On Drawing...
Sometimes I'll jump right in and paint without sketching, sketching and painting with my brush, pure
watercolor. But most times I sketch using a graphite pencil or using a pen with ink. My
approach using graphite or ink is entirely different.
With graphite I'm doing a drawing, a realistic drawing, or I might use that approach with minimal drawing for hard edges for objects with ink. However, when using ink to
draw it's not like making a coloring book's fill-in-the-outlines. I don't ink in
entire outlines. My ink sketches are merely a guide. When using graphite, it's often hidden by
the watercolors, though not entirely for graphite is opaque. But permanent ink, an even
bolder opaque, when used loosely and sparingly becomes not only a minimal sketch but a
part of the art's background.
In Stonington Spruced Up you can see how the ink-sketched
drawing is quite loose and minimal. Look closely at the ink on the waterline, one minimal line, on the islands, one or two minimal lines, all giving me a guide for the watercolors. Look within the spruce. It's a minimal skeleton on which to build the body
of watercolor. There are many empty spaces where the watercolor is the drawing
draped over that skeletal guide, not following the edges. This is very different from drawing a realistic pictorial picture
with graphite and then painting it.
I'm amused with watercolor societies when they state nothing opaque can be
used, such as permanent ink, all the while overlooking opaque graphite. And with ink one must be bold, once it's on the paper, that's it. There's no erasing, drawing, erasing, drawing, niggling, like painters do with graphite, even me.
NFS
1 comment:
Loved image of watercolor “draped over that skeletal guide…”
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