The 'model' for my current work-in-progress is a wild horse that was photographed in Wyoming a number of years ago. It will be a small colored pencil piece, just 8" x 12", and as usual I am working on Uart sanded pastel paper.
The image above shows my work to present, and currently looks much more like a graphite drawing than a work in colored pencil. By building a grisaille using the range of Prismacolor french greys, I am developing the general values and their placement. As the subject is a grey horse and other colors in the drawing will be subtle, this technique should lend itself well to the piece. It has been quite some time since I have laid in my base coat in this way , and I am enjoying it. Next I will begin building the details and colors on top of the grisaille.
Oh, and to divert............the barn swallows are back. There are only a few right now, but soon (as I'm sure I wrote at this time last year) there will be dozens of swooping, happy barn swallows in the barn and surrounding sky. Their return always does my heart good, though it feels a little different this year than it usually does. I suspect that this is due to the fact that this past winter has been a most difficult one, what with its losses. There are simply those things that life brings, that change one -- so the little things that have always brought me such joy with the return of each spring season are now measured against the backdrop of the past few months. Its a process.
As always, thanks for reading.
