As you will see from #2, the blue eggs in #1 aren't really quite that blue!
I'm almost inclined to change the image under the last post - I'm not sure whether it was the light in which I painted the blue eggs or the light in which I colour corrected the digital image but they certainly came out a tad too blue!
#2 is coloured pencil on hotpress watercolour paper (Saunders Waterford I think) and is size A4 (210mm x 297mm). This one has got to the "sit still while I have a ponder" stage - and I might tweak it a little further but it's virtually done. I find that putting images up on screen frequently helps me to see whether there is anything else I want to adjust.
The background is made up of colours used within the main image of the eggs and the bowl - but using different proportions. I find this lends unity to a painting when you don't want the background fighting in any way with the subject. It's also particularly effective when the subject benefits from having the coloured equivalent of "white space" around the image in order to set it off. I particularly enjoy making coloured greys - with variations across the page - from colours rather than using the manufacturer's greys. The optical mixing of colours makes them much more exciting even when they're being subdued!
By the way - for anybody who's into chickens - I found the website for Clarence Court the place where these eggs come from. The breed information is fascinating! It also has a "hencam" which shows you how the chickens live! The hencam has even been featured as part of "The Guardian featured the hencam as part of its "web watch" column.
Apparently watching hens potter around can be very restful so bookmark this one if you need a different sort of stress buster!
Technorati tags: art , coloured pencils , colored pencils , chickens , eggs , hens , hencam , painting , pencil , pencils , still life painting
Katherine! This is an exquisite (eggsquisite,too) drawing--I love all the pale, glowing colors. And the composition is just perfect--- all circles, arcs, ovals. I can only imagine how lovely it looks in real life!
ReplyDeleteLaura of Laureline(s)
From now on when you see Laura, you'll know it's me, even though the url provided by Blogger is wrong.
Wonderful egg drawings, both #1 and #2. There is something appealing about drawing eggs, isn't there! I have a friend from the Philippines who loves quail eggs -- they are so beautiful that I keep threatening to go buy some for him to eat, just so I can paint them first!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments - much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI so enjoyed doing these eggs. I was eyeing them up again last night and thinking maybe I should hatch #3! ;)
Thank you for your very kind comments Wally.
ReplyDeleteProfessional artist quality coloured pencils are an excellent medium for sketchblogs. I've sketched all over the world with mine - see my website.
And I'm going to be posting an entry soon which shows you how easy it is to have a watercolour effect with some watercolour pencils and the minimum of water.