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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A little scribbling

Daniel Boone Gardens
colored pencil on pastel board
5 x 7 inches
©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

Here's a piece that I did last week using pastel board. It has been quite some time since I have used this support for colored pencil and when I found a stray pastel board while rummaging around my supplies looking for something else (naturally) I decided to have a little fun.
I first sketched my composition onto the pastel board with Neocolor II water soluble crayons. I wanted to keep the feel of the piece loose and impressionistic. I intentionally chose bold colors for this underpainting step, knowing that the translucent nature of colored pencil would allow some of this highly saturated color to influence the colors placed on top. After I had scribbled in my areas of color, I washed the Neocolor with water. Above is what it looked like after that step, when the washes had dried.
 Then I went in with colored pencil. I prefer Derwent Coloursoft colored pencils when working on sanded surfaces. They are softer than my usual Faber-Castell Polychromos. Because of their softness, Coloursofts behave more like pastel pencils on the sanded surface of the pastel board. An effect that I like. My only regret with the process that I used for this piece is that I wished I hadn't started with such a dark blue in the sky. I would have liked the sky to be a lighter value at the end, something I couldn't achieve once I had that darker value of blue in place with the Neocolor wash. Oh well. It was a fun piece to play around with. And I am happy that I had the restraint to stop before I refined to many areas with detail. I do like the impressionistic feel where the mark making is evident and left alone. Pictured above is the finished piece, same as at the top of the post. I hope you don't mind seeing these pieces in stages like this. I never know if it would be interesting to anyone else or not. I know I always enjoy seeing works-in-progress that other artists share and hope you do too.
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24 comments:

  1. Vicki HoldwickJanuary 11, 2011 at 3:42 PM

    Ann,

    This is wonderful; thank you for sharing the process.

    xoxo

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  2. magpieJanuary 11, 2011 at 4:35 PM

    these are beautifully done.
    makes me wnat to pull out my pastels - untouched in years...
    i found you through the everyday matters group.
    love the series of paintings too.

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  3. Eileen Mariane aka MarmskJanuary 11, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    This is very interesting and I was interested in the process! The end result is lovely, I must try a landscape sometime if I can get up the courage.

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  4. Dan KentJanuary 11, 2011 at 9:49 PM

    Very beautiful! The process is interesting - I don't really understand it, but I am fascinated that the impressionistic turned into your result. It is evident that you do not have the slightest idea how to scribble.

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  5. SueJanuary 11, 2011 at 10:04 PM

    Ann, I'm always learning, so I do appreciate your sharing your creative process. Good impressionism is difficult to achieve. This is beautiful work. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2011 at 10:28 PM

    I love seeing your process! I never thought to do an under-coloring for pencil work.
    I'm in awe, really, of how beautiful this is.

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  7. Barbara BJanuary 11, 2011 at 10:38 PM

    These are gorgeous! I've learned a lot from your explanation.

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  8. Sara Light-WallerJanuary 12, 2011 at 1:50 AM

    I love reading about your process. :-) Thanks for sharing it with us.

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  9. Gillian MowbrayJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:52 AM

    This is very much my 'cup of tea' - I like the impressionistic glimpse you've given us of a summer scene that radiates warmth. Thanks for the WIPs too. x

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  10. UnknownJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:22 AM

    It's wonderful. You achieved the softness of pastel AND the detail of colored pencil all in one gentle scene! Very nicely done! I enjoyed reading the process, too. It was very inspiring!

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  11. Autumn LeavesJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    Not only beautiful Ann, but you have me thinking too. I'm noticing the sunlit tips on the bushes, trees and grasses. I never seem to incorporate the sun in a landscape and it brings depth and life to a piece. I think the colors are gorgeous and I really like the purple in the background trees.. Really stunning piece!

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  12. nanke's stuffJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:09 AM

    I really like seeing and reading about the process artists go through when making their art. This is a lovely piece, and I've never thought to do a water soluble crayon under painting when using colored pencils. What a great idea! It's a beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing. nancy

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  13. AlexJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:13 AM

    This is GORGEOUS! And I totally appreciate the steps too ^^

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  14. donnaJanuary 12, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    I love seeing works in progress and I love the impressionistic look of this work.

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  15. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    This is absolutely lovely! Thank you for giving us a glimpse of how it was made!!

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  16. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    Scribbling?? Wow! This is gorgeous! It doesn't look like colored pencil at all...more like pastel to me. I've never seen colored pencil with this intense color. Just lovely.

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  17. UnknownJanuary 12, 2011 at 9:31 PM

    I LOVE it when you show the steps like this, and learn from it! Please don't stop! This was very interesting and educational!

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  18. DALowe ArtistJanuary 14, 2011 at 8:44 AM

    Wonderful! I like to use colored pencil with some sort of underpainting; I've used watercolor, markers, but honestly never thought of using Neocolor II's. I don't know why! This is a beautiful piece and I love that you shared the process.

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  19. MILLYJanuary 15, 2011 at 10:32 AM

    I have been enjoying catching up on your work. It has been a while, so best wishes for 2011 and hope you manage to achieve the balance with all the demands on your time.
    I have always loved your pencil drawings so glad to read you are hoping to do more.
    The tree roots is such a lovely piece, love the detail.
    milly

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  20. UnknownJanuary 15, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    ANOTHER lovely piece! I find it is like an old friend when I rediscover a material. What fun. Great results.

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  21. kazumiwannabeJanuary 16, 2011 at 3:59 AM

    It's gorgeous. The way the light plays really makes you get the feeling of the place, like entering into the picture : ) !
    Personnally I love it when you explain your process. It's very interesting. I put it in a corner of my mind for experimenting, one day!

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  22. Sherry Pierce ThurnerJanuary 18, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    Ann I liked every step of the way! Winter is a great time to experiment and play - and think of summer.

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  23. AnnJanuary 20, 2011 at 2:34 PM

    Thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful comments. Every one of your opinions really mean a lot to me :-)

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  24. TeresaJanuary 22, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    LOVE seeing the stages in your work! So interesting. That little patch of bright yellow/green grass just pops right out. Beautiful!

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