Paint Basket Art Forum

Author Topic: Losing My Marbles  (Read 5784 times)

BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
on: January 27, 2016, 07:37:28 PM
This is the practice exercise I have been working on this week.

I am learning a lot about CPs. For someone who is used to working in watercolor, it is hard to adjust to a medium that does not flow! All gradations of color have to be laid down, one by one, and the process takes a very long time.

I am discovering that I prefer using OMS (odorless mineral spirits) to the colorless blender that Prismacolor has for burnishing, as it fills in the valleys of the paper better. I use a tortillon to apply it. I think I also like using the tortillon alone, rather than the colorless blender, which is a product that also lays down a waxy layer on top of the pencils.

My set has a variety of greys: cool greys, warm greys, and French greys, and in each of these there are various depths, such as 20%, 50%, 70%--one pencil for each. It was useful to experiment with these in the shadows.

And I also used complementary colors on a few of the marbles to add depth or shadow.
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


dennis

  • Administrator
  • Master Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 8709
Reply #1 on: January 27, 2016, 07:42:29 PM
Brilliant :clap: :clap: :clap:
You are what you THINK about - Napoleon Hill


BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
Reply #2 on: January 27, 2016, 07:51:19 PM
Ah, thank you so much, Dennis.
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


Danielle123

  • Master Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 6652
Reply #3 on: January 27, 2016, 08:30:05 PM
beautiful marbles, great transparencies.   :yippee:


Happychappy

  • Master Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 10179
Reply #4 on: January 27, 2016, 10:12:20 PM
 :clap: :clap: :clap:  Fantastic Susan.  So exciting to see you excelling with coloured pencils.   Patricia
Patricia
Blessed are those who give without remembering and blessed are those who receive without forgetting - anonymous


BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
Reply #5 on: January 27, 2016, 10:41:36 PM
 :thankyou: very much, Danielle and Patricia. It is very challenging for me, that's for sure!
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


Danielle123

  • Master Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 6652
Reply #6 on: January 27, 2016, 11:53:40 PM
I did not notice your explanation on CP ans I find it is also hard to blend compare to WC.  Did you go from light to dark, also do you blend with a lighter colour. I do not have the  oderless mineral spirit but I tried rubbing alcool and it seem to dilute/blend the PC.  do you have have rubbing alcool at home and if you do can you make a test for me to see if it does the same thing.   If you don't no worries I will get some mineral spirit some time in the future.
thank for all your info.



BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
Reply #7 on: January 28, 2016, 12:51:54 AM
Danielle, I will try a test with alcohol and see how it compares with OMS. I'll post the results of my experiment tomorrow.

In general, I went from light to dark. On the yellow marble, I laid down some violet first for the darker areas, using the tip about complementary colors. I think one thing that helps is using a lot of layers, and also overlapping colors to achieve a gradual blending. I confess, it is harder than I thought it would be!

I forgot to mention that I used Stonehenge paper which I like. Some say this is one of the best papers to use for CP. it accepts a lot of layering and holds up to OMS.
« Last Edit: January 28, 2016, 12:56:17 AM by BeaSue »
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


Danielle123

  • Master Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 6652
Reply #8 on: January 28, 2016, 01:12:54 AM
thank you Sue for the clarification of colour mixing and yes it is harder than I thought too.   :thankyou: for the type of paper, now I have 2 new ones to try.


Annie.

  • Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 3286
Reply #9 on: January 28, 2016, 01:26:35 AM
Wow, beautiful!  Never would have imagine that something so realistic could be done with CP.
Cheers, Annie
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.    ? Plato


MaryAnne Long

  • Global Moderator
  • Master Artist
  • *****
  • Posts: 14975
  • Oh, my! ART!
    • Long Lost Art by MaryAnne Long
Reply #10 on: January 28, 2016, 02:26:06 AM
Susan,

W-O-W is an understatement.  These marbles are incredible.  The colors are amazing.  Hard to believe it's colored pencils!!

Oh, W-O-W!

aloha

mea
A day without art is like a day without sunshine.


BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
Reply #11 on: January 28, 2016, 02:57:18 AM
 :thankyou: so much, Annie and Mea. I really appreciate your comments. I hit a dry spell with watercolor recently, so this was a nice break.
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


sally13

  • Easel
  • *
  • Posts: 1263
Reply #12 on: January 28, 2016, 03:04:23 AM
Your marbles are amazing Susan. I have a large set of colored pencils that i have barely used through lack of knowing how to use them. Good to hear that you are pushing on experimenting and figuring them out. Great job.


BeaSue

  • Canvas
  • *
  • Posts: 2538
Reply #13 on: January 28, 2016, 12:28:23 PM
 :thankyou: Sally for those kind words. I enjoy learning new things. It keeps my mind nimble (I hope!). I have a few books on colored pencil art now, and am trying to practice what I'm learning. Like any new thing, it's going to take a lot of practice before I feel comfortable in this medium. But there is a large part of me that seems to like the painstaking nature of this. I don't think it will replace watercolor, my first love.
--Susan

"Creativity is harnessing universality and making it flow through your eyes." Peter Koestenbaum


Annie.

  • Artist
  • *
  • Posts: 3286
Reply #14 on: January 29, 2016, 02:00:51 AM
It is just a little break and it is good to stretch.  Your WC are so beautiful, you will back to it... as soon as Dennis get a new lesson out, it will spark you up.

Nothing we learn is lost or in vain, everything counts.
Cheers, Annie
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.    ? Plato


 

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2023, SimplePortal