Author: Pierre Labeau, Contributing Editor

I saw Elliott's candle and it is ...well..OK, but it is just like him to overcomplicate things. Here is a simple candle, easy to do and very effective. Have fun!

Reduce the candle to it's simple geometric forms, a column for the candle itself, a disc formed by the melted tallow and a pointed oval for the flame.

Here the drawing is modified to take on some of the characteristic forms created by the melting and running down of the wax. The drawing is made with a light gray pencil on black matte board

The drawing is developed further, indicating the droplets formed by the melting wax and some color added inside the crown of the candle.

The drawing is near completion at this stage with highlights indicated and more color added. The entire color scheme is very simple; Lemon Yellow, gray-blue, and gray.

Here is the finished product. About 45 minutes was needed from beginning to completion. Since I have had some mail asking what I use for a ground let me enlighten you. This particular drawing was done with colored pencils on dark matte board. I use the matte board so that things will show up better on your computer screen. I stop short of suggesting that you use this type of ground for your work as it has little shelf life. This is a demonstration only!