Weekly OP Sketch Thread Feb 2-8 - Page 2

**Scarefishcrow** · #16 02-04-2009, 07:52 PM

Robert,

Great eagle sketch! Very expressive yet not over worked.

Bill

robertsloan2 · #17 02-04-2009, 08:02 PM

Thank you! It took a struggle not to overwork it. I wasn't sure about some of the loose areas but I stuck to my original intent and let go before detailing every feather the way I would in graphite or colored pencils.

Barbara WC · #18 02-04-2009, 09:23 PM

Don't have time to respond to everyone individually, but I'm enjoying the sketches that everyone is posting!

This is my first time posting in the sketch thread. I'm not a sketcher by nature, and generally get into detailed drawings.

This started out what was supposed to be a quick sketch. Well, then I decided I wanted to blend the pears, then I had to put in details, etc, etc. The only thing that really is "sketched" is the background. I gave up on the background.

This is a study using Neopastels on 9x12" Strathmore Pastel paper (which I think would be nice for charcoal and softies, but I didn't care for OP's). I now will move to UArt paper with Senneliers, using the same pear setup. This took about 1 1/2 hours. I wanted to only do a 30 minute sketch!

Does anyone have suggestions for the background? Right now the pears are on a table with no real background- I'm thinking about draping some fabric in the background for the UArt piece. Any suggestions for what color of fabric and should it be light or dark? I originally thought a dark background would be best, but now I"m not so sure.

C and C welcome.
Barbara

robertsloan2 · #19 02-04-2009, 10:21 PM

Barbara, I like the dark background! If you want to drape fabric, go with something that deep blue and give it a good heavy coverage. These are wild! I love the weird magenta pear in the background, the other two look so natural but the magenta one is a color I've never seen in a natural pear. It probably exists, I just haven't seen it.

My other suggestion on the background would be to go one shade lighter in a warm blue, not much, muted warm blue, and shade it from lighter to darker -- dark where you have it, lighter where you have it sketched in loosely. Maybe just work in some white or light gray blending with that initial dark blue and then blend the darkest part with more color or an extender, so that it gets richer and bluer as it gets darker.

The contrast with the pears on the left is gorgeous and makes them shine like jewels, the contrast of the white and light behind the green pear makes it look strong and deep. So going loose and painterly with the blending behind them would help push the detailed shiny pears forward, while the cool color pushes back. I think a mostly dark but shading toward light background would be even better looking than fabric, it'd be like some of Rembrandt's still lifes that way.

Then shade forward with a soft edge toward white toward the front, just change the texture as it comes forward so it all has that painted texture. Just an idea. I love what you've done with it so far.

gakinme · #20 02-04-2009, 10:53 PM

Thank you, Robert. Beautiful eagle there. Now that I look at it a second time, the different colors on his white is so fun to look at.

Such beautiful shiny pears, Barbara!

Barbara WC · #21 02-05-2009, 12:07 AM

I'm back. Now I've had time to look at all the sketches more closesly.

Robert- I like the candle- much more so than the reference photo. Thanks for the tutorial on flames- I painted a flame in watercolors before and now know why it looked wrong. Nice eagle by the way.

Yusuke- I'm rather new here, but really like your kiwi sketch. I went to your website- seems like you have a thing about sketching food! I like your work. The next time I buy a bagette, I'll have to get out the Senneliers!

Greg- Your piece is very expressive and I like the texture of the paper you used.

Sandra- Cool landscape- you captured the sunlight beautifully! I don't know much about Photoshop, but really like how you used it in the landscape painting!

Robert- Thanks for the background idea on the pears. I think blue would also be a good color to use. I might play with the colors a little before switching to UArt. Maybe I'll cut the pears out of the page and lay them over new sheets of the same paper with different backgrounds to see what works! By the way, that red pear is called a "Crimson Red". I used Neopastel Crimson for the color, and a complementary green for the shadows (my monitor shows a little more magenta than the actual color). The Neopastel Crimson color is very close to the real pear, except the real pear has little all over dots of a duller red/brown color.

Barbara

robertsloan2 · #22 02-05-2009, 12:25 AM

Barbara, that is way cool. I just checked my Neopastels to see if I had Crimson, but all I have is Carmine. It would be cool if you added the little red-brown dots on it, maybe not all over but in its midtone area like they're more prominent in the shadows. It's frustrating when a scan doesn't show true color.

Glad you liked the background idea. That's trippy thinking of collaging them onto new paper. I've never done that so I wouldn't have thought of it. I might do cutouts in colored paper to hold over them to decide on a good color though. I think Neopastels are opaque enough that if you changed the color you could build up to the new color by successive stages.

It helps to put the in between hues over something if changing its color completely, I picked that up in Charlie's soft pastels class and I think it'd help on oil pastels too.

Wow, thanks for your comment on my candle! I changed the composition dramatically when I made it vertical and put it off center, did that deliberately. Glad the tutorial helped sort that out for you. It drove me nuts for years and I always painted flames in the reverse order of values but hated the way they looked unreal.

Yusuke · #23 02-05-2009, 11:59 AM

Thanks, Greg, Bill, Robert, Sandra and Barbara.

Greg,
Interesting piece. The white spots originated from the paper surface go so well with the collage-like image.

Sandra,
Nice colouring on your landscape. Mixed media sounds interesting.

Robert,
I like the details of your eagle. Especially, the sharp edges and tones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertsloan2

I've seen kiwis done like that in some of my colored pencils books and it took weeks -- of course you managed it in quite a short time with your Senneliers.

Well it took around 45 minutes to paint the kiwifruit. You can guess how Senneliers are excellent.

