I had colored pencils growing up. Colorific was the name brand if I remember correctly. They were limited in color choice, broke if you pressed too hard, and did not blend well. Mostly used for school projects like coloring the map and key in social studies, or the diagram of the heart in science class. It wasn’t until much later in life that I discovered colored pencils could be so much more.
Broken Fences
This was my first time using Prismacolor pencils. They have a nice feel to them, and the fact that I was able to purchase the colors I wanted individually was a plus. I am sure that it took me much longer than necessary to complete this picture. I was timid with the process of layering color at first, it took many layers before I started seeing results. Layering the color had a nice effect, especially on the tree trunk. Once I was more comfortable with how the colors worked, things moved along faster. It was an interesting process. In this illustration, I was going for realism.
Map to School
This particular art piece started with pen & ink. The drawing depicts all the stop signs, street lights, construction, and slow-pokes I encountered on the way to school. In contrast with the softness and layering I did on the first image, I used a more coloring book style on this one. The brightness of color and contrast of objects was more important in this piece.
Pen is Permanent
The big drawback in pen and ink is that there is little room for error. A misplaced line or an inkblot ruins the drawing. I found a way around it with pointillism. I usually sketched my drawing out in pencil first and then began outlining in dots that were spaced out. It was easy to work on different areas of the drawing to get the overall effect. I then would go back in and deepen the shadows. It took some planning, but I had a fighting chance of having it come out as I wanted in the end. I enjoyed this process for many years and drew quite a few barns and buildings that were in various stages of decay.
Days Gone By
This first drawing is from a picture taken in the late ’70s. Cruising the backroads via motorcycle on a sunny day, I came across this place way out in the boonies of Pembine Wisconsin. There it sat with nothing around it. Snapped a roll of pictures with my camera and at some point, those pictures became this drawing. I took a ride out that way back in 2018 or so to see if there was anything left of the place. I was surprised to see most of it still standing. The porch roof had caved in and there were more boards missing in places, a larger sag in the roof, but it was still there.
Blatz Barn
This barn is from an image taken in the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin area in the early ’80s. I love these old barns with their advertising, so much character. Unfortunately, there are not too many left. The Miller barn between Stevenson and Escanaba Michigan went down a few years ago. It is sad to see them go.
Australian Collage
This was a college assignment to take images from 4-5 different places and put them together for a brochure or poster. I enjoyed putting this one together. It was a fun challenge to pick the topic and then to find the reference pictures. I believe I came up with a good balance on this one.
It has been a long time since I have done any pen and ink drawings. I find it hard to make that repetitive motion these days. When I was younger, I didn’t think twice about creating dots for hours at a time. Those days are in the past. However, I have replaced pointillism with other forms of art that are just as fun.
Pencil Drawings
These are college projects from many moons ago. When you are working in black & white, it is easier to see value. The lesson of the day: although they lack the pizazz of color, they are a good way to understand the fundamentals of value. What makes an edge appear round? What creates depth? What can convey texture?
The assignment of the egg was a challenge. The still life is a collection of favorite things and memories. The baseball glove was no longer used, but I still couldn’t part with it. All four were a fun exercise.
Even after all these years, I still enjoy the quiet concentration that comes with drawing. Sometimes there is something to be said for going back to the basics.
