Total Art Soul - For Artists

Following on from my pencil adventures (don't know how I stand the excitement :) ,  I've been searching for the perfect paper to use them on.  I must admit, up until this point I'd largely just picked up whatever appealed and played with it, but now I've got to produce a series of images for a single client it suddenly became a serious issue.

As these images will be reproduced for printing, I needed paper that would provide a clean, crisp image. That shouldn't be too difficult, surely- paper is generally white and flat. Isn't it?

I narrowed it down to hot press paper (I always use watercolour paper, even for drawing ) - that has a smoother surface, which I need to get in the detail. Further reviews ruled out papers that were too creamy and would look dark when photographed. I was feeling quite smug and organised until I tried to narrow it down further to find one that wasn't sized with gelatine (I'm vegetarian). Sizing incidentally affects how much water the paper absorbs, in case you'd not got that far yet.

After about four hours I found one site that offered thorough reviews and product info on a whole pile of watercolour paper - this'll make things simple thinks I.....


'the rattle
has a slight warble '


Eh?


'it has a soft tooth  
from the blanket '  

Sorry, what ???



Now, I know all these things have got to be called something, but what's wrong with words like 'texture' all of a sudden? Not only was I starting to wonder if I should also use a secret knock next time I went to get paper, poor Rich was developing a twitch just listening.

Before any prospective painters run screaming from the room, help is at hand.  I've had to include the link here as this glossary of terms is several pages long, but it is in alphabetical order :)


http://www.paperindex.com/resources/glossary/

It's no wonder so many people buy a box of paints and a pad to try this out, then never get any further. So many of the products in art stores don't come with any kind of explanation or instruction- something I will endeavor to clear up in a later post. In the meantime, rest assured that you're not the only one starting to feel like they're in a Bill Bailey routine, when all you wanted was something white and flat to draw on...

Karen (the one without the beard)

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It's been a while since we blogged as it suddenly got very busy round here :) We've just put a new exclusive range together for a bridal business, so lots of beading and taking of photographs. On top of that, we're appearing in two gift guides and have just opened a uk shop online !

Then there's the drawing- I'm still working on a range of licensed images, which brings me to the subject of this blog. I've been asked to do a series of black and white images, for which I've been playing with different mediums to show the client how many different effects can be achieved. So, thought I'd compare and contrast for you :) Some of you will have read the first bit before but bear with...

First up, my usual charcoal. I use charcoal pencil normally, as I can sharpen it to a needle point for fine detail and it still blends beautifully. I tried the posh ones that come in sets but didn't get on with them due to the colour change because of the binder. I now only buy the kind that cost about £2 for a pack of 12, as you can see here they are very versatile.



Then, I tried Wolff's carbon pencils, claimed to be the best drawing medium in the world. These cost around £2.50 for a set of 4.  Now, this is just a sketch and done from a photograph that had been blown up so not the best example but...


These were very interesting to work with- not as precise as the charcoal, on art paper close- up it almost looks like ink painting, but the blackest, blackest black you can imagine. It was almost more than my little gothic soul could take :)  Also, unlike the blended charcoal, the different grades showed no colour change, from b through to 6b.
It blends a little oddly too, you rub away like mad with your paper stubby to little effect then suddenly it decides it will blend after all and you nearly take the lot off. I've got the hang of that now, it's not really an issue but just thought I'd warn you.

In the event of you making a hash of it, the carbon is about as tough to rub out- possible but hard to remove all traces so take your time drawing in guide lines. Oh, and quick note- neither charcoal or carbon will go over graphite so don't use standard pencils when you're setting up.
I think I'll use a combination of the two for most images- charcoal for fine detail and carbon for heavy shadow, but I also think the carbon would be fantastic for flowers, the contrast you get is amazing and for the right subject, that slight fuzziness can be a good thing.

So, for those of you still using graphite, give these a go. They do everything graphite does and then some. Plus, you don't get that shine, which can be a pain especially if you've got to scan or photograph the image afterwards.
Go play :)

Karen
(the one without the beard)

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I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other day and it prompted me to think about the journey I have begun.  When is it exactly I can call myself an artist?  Not a budding artist, not an amateur artist, but you know, a 'real' artist.  In other words, AM I THERE YET?

I've pondered this question long and hard which has developed into more questions.  Do you become an artist when you've had a number of years experience?  Do you become an artist when you sell your first piece of artwork?  Do you become an artist when you're lucky enough to have a gallery recognise your work?  The list is possibly endless.

If someone had asked me "What do you do?", the question would have just stumped me.  I would have hesitated, stumbled and tripped over my words ..... which, as a Gemini and a lover of communication, would come as a shock to most people :-).

So what has been stopping me from saying it?  Could I, in a group of like minded people, stand up as if I was at an AA meeting and say ...... I'M JUDE ROBINSON AND I AM AN ARTIST and repeat it like a mantra?  The thought has embarrassed me if I'm truthful because I haven't felt worthy of that title.

Examining my own thought processes, I believe what has prevented me from saying 'I am an Artist' is observing and studying the work of the many fantastic artists I have the pleasure of knowing since I began my journey.  I am literally in awe of their creativity and often think, I could never be as good as that.