Barbara,
The highlights are quite nice! I can see how careful you were when painting these pears. The reflection of the red and green ones against yellow one tells everything about the setting! Well, so the background can be totally black, I think. If you arrange the background with some colours and/or objects, there might be the other complicated reflections on the pears. Anyway, nice study!

BTW, thank you for looking at my website. But the OP works in my website are not very new...

I have sketched an apple. Various OPs (Sennelier, Holbein, Caran d'Ache neopastel, Cray-pas Specialist, Faber-Castel and Pentel) were used on the Canson Mi-Teinte paper.

robertsloan2 · #24 02-05-2009, 12:20 PM

Yusuke, your apple is splendid as always. I could probably tell the type of apple from this if I were an apple expert, the shape and colors are exquisite. You're one of the artists who tempted me with Pentels! Now that I've charted them, I know why you like them as a firm oil pastel. They are smooth and don't crumble much, surprisingly good for such an inexpensive brand.

Barbara WC · #25 02-05-2009, 12:45 PM

Robert- Oh, I did mean Neopastel Carmine, not Crimson! I had the red crimson pear on my mind! I"ve painted pears in a few different medium, and trying to include those little dots on any pear (the green also has them) just doesn't turn out right. I'm not sure why the dots that I see don't translate on the paintined pears!

Yusuke- Nice Apple- I love painting apples. It's also the first thing I paint or draw when trying out a new media! Thanks for the comments about the pears. You're right, if I add a colored background it would probably change reflections/colors/etc. I might try draping a blue cloth in the background to see what that does. I'm still undecided about the background! Last night I liked the blue idea, overnight I started to think more about something neutral! The UArt sanded paper that I want to use next is a similar beige color as the paper above- not my favorite.

Barbara

**Scarefishcrow** · #26 02-05-2009, 02:02 PM

Barbara,

The pears are magnificient. I will attest to the fact that pears come in that color, or at least darn close...maybe just a little darker and wine color or bordeaux bias to them). The blending is great. Everyone has given you good ideas for background. Lots of possibilities. The only one that looks a little odd to me is the green on that seems a little short and wide, but it may just be the angle that gives it that look. The combination of colors is really very cool.

Yusuke,

Thanks for the apple. I was really getting hungry so I hope you don't mind I took a bite out of it!! Now there's an idea for a patience building exercise. Draw a piece of fruit. Take a bite. Sketch it again. Take a bite. Repeat the process until you conclude with a sketch of the core!!!! Wouldn't that make a great series and build your self discipline simultaneously. Might have to set aside much of a day to do the series though!

robertsloan2 · #27 02-05-2009, 03:40 PM

Barbara, that totally makes sense! Carmine is a color I have seen on some pears, not all over but close to it on some -- so it makes sense that there's a brilliant crimson breed that's probably very tasty. We usually get the green or brown ones here. I'd love to get one with a pinkish blush running through yellow to green all on the same one, but it's not super likely anytime soon. We usually get our fruit on the markdown cart and Kitten is going for value and nutrition over what it looks like.

Yusuke, you tempted me and today I tried the Pentels. Your incredible realism led me to actually do the background with the polished clear quartz pebble so here it is! Definitely influenced by my study of your style.

Clear Quartz, 3" x 4" in Pentel oil pastels on ProArt sketchbook paper. First page of my new 4" x 6" sketchbook, turned sideways with some matting space around it if I decide to take it out and frame it.

I love the texture on the Pentels. Very little crumbling, they blended well but when I wanted a sharp hard edge or tiny detail I was able to get it. I hope they rate well on the lightfastness testing because they rock.

**Scarefishcrow** · #28 02-05-2009, 06:04 PM

Great sketch, Robert. The wood texture is really well done and sets off the stone very well!

Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by robertsloan2

Barbara, that totally makes sense! Carmine is a color I have seen on some pears, not all over but close to it on some -- so it makes sense that there's a brilliant crimson breed that's probably very tasty. We usually get the green or brown ones here. I'd love to get one with a pinkish blush running through yellow to green all on the same one, but it's not super likely anytime soon. We usually get our fruit on the markdown cart and Kitten is going for value and nutrition over what it looks like.

Yusuke, you tempted me and today I tried the Pentels. Your incredible realism led me to actually do the background with the polished clear quartz pebble so here it is! Definitely influenced by my study of your style.

Clear Quartz, 3" x 4" in Pentel oil pastels on ProArt sketchbook paper. First page of my new 4" x 6" sketchbook, turned sideways with some matting space around it if I decide to take it out and frame it.

I love the texture on the Pentels. Very little crumbling, they blended well but when I wanted a sharp hard edge or tiny detail I was able to get it. I hope they rate well on the lightfastness testing because they rock.

gakinme · #29 02-05-2009, 09:50 PM

Thank you, Robert, Barbara, Bill, Yusuke for your comments.

Yusuke, what a beautiful apple. So edible!

Robert, you really liked Pentel Oil Pastel too! Wow, that's really neat. Very pretty stone and the background is so good!! Now I'm tempted to do a couple more too.

robertsloan2 · #30 02-06-2009, 12:23 AM

Please do, Sandra! There's still plenty of room in the project. That one was my tenth.

This one isn't even going in the project, viewers would start getting sick of seeing the same stone over and over and it's in the worst set of oil pastels I've tried -- Prang Sketcho. But I'll post it in the sketch thread because it's a sketch. To me it's a miracle the thing even looks recognizable this time.

It took a lot of work doing it, especially filling in the background. Even though it's only on 4" x 6" paper. Prang Sketcho are the Toddler's Oil Pastel. The artist's hand shown on the box looks like my three year old grandson's. Happily he could not swallow the big hard sticks and can gnaw on them as much as he wants since they're nontoxic "Oil Pastel Crayons."

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