This week, I returned to the Plastic Club once again. With a renewed sense of purpose after a long absence from the club, I am determined to try different mediums and slowly wean myself off of the graphite pencil. I also need to experiment more with color. I have become more comfortable with charcoal and the more painterly feel it gives my drawings, but it’s not doing anything to develop my sense of color. So, tonight, I thought experimenting with conte crayon red chalk on a toned paper (other than grey) would be a good, logical first step toward those goals.
Like charcoal, I loved that it forced me to concentrate more on highlights and shadows and not so much on small details (a trap into which I often fall with pencil). The short, 1-hour pose also forced me to shade and draw more quickly, and though I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect likeness of the model, I’m reminded how much I love and prefer the energy this type of drawing or portrait conveys. And though I believe I will always prefer and gravitate toward black and white or monochrome images, it was refreshing to work with an actual color and to increase the options I had to express the figure or manipulate the mood of the drawing.
Next experiment – maybe, pastels?
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