All that said, I've had to give myself a firm talking to (is that the first sign of madness?).  As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder isn't it.  What may be brilliant artwork to one person, may not be to the taste of another.

I will be attending my first meeting with a fabulous group of women called Network With Style on Wednesday of this week at a location in Shropshire, UK.  At the beginning, it will entail me standing up in front of the group and telling them what I do.

So I have forced myself to come to this conclusion.  I've decided that despite my career taking me down lots of different and mostly fabulous roads, even though I only started this artistic journey about 4 months ago, MY HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN ART.  Maybe that should be another mantra :-)

I am determined, from now on, to say to everyone and to myself as this journey continues without a destination, and to say the same to all my fellow creative souls who are struggling with the same question ..... YES WE ARE ARTISTS ..... YES WE'RE THERE :-)

 

Jude xxx

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Well it’s all new to me. What exactly? Well, living on the Shropshire and Powys border first of all, in a small village called Llangedwyn which is about 8 miles from Oswestry. We moved down here in March 2009 and we’ve never looked back. I’ve lived in the North West of England for all my life up until that point but I can honestly say I’ve never felt more at home than I do living here.

We not only have the most amazing landscape surrounding us, the luxury (yes I think it’s a luxury) of living in a truly rural setting, the fabulous nearby towns of Oswestry and Shrewsbury, the social activities that are always happening in Shropshire and Powys, but we have a very close knit community here in Llangedwyn in which myself and my family have felt most welcome. I can honestly say that I never want to move and never want to live anywhere else in the world.

So what made us move? It was my deteriorating back condition. I suffered a prolapsed disc in November 2007 and although I had an operation, the problems persisted and have worsened. So we moved to be near to my husband’s family for additional support. It has meant that I’ve been unable to work like I used to do and life has changed dramatically.

However, something I decided to do recently has helped me to accept my condition more readily and confirmed my belief that things happen for a reason. Earlier this year, my husband suggested I do something just for myself. This is not a known concept to me. I look after our young children and I want to help people, that’s what I love to do. But my husband was insistent.

With my disability I am restricted, however, I decided to revisit a passion that I’ve had since I was little girl, that of painting and drawing. With some help from my Shropshire friends on Twitter (many of whom I‘ve met face to face), I started a 10 week course in oil painting at Shrewsbury College of Arts and Technology on the 1^st March 2010. It was the most amazing course and I met several fantastic people along the way. I discovered how painting was so therapeutic and really helped my overall wellbeing.

I decided to share my work, good, bad or indifferent, with my friends on Twitter and Facebook. Although, as I’ve said, I undertook painting for my own benefit, what has happened since has been totally unexpected. When I posted my fourth ever oil painting, someone wanted to buy it. Just like that?! I continually shared my paintings and they’ve continued to sell. I still remain shell shocked by this turn of events I can tell you.

I now call myself a Budding Artist.  I am learning and continually striving to improve and experiment.  So yes, I do believe things happen for a reason. If it wasn’t for my spinal problems we wouldn’t have moved to this beautiful part of the world and I wouldn’t have started being creative again. I am truly blessed.

If you would like to see my work or discuss commissions, please visit my website www.artbyjude.co.uk

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Right, I said I'd do this so now I've got to :)

Theres been a lot in the forum here about peoples journeys with their art, so thought I'd add my two penn'orth. I've been working in charcoal pencil for about ten years  and it's now pretty much all I use. It gives different results on different papers- the pieces below are on Langton extra smooth, which has a beautiful velvet finish perfect for capturing this kind of detail. These were my first experimants, I already know what I'll do differently on the next ones of the ferns but for a suck-it-and-see test, I was quite pleased with the results.

I've included the photos to show the changes I made to get the best results from the materials- I long ago realised it actually often works better if you don't try and replicate the photo exactly but use the medium's strengths to create something new.

If that doesn't work, take the best advice I ever had from a fellow artist- 'Nobody will ever know its not supposed to look like that unless you tell them :)'.  So true- if all alse fails, do the newsreader thing, look and sound supremely confident and they'll believe it every time.;

This is one of the photos I took in the garden after it had been raining.



And this is my drawing :) It's a wee bit fuzzy here as my scanner isnt great, but you get the idea. To get the contrast between plant and water, I blended the leaves but drew the water and left it. This is only 3" square by the way, I'm too busy playing to do anything bigger right now :)

Next up- photo 2 from the same afternoon, this was some wheat thats grown up from the bird seed we put out :)



Again, my efforts- I deliberately left the background simple, I normally have a terrible compulsion to draw every dratted detail but I knew it would detract from the focus in these so I'm having to change my style for the first time in years!

I've already decided these arent good enough and have set up more pictures to go, will share my findings as I go along.

Quick tip for anyone thinking of trying charcoal pencil- dont buy the expensive blended ones. I've tried them all and abandoned them very quickly. I use the cheapest, pure charcoal ones I can get my mitts on, currently Anker, which are about £2.50 for a pack of 12. They can be sharpened to a needle point and blend beautifully.


More later,
The short half of Grin, Grimace and Squeak!

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