Module 4, Chapter 4: Sgraffito

Extra activity: Experimenting

Although the extra activity comes second in the Module, I thought it makes sense to start with the experiments. 

 

The first page was done on heavy paper (240 g/square meter) primed for oil and acrylics, and so is the third. I use this paper to wipe excess colour from my brush during painting. The paper has a fine linen texture which helps to retain the colour. All the sample drawings are numbered.

 

1. oil colour (still wet), gouache, nib It was nice to scratch into the soft colour, but there was not much colour left after scratching. 2. industry painter and wax pastel, acrylic ink, nib The industry painter dries to a hard surface, so the colour stays strong. Unfortunately there are only three basic colours. 3. Jaxon wax pastel, gouache, cutting knife Works well, but still the colours look washed out. 4. Jaxon wax pastel, acrylic ink, pocket knife The  curved blade of the pccket knife is good for broad strokes and varied pressure. 5. acrylic ink and wax pastel, acrylic ink, cutting knife The acrylic ink dries to a hard surface, the colour stays strong. 6. Neocolor II wax pastel, gouache, nib I painted  the gouache very quickly over the water soluble wax pastel. Later I found a better solution. Two other examples of this combination are 16 and 18 further below.

Second page:  trials on smooth cartridge paper. I have written my comments below, row by row.

 

 

 

7. acrylic ink, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink, cutter
My idea was to separate two layers of acrylic ink with a layer of transparent oil pastel. The difficulty is to spread the oil pastel evenly over every part.

8. Jaxon wax pastel, transparent oil pastel, arylic ink, cutting knife
I like this example. With the transparent pastel just under the gouache layer scratching was easy and smooth, and the colour is almost unchanged.

9. Necolor II wax pastel, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink, cutting knife
The idea from no. 7 works well to separate the water soluble colour from the wash. I used it in some other examples to try colour combinations (17, 18, 19, 20)

10. inktense pencils (washed), gouache, cutting knife 
Not successful, the gouache clings to the inktense colour.

11. inktense pencils, transparent oil pastel, acrylic ink
Again this is much better, although I did not cover up the inktense layer evenly.

 

 

12 and 13. coloured pencil, acrylic ink:
Acrylic ink clings to much to the pencil layer.

14. Neocolor, transparent oil pastel, wax pastel, cutting knife
The wax pastel leaves a thin coat on the transparent pastel. Might be good for a pale wash.

15. coloured pencil, transparent oil pastel, gouache, cutting knife
This works quite well. I wanted to try coloured pencils as they can be mixed and layered to a wide range of colours.

16. and 18. (below) neocolor II(water soluble), gouache

 

17., 19., 20. are all combinations of neocolor, transparent oil pastel and gouache in different colours.
My question was: How can I prevent the colours appearing washed out after scratching?

21. coloured pencil, transparent oil pastel and gouache, pocket knife
Can I make the red more intense by a green coating?

Third page: on structured heavy paper again

22: colour squares painted with Jaxon wax pastels, black gouache, different scratching tools:    1. nib – tip and flat side    2. letter opener    3. cheese knife – good for parallel lines    4. pocket knife with a curved edge which is   good for broad strokes 23. colour squares with Jaxon wax pastels (partly metallic colours which look a bit misty), Winsor & Newton viridian ink, cutting knife Winsor & Newton ink is even more shiny than acrylic ink. I find the effect quite dramatic.

 

Activity 4.4.1: Sgraffito drawing

 

All the drawings were done on smooth cartridge paper

	13x18 cm A detail of the field edge. I transferred the outlines from my line drawing and coloured it with neocolor II, transparent oil pastel and gouache. The motif seems to lend itself to this technique. With varied pressure the stalks fade into the dark background. And i could scratch out the hairs on the poppy stems and the bud in the foreground.
	19x14 cm The shoe does not lend itself to this technique, all the shininess disappears. Oil pastel and acrylic ink.
	17x16 My well-worn boots are a better motif again. Drawn with Neocolor II, transparent oil pastel and gouache. The background came out too light, so I added a thin coat of oil pastel. But still I found the colour too light.
	Stage two: horrible. I have put another coat of very soft Sennelier oil pastel over the background (after a few days to dry) and coated it with a new layer of gouache. Unfortunately I had completely forgotten to protect the boots with transparent pastel. And the gouache connected itself firmly to the water soluble first layer.
	Stage three: After giving up on this drawing altogether I thought “What the hell” and added some colour on the boots, scratched light outlines around boots and shoelaces and a few more stalks into the background. Now the boots have a really weathered look.
	20x17 Another drawing with cornflowers. Done with Neocolor II which I washed after colouring.
	Covered with transparent oil pastel and Viridian ink. The ink has seeped into the Neocolor layer where the oil pastel has not quite covered it. The boots seem to hide in the field. But: the colours of the Neocolor wash do not come out too light. This shows better in the original. So I have found one method at least.

Module 4, Chapter 3: Drawing textures

4.3.1 Making wax rubbings

My sketchbook is size A4. Papers and media are indicated on the images.

