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Monday, February 6, 2012

The Pencil Moves Oh So Slooooooooooowly


Over the last three years, I've been running away from the pencil medium. Now here I am with one in my hand and it’s moving oh so slowly. Taking the values down to the darkest the 6B pencil can give is tedious work. Lots of breaks are needed by this impatient soul who draws with her nose at the expense of her neck and shoulders. Pummeling the shadows to get the right blend, my knead eraser is invaluable—as is the stub. This is how I was taught.

In life drawing classes, which lasted three hours, the students would knock off several charcoal renderings while Russell Keeter, their instructor, worked on one square inch of his drawing with an HB pencil. He said you can’t rush it. I believed him. I’d seen his work. And you did too in my last post. Break's over. Back to work!

14 comments:

  1. Wow - superb drawing - great values!

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  2. I'm interested to see the final project!

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  3. Brilliant Linda. Well done and all the best. Got to rush, sorry.
    Vic.

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  4. Superb drawing! You are right about pencil but I love pencils and pointpen:)

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  5. I'm interested in seeing the final drawing too Celeste, I really would like to pick up my snail'space, but slow and steady...

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  6. Thanks Dan. I hope you didn't think my comment on your blog was too off the wall, but sitting here building up shades of gray with intermittent bike rides just to shake things up does drive you a bit crazy. I'll be back to follow the poetry link. I'd like to hear the poet read his "Shirt."

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  7. Oh to rush Victor. Sounds good. I hope it's to some place fun. Your garden even though covered with snow looks lovely. Snow makes for spectacular tulips in the Spring.

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  8. I like it a lot Linda, a lot!
    Our life drawing classes were 8 hours long (2 times 4) I loved them :-)
    My mom always bought HB pencils for me, I am not sure why since I liked 2B the best. And of course, charcoal (and cheap hairspray as fixative)...

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  9. Robert I left my pencils behind two plus years ago in search of what kind of painter could I be--amateur on the brink--is my present state of being. Pencils are tedious, yet mesmerizing; I get lost in the time when when one is in my hand. Not so with painting. Maybe I should have stuck with what I know?

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  10. Yes Agnes, Aquanet would do when you had no Krylon Fixative around--I even recall where you filled an atomizer and blew through it to fix charcoal, Conte crayon, graphite and pastels--what an inferior method! Uneven spray. Spots like raindrops scattered about that left rings; it was like spitting on the drawing! I like the new and improved, but you have to be careful.The spray darkens them if held too close for too long. I more or less mist the area and hope just enough falls where I want it. --You're right. Our classes could have been four hour sessions too twice a day--I was guessing by today's standards; it's been a few decades since then.

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  11. It's like therapy for me when I draw with pencils.

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  12. Yes Robert, very much like therapy. It calms the soul.

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  13. Amazing work...you are so patient and it pays off.

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  14. I am not patient Ann! I can work twenty minutes to a half hour, then I've got to get up and shake myself up. On breaks, I do whatever occurs to me--ride my stationery bike--water my plants--anything different. Today,I began my reintroduction to oil painting. You'll see the disastrous results tomorrow.

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