Exercise in Shading and Highlights

This was a simple lesson in shading and highlights, but, I think it turned out well.  Graphite on Blick Studio by Fabriano 140 lb cold press watercolor paper. 9.5 inches high by 6.5 inches wide.  Mock framing done in Paintshop Pro. After looking at the first version - that on the left - I decided that it needed something, so I worked on the darks a bit more... I like the way it looks now, especially since the watercolor paper gives this drawing a bit of depth that I didn't have to work hard to achieve.  As is most often the case, clicking the small version takes you to the full-size drawing.  The original piece looks much better than either of these scans.

Colored Pencil Drawing

Prismacolor Verithin Colored Pencil on coldpress watercolor paper. My finished piece is 9 inches wide by 6 inches high, yet would also work as a vertical display. The basic line drawing I used here was inspired in part by a lesson from Watercolor Painting for Dummies by Colette Pitcher, although I didn't trace, so my freehand drawn start is different than hers... and of course, I listened to my own muse rather than following the instructions given in the book... I like how this turned out. As with most of my blog entries, you can click this image to see the full sized version.

Notes: 

1. The background appears darker here than on my original... darned scanner.
2. For those who haven't used them, it should also be noted that Verithin pencils are harder and sharpen to a finer point than the basic Prismacolors do, hence the appearance of scratch-marks near the center of this piece.

The Village

The outline to this painting came from Terry Madden's Watercolor Workshop 1100 series Volume 1... but instead of following instructions given in the book, I decided to pretty much do my own thing... playing with colors.  My original version of this painting hangs in my living room.

13 x 9.5 inches watercolor on Blick Studio Fabriano watercolor paper.

Handy Rose

One attempt at a mixed media piece. Basic drawing in colored pencil, chromatic black background in watercolor paint. The rose is one of an artificial bunch I bought a couple years ago... the hand is my trusty manniquin hand I purchased for just such purposes.  Glad I was able to find the hand used; it's not nearly as flexible as I had hoped, which strictly limits the positions in which it can be posed.

Colored pencil and watercolor on Bristol Board. 7 x 11 inches.