 

	The upper rubbing was done directly in the sketchbook. Although the paper is a little too thick for rubbing, the edges of the lime are well visible and make a nice pattern. Most textiles were too soft to get a good rubbing. One exception was a woven table mat. Neocolor II was good to use with this finer texture, as it is less soft than the Jaxon oil pastels I used later on.
	A wickerwork try offered several opportunities.
	My favourite earthenware mug in two media. The graphite stick renders the details differently, with more shades than the Jaxon crayon.
	Done with Jaxon, the rubbing of the oven cloth was a smear. But with the graphite it is quite distinct. The two lower rubbings were taken from a paper made in Module 2. The graphite version renders the lines, the Jaxon version shows a combination of line and plane.
	Again a graphite and a Jaxon version. The woven basket has a very fine texture, so I preferred the graphite stick for the rubbing.
	The texture gets more dramatic with the 8B pencil. I wish I had more of this very thin tissue paper. It is ideal for fine details.
	Two more trials with textiles, done on the very thin paper, as well as the shell on the right. I wrapped the shell in the paper repeatedly to make the rubbing.
	For outside rubbings I raided my neighbour’s garden shed, as it had been raining for days and everything outside was soaking wet. These rubbings were all done with Jaxon wax pastels and sturdier tissue papers.
	I like the bark rubbing, the second down on the left, with the delicate traces tapering away from the strong marks.
	The feathers have such a delicate texture that it can hardly be seen, although I tried several times. Yet I like this page.

 

Extra activity: adding colour washes and making a collage design

 

	The papers were coloured with washes of acrylic ink. The image appears rather pale on this page, the original is a lot more colourful and shows more contrast.
	The snippets are arranged on a paper from Module 3, prints and colour washes on woodchip wallpaper with a texture of its own.

 

4.3.2 Looking for texture

 

For many years I have collected photographs  and filed them in theme folders like stones, trees, houses, sky and so on, but also colours, lines – and textures. It seems there remain a lot more texture images to be collected!

 

		Texture photographs DIASHOW ANZEIGEN ALLE HERUNTERLADEN

 

 

4.3.3 Drawing texture

 

Some of the textured objects I used for my drawings (except the white shirt):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first page of the drawings was done on a sheet in my sketchbook which I had coated with gesso, so the surface is a bit grainy. Except for the oyster shell I used pencils, as indicated below the drawings.

 

	Upper left: oyster shell I had experimented with Brusho and bleach and tried it again here. The bleached lines are almost, but not quite, definite, an effect which I think suggests the mother of pearl surface of the shell. Upper right: sunflower head The grainy paper was not the best surface for the fine details of this object. Yet I like the contrast between the regular pattern and the burst at the centre.
Lower left: The paper was not bad here, because it gave the lines a hint of movement. The H5 pencil was a good  choice for the fine lines of the very light wood.	Lower right: This stone has no regularity and was difficult to draw. I went from dent to dent and made the graphite wash in the background to make the shape a little clearer.
The next two images show half a sketchbook page each.
	Sock: I hope it is evident that I knit the sock myself! Incredible to have done so much knitting and to still have to look very closely at how the stitches are connected. Sometimes I think I do not see an object properly unless I draw it. Snail’s shell: Something went wrong here. I was bored while drawing the shell, and the drawing is boring.
	Brush mat: I thought this is perhaps too simple and regular a motif, but I liked to explore the spaces between the bamboo sticks and the thread that holds them together. Wasp’s nest: Once I understand a pattern I tend to draw what I know instead of what I see. But the wasp’s nest has so many irregularities that I always had to look closely. I might have made the dark spots blacker.
I played a little with these images in Picasa.
Reversed colour: I especially like the effect in the sunflower and the wood.	HDR processing: The wasp’s nest raises from the page with the enhanced contrast. I might try to draw with a calligraphy pen or a felt tip to get a similar effect. Or an inktense pen with a wash for the darkest shades (the idea comes only just now during writing, too bad).

 

 

Finally: A little relaxation

 

The painter Mary Fedden (I cannot thank Viv enough for drawing my attention to her!) used to make little soft lions for the babies born to her family and friends. They are so lovely that I decided to try one for the new born daughter of a friend. It was so relaxing to sit back and stitch for a change! It was also a chance to finger much-loved old textiles again and turn them into something nice. This won’t be my last lion – my little grand niece will get one, too.

 

Module 4, Chapters 1 & 2 – addition

The very best idea for my story has only surfaced after I had posted Chapter 1 and 2. So here are a few new line and tonal drawings for further use. All the drawings were done on 220 g cartridge paper.

 

1. Walking boots

	My walking boots again. I will need this profile view. Both lines and tones were drawn with B6 pencil.
2. Gun
The photograph of an old gun is from the internet. I don’t know the first thing about guns, so I hope I got the details right. The drawing is too long for the scanner, so I did two scans and made a collage in Picasa, that’s where these awkward lines come from.
	Drawn with a B6 pencil, lines and tones.
3. Butterfly
A common blue, as I learned from the field guide I used for this drawing.	B6 again
4. Field edge
	Among the many photographs of a field edge with poppies, this seemed the best. Even so, the thought of drawing all these stalks in the background was intimidating.
	In the line drawing I picked out just a few of the stalks to create an impression of the field behind and around the poppies.  Drawn with B6 pencil.
	An intermediate state with the tones in the poppies and the background, drawn  with a B9 pencil. This may perhaps be useful further on.
	The finished drawing after a lot of work … I used a kneadable eraser to make  lines in the background and suggest the mass of stalks in the field. I also added  tone to the outlined stalks and the background to set off the poppies. The prickly poppy stalks against the light are not done quite successfully, but on the whole I am satisfied enough to stop at this point before I work it to death.

I am so sorry that I cannot use the images of these wonderful red shoes in this project! But I am resolved to work on with my first idea some other time.