On the Drawing Table.......Another Equine Drawing

This current work-in-progress will eventually depict two black horses, and is once again inspired by the wild horses of Wyoming.  The image shows the early stages of my layering with colored pencil.  As with my most recent equine drawing, I am putting down a grisaille using the range of Prismacolor french greys (except for the muzzle), in order to establish the shapes and some of the values.  There is much ground to cover yet: for perspective, this horse head is nearly 20 inches high.

With this piece, one of my goals is to retain and lead the viewer's eye through the particular -- though subtle -- use of color.  As the work progresses, I will be able to explain more specifically what I mean by this - and what it is I am attempting to accomplish.

As always, thanks for stopping in.   : )

"Dust and Thunder" Completed

Dust and Thunder

18" x 24"

Color Pencil on Uart 600



Upon completion of Dust and Thunder yesterday, I couldn't help but think about how much I have learned from this drawing.  Much of it's process has been an exercise in managing discomfort -- a frequent and nagging sensation that what I was attempting to do each step of the way may not get the result I was going for.  In retrospect, this feeling was probably born primarily from approaching a subject in ways quite foreign to me..........the dreaded unknown.  

During a previous blog post I discussed how controlling contrast can impact composition.  Effective handling of contrast can help to lead a viewer's eye through a painting or drawing, and ideally the focal point should have the strongest contrast of edges.  With Dust and Thunder, I attempted to impact the contrast through color and edge control.  My previous assertion that my goal would be to make the appaloosa horse the focal point, may have been unrealistic -- given the prominence of the two largest dark horses.  However, I attempted to draw attention to the appaloosa in a couple of ways.  First, in my reference photographs the brightly lit area behind the horses did not extend as far left as it does in my drawing: I extended the brightