COLORED PENCILS: Still Life

Graham Metcalfe

Joanna Alvarez

Shiho Nakagawa

Last night students drew from their own still life arrangements. Graham's drawing (top) is very well balanced (left/ right, top/bottom) and well proportioned to the paper. The forms are very well rendered addressing not only the light patterns but the various color patterns within each individual object as well. Joanna's drawing (middle) is very graphic. The lines are bold and sharp. The value range has been reduced to the most contrasting tonalities and rendered with rich colors. Shiho's drawing (bottom) is another than has skillfully rendered the light and color patterns. The forms are three-dimensional and set well within the space. Remember the key to successful color drawings is to be aware that objects and not just a single hue. A red object may exhibit multiple red hues, pinks, violets and even blue hues.

COLOR: Dice and Balls

Jack Ryan

Last night we began class with a discussion on color schemes and some of the technical considerations when working with colored pencils on black paper in particular. Everyone drew from a simple still life arrangement of a ball supported on a plastic letter or number and a die. In the drawing above, Jack has very skillfully located complementary colors. The orange letter is surrounded by blue and the green die is encircled in red. All of which are placed on a surface of analogous colors spanning across the color wheel moving left to right with cool colors to warm. In addition his mark-making on the sphere addresses the cross-contours by swirling out from the highlight. In contrast, the horizontal strokes on the ground plane reinforce the flatness of the table top.

COLOR: Dice and Balls

Meghann Lyon

Last night the class began working with colored pencils. After a brief discussion on color and color schemes we drew from an arrangements of dice and balls. Meghann's drawing above exhibits a complementary scheme of yellow-green and red-violet. This dynamic scheme is complemented by the energetic mark-making and diagonal slant of the space and objects.

11/8 Color: Large Scale Comps

Monday night students completed the large scale compositions. Autumn La Rue's drawing above is a good example of the striking use of color as well as humorous narratives that many students explored with their drawings.  Autumn's handling of the pencils is very painterly in her application.  The layering of colors and accenting creates a very luminous and textured surface.  The intense colors complement the urgency of the situation evoking a scene from Jurassic Park or a Los Angeles billboard for a dinosaur theme park.

HOMEWORK #8 Color

Choose three small objects and make a drawing using a color scheme that complements the subjects in mood and/or function. Pay attention to compositional balance, positive and negative relationships and eye level. Remember when dealing with color to consider the value as well as hue.  Furthermore, you will get a richer and more luminous drawing when you layer colors rather than just filling in (ex. using orange to render an orange (fruit) would be somewhat dull and flat whereas layering in some red, yellow, white and possibly blue or green would be striking and more volumetric). In the drawing above note the use of blues and greens within the shadows of the yellow bottle and the combining of primary colors within the metal snips.

11/1 Color

Monday evening the class made drawings using colored pencils on black paper.  We discussed color schemes and their potential to complement and enhance the content or mood of a drawing before choosing our subjects.  Each student worked from a single item, mostly skulls and antlers, some bones.  Trevor Finley's drawing (top) is loosely based on a primary triad color scheme whereas Leah Erickson's drawing below illustrates the strong emotive quality of using a single hue for a monochromatic color scheme.

4/14 Drawing in Color

Drawings from T/Th class. This drawing by Ashley Duncan exhibits rich colors and textures achieved by slowly building up the values and colors through layering and using multiple colored pencils.  Note the range of color found in the hammer head.  Rather than just using black to create grays, Ashley has included a violet hue to add warmth, richness and luminosity.

Adam Sanchez has used a dominant color scheme of green and red with a subordinate color scheme of violet and yellow. Note with this drawing how he uses yellow to move the eye around the composition.  This drawing is in progress.

Jackie Kruzic's drawing, although unfinished, reveals a very smooth, layered and confident use of color.  The colors are rich and luminous.  Jackie too has used a very controlled and layered technique in her application of combining colors to achieve the desired color and value.  The key here is to"take your time."

4/12 Colored Pencil Composition

M/W class started working on 3-5 object compositions using colored pencil on white paper.  General compositional strategies applied (i.e. cropping, engaging negative areas, etc.) as well as the requirement to choose a Color Scheme. Above is an in-progress shot of a drawing by Kate Picchi.  Kate has chosen to go with a monochromatic color scheme of blue with hints of the other primary colors for accents and shadows.  The color blue is very complementary to the cold nature of the objects being drawn. This drawing also demonstrates Kate's understanding of composition.  Not only is it well layed out with implied diagonals and interesting negative areas but she has wisely chosen to repeat the puzzle pieces of which in actuality there is only one.