pencil studies

Many painters will create pencil studies of their subject matter first to plan out the distribution of the halftones, shadows and highlights in their composition.

Many Realist painters find it necessary to create a complete pencil rendering of the subject before the painting begins.

The next step would be the color study that would help the artist plan out the changing values in the hues into their various tints and shades.

I have displayed here the rendered pencil study for the following acrylic painting.

This is the first painting I did that I thought worthy of showing anybody.

*Artlex Art Dictionary- is a good resource for art word definitions

Al Buell

 Al Buell drawings borrowed from Fantasy Ink

Al Buell

Ink Blobs

ballpoint pen drawing

GARRET

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When sketching with a ball-point pen, once-in-awhile blobs of ink come out that are not invited and I have to assimilate them into the value structure of the drawing so not to be noticeable. The pen I used for this drawing was a Paper-mate Fine Point. Can you find my blobs?

With ball-points you can’t get the wide variety of thick to thin lines that you can obtain from the quill type of pens, although you do have some control of line quality with the degree of pressure applied to the pen while drawing. The lighter the pressure, the thinner and lighter the line will be. The more pressure the thicker and darker the line. Actually that’s all you get, only two choices, a thinner and slightly thicker line.  

 

Preston Blair

Preston Blair

 Images borrowed from Animation Resources

Buck-a Roo's

GARRET

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Frank Godwin

Rusty Riley by Frank Godwin

Alfred Jacob Miller

 

GARRET

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The Trappers Bride

“Art for Art's Sake” (fine art) is in its infant stage when compared to the time-line of art history. For ages, the artist was considered just another craftsman like coopers, shoemakers and masons.

Not until the Renaissance, when the wealthy city/states bartered for the services of the best painters and sculptors of the time to promote their ideals, did artists begin to be recognized for their accomplishments.

Most artists are long forgotten by history. However some artists were at the right place at the right time to illustrate an event of historical significance. Years later, these artists are promoted to take their place among the important artists of the day when these drawings are rediscovered.

One such artist is Alfred Jacob Miller who went west in 1837 and recorded for history the Rocky Mountain Fur Trapper and the American Indians of the area. This was toward the end of the fur trade and the Native American way of life.

I copied Miller's painting above and utilized other visual eye–witness accounts for the drawing on the top right.

The sculpture below was created almost exclusively from the study of Alfred Jacob Millers drawings.

sculpture project drawings

 

 

GARRET MCFANN

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These are two similar drawings for a possible sculpture project. I prefer the drawing on the left. The slightly stronger diagonal line created by the right leg creates more of a dynamic tension than in the other drawing.

 The next step would be to make a 3-4” sculptural sketch and then an 18” maquette size work. From the 18” it can be enlarged to a life-size sculpture.

It is recommended that when using a pantograph for the enlargement that the model should not be smaller than ¼ size of the finished enlarged sculpture.