. WELCOME!
Re: WELCOME!
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- Mike Sibley
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Re: WELCOME!
Welcome to DWM, Claire!
The example I use is a brown horse standing in a green field. Imagine this is a gallery. The colours tell you what it is, and you can glance at it and move on. But, because colour is absent, you have to look twice at a drawing to understand its content.
And then maybe - just maybe - that viewer might actually LOOK at a horse in depth for the first time. And they'll find plenty to look at, because our little pointy medium is ideal for detail, but it's not like a 1" wide brush, so it's useless for quickly suggesting anything.
Email me the images you couldn't post and I'll insert them for you.
As a quick guide, there are two limits: 1000px wide, and 1MB in size. Don't exceed either.
That is so true! And my belief is that colour can get in the way - be a distraction. When you remove colour, you force the viewer to look deeper, and that gives you a hook to pull them in.
The example I use is a brown horse standing in a green field. Imagine this is a gallery. The colours tell you what it is, and you can glance at it and move on. But, because colour is absent, you have to look twice at a drawing to understand its content.
And then maybe - just maybe - that viewer might actually LOOK at a horse in depth for the first time. And they'll find plenty to look at, because our little pointy medium is ideal for detail, but it's not like a 1" wide brush, so it's useless for quickly suggesting anything.
Email me the images you couldn't post and I'll insert them for you.
As a quick guide, there are two limits: 1000px wide, and 1MB in size. Don't exceed either.