When is a Quick Sketch NOT a Quick Sketch?

Happy Labor Day!

Answer - when it's a detailed goat....

I continued looking for goats to see if there were consistent eye characteristics.  Perhaps it is just those on this farm, but all of the goats that would make eye contact with me at the Amish petting zoo had the dragon-like eyes.  The darkest horizontal slit sits at the top of the visible portion of the eye and is somewhat protected by the long, protruding lashes from the top. 

6B pencil sketch of long-earred goat.  Pencil on tan Strathmore 400 series paper.  Click on image to enlarge. 

I tried to pause to catch a few more steps in this goat work - not because of the eyes, but to reflect on the effect of the micron .5 pen on the overall effect of capturing the coat.  Because the hair on the goats appeared to be much coarser and more dense than dogs, for example, I chose to start with the brown AND black micron pens, both .5, to create stronger texture.

Long-earred goat using 6B pencil under .5 brown and .5 black micron pens.  Click on image to enlarge. 

With the previous sketches, such as the pigs, for example, I used the white China marker to indicate highlights.  I let the tan paper stand alone for the mid-tones, and some of the darkest tones, and added India ink for definition.  In the goat sketch I wanted to develop a broader range of tones...of course for me, that means investing more time.

Addition use of black and brown micron pens on tan Strathmore 400 series paper.  Click on image to enlarge.

I tried not to apply different pressure to either of the micron pens, and instead let the proximity of the marks create lighter or darker areas - somewhat akin to pointillism, but not to blend color but to create shades.  Notice that I did not ever go back to eliminate any of the original pencil marks.

Long-earred goat with addition of white China marker for light areas of the coat and watercolor paints to add hair and eye color.  Click on image to enlarge.  

Instead of using white to for highlights, I decided to use the white gouache for the light/whitish areas of the goat.  The only place I used white for highlighting was in each eye - see the goat below.

Addition of watercolor and gouache is small, incremental steps....helps explain the time.....

Addition of white gouache for white coat, eye highlight and nose.  Click on image to enlarge.

I continued to cautiously lay in layers of watercolor wash to add depth and tone.  Having little experience with watercolor paints in the past, I am a hesitant user.  I decided early in this sketch that I would leave the background alone.  

Whoa - that's a dark eye pupil......that's what it looked like, but.....Click on the image to enlarge.

I think this goat is getting closer to the image I was hoping for.  I like the way the way the tan Strathmore paper is working to create some depth and is taking on the appearance of undercoat - very goat coat-like. 

Long-earred goat nearing completion.  6B pencil, brown .5 micron pen, black .5 micron pen, water color paint, goauche paint, a little white China marker and a little black India ink.  Click on the image to enlarge.

Long-earred goat, finale.

I just had to rework the top of the nose to make it look more realistic.  I am really going to leave the background untouched and let this goat stand, solo....I have got to research those eyes!

Hope you are or have enjoyed a wonderful Labor Day 2015!

Textural Shift - As Promised! Billy

Billy - 6B pencil, white China marker, black .5 micron pen, brown .5 micron pen, and watercolor paints.  Click on image to enlarge. 

Have you ever noticed a goat's eyes? Is there an element of dragon DNA in their genetic code?  And....why didn't I ever notice this before??  At first I thought there was a problem with this goat - vision, or perhaps blindness.  He appeared to be making eye contact, but was perhaps just looking toward the direction of children, who just happened to have a handful of food.

Billy with watercolor grass added to enhance depth.  Click on image to enlarge.

I was interested in seeing if the other goats had different eye characteristics so I began to walk around the small zoo.  The next three goat pens I came to contained goats who were not interested in the people with food, so kept their tail-end towards the audience.  Finally, the fourth goat revealed the dragon-like eyes of the first.  Why didn't I ever notice this before??

Well, it's not like I have been hanging out with goat herds.  There was not a single pet goat in my urban Detroit neighborhood (although there was an urban myth rumor that there were those that harbored chickens and pigs.)   The only time I recall seeing goats, in fact, were perched on top of something higher than anything else around them - much like the images of Snoopy and the dog house of Charles Schultz fame.  I can't recall a time when I had the opportunity to look a goat straight in the eye and seek the inner being.

So what do these orange eyes with the odd-shaped pupil-ish area reveal about goats.  I don't image they are descendant from dragons or alligators, but this will take additional research to uncover.  The orangy-amber color of the eye is similar to some dogs and birds, but iris pattern appears to be very different in the goat.

Billy with some watercolor grass blades added....too far!  The eyes are more like the real goat, however - well...the light reflection is anyway.

Transition Sheep/Goat..........

The last is the Iowa ram series is below.  The addition of the more curly fibers makes it more sheep-like to me.  It would be fun to do an acrylic painting of a few sheep as a nod to the great women of the Iowa Spinner's and Weaver's Guild - food for my thought!

Ram with several modifications.  6B pencil, white China marker, watercolor paint, black India ink, and gouache paint (the opacity is the key to eliminating or softening the harsh effects of the India ink!!)  

6B pencil, white China marker and watercolor paint on tan Strathmore 400 series paper. 

Originally, the image above was intended to be a fourth in the "sheep" series, but the more I looked at it, the more it look like a goat to me.  I think I will call this the "transition to a goat" image to be on the safe side.  Of course, that also foreshadows that the next drawing or two you will be encountering will be ......goats.

Addition of black India ink.  Click on image to enlarge.

 I stayed true to my task on this particular drawing, by adding a little India ink to the original quick sketch and stopping.  There are pros and cons to the end result.   Pros include sticking to my "quick" commitment, it looks like the critter I had pictured, he's/she's endearing (as sheep/goats go,) ad the white pops, and an appropriate use of black ink to define, without overpowering. Cons include the rendering of the background, which I think limits the depth allowable by the viewer, and the omission of the left shoulder before it is out of "range."

Enough of white China marker for highlighting AND texture, on to another technique (that was the teaser...did it work??)

Still counting??

One of the most interesting aspects of sheep is their wool.  When we lived in Iowa, I became very interested in spinning wool.  We lived in the heart of an agricultural belt that was dominated by beef cows, and row after row of corn and soybeans.  There was a growing group of people, mainly women, who were raising herds of sheep for their wool.

Ram sketch #1 - 6B pencil, white China marker and watercolor.  (Sorry, I did not stop to snap a picture at the beginning of the process of sketching this one.)

I began meeting occasionally with their group and learned about carding the fibers, spinning and the special language of wool enthusiasts, such as,"...in the grease."

addition of black India ink and more white China marker.

One of the very dedicated members of the group had grown up in Australia.  She did extensive research of the bloodlines of the sheep that produced the wool she found the most desirable and brought several of those sheep to her Iowa farm each year.  When I first met her, she was just ordering four sheep from a ranch in Australia (go figure) because the fibers from their fleece was the right color, length, and crimp. 

More India ink added as well as some warmer background color.  I don't think this one is looking too "fleecy," however.

As the group continued to meet, I realized that all of the clothing that she wore was made from fabric either woven or spun at her home.  Her blouses were a fine, thin, delicate fabric with fabulous drape and color.  I had no idea that hand spun yarn could be such a fine fiber.  Her spinning techniques had been handed down from grandmother to mother to her.  Her natural plant dies were beautiful and I learned that she grew specific plants and weeds for the color they produced at varying times of the year.  

I began to card small samples of fibers from different kinds of sheep.  Members of the group were very knowledgeable about types of wool and the best places to get them.  I slowly tried to learn how to spin varying "weights" of yarn.  

"What if...." is an interesting thing to think about.  What wool interest and skills would I have IF we would have stayed in Iowa?  Within a year of my wool discovery, we were on the move to Minnesota.  I found only one place to get wool once we moved, which proved to be highly inferior to the beautiful samples I had experimented with in Iowa.  Minnesota provided a completely different array of interests to explore, and eventually I left carding and spinning behind.  The final "goodbye" came when my spinning wheel was damaged.    

See tomorrow's entry for the final ram in this series - I cannot get the site to work correctly to add it for Friday.  Thanks!

Counting Sheep?

If you are counting sheep (checking out blogs before calling it a night,  perhaps) this is number two.

Sheep #2 - A quick sketch.  6B pencil, white China marker, watercolor paint. 

Doesn't this sheep look like it should be on the old Star Trek series.  "Spock and I beamed down the the planet EWE, and there they were, contracting for night work, with the mattress company...":

Black India ink and background color added.  Is this the sheep that welcomed the landing party? Hmmmmm......

On to the Sheep

6B pencil, white China marker and watercolor on tan Strathmore 400 series paper.

Decided to change fair animals, but stick with the same process.  This sheep, in profile, began with a pencil sketch, which is most visible in the upper left hand corner.  I am also trying not to erase at all - afterall, these are designed to be sketches

Addition of more white and black India ink using the Pentel Pocket pen.

....still moving quickly AND, for the most part, satisfied with the results.....

Addition of background watercolor paint.

I quickly washed in two different tones of purple into the background.  I like the way it diminished the appearance of the pencil lines in the upper left without erasing - if you look carefully, they are still visible, but this technique has merit for later work.....needs to be in the category of, "...note to self..."

This is also a good reminder that technique and strokes also matter a lot.  The texture of hair on the top of this sheep's head is very "sheep-like," but the texture on the muzzle and down the neck is very dog-like.  The beauty of China pencil is it's speed and water-resistance.  The down-side is its' unforgiving characteristics.  I suppose I could go in with a single edge razor blade and scrape off the white and try again - hmmmm, kinda loses the "quick" part of sketch, doesn't it? 

...Quick Sketch, Quick Sketch, Quick Sketch......Moving Yourself Forward

If I remind myself daily that I am practicing a quick sketch, I might actually get closer to doing one.  I started this one with pencil and I am going try to render the image without reworking. 

6B pencil on tan Strathmore 400 series paper.

Addition of black line using .5 Micron pen.  I like this pen because it is permanent; I have never had it bleed or dilute using any water-soluble medium.

Addition of white China marker - I was very tempted to stop here BUT wanted to add in the "pinkiness" of a conceptual "perfect" pig.

Yep - added pink watercolor paint - could also have stopped here.

Added a little background color - watercolor paint

Added more watercolor paint...and stopped!!

Constantly repeating "quick sketch, quick sketch..." worked for the PROCESS here.  The thing that slowed me down the most was stopping frequently to take a picture (there are actually 4 addition pictures of the process)  and yet the pictures kept me moving forward.  

So, during your creative process, how do you pause to reflect and keep yourself moving forward (or decide it is time to stop)?  I like the way the cell phone camera is working for me in the process.  It's quick, visual (my best mode for learning,) and provides a mini-history for later comparison and reflection.  What works for you?