Thursday, March 19, 2009

Two Pencils; One Subject





This graphite drawing, of the same adorable little boy portrayed in the (now finished) colored pencil piece, shows how I use these media very differently. The colored pencil on roughly textured Pastelbord owes much of its strength to the multi-layered areas of color, while any actual drawing of line is kept to a minimum. With the graphite pencil, I like to emphasize the contours with a definite linear presence, which creates a kind of framework for the rest of the drawing.

These commissioned portraits were a joy to do!

(12"x18", graphite pencil on bristol)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

OMYGOSH I love this! The side glance and overall feeling reminds me of Boticelli!

Elizabeth A Patterson said...

Well, that has to be one of the coolest comments I've ever received... and coming from you makes it extra special! Thanks so much, Nicole!

Arti said...

Hi Liz this is my first visit...your art is wonderful.I liked your painting "morning shadows" so much!Its hard to believe that you were using color pencils for this fantastic effect of water and ripples...its just great work!:)

Julia said...

I just found your blog, and Oh My Gosh, am I ever glad I did! You are one GIFTED artist! Wow! That little boy is adorable and it looks as if you captured his personality. I can only imagine what reaction his parents had when they saw this. I looked back at previous posts as well. I will be checking in on you often.
I mostly sew, but I also draw and paint, but nothing this great by any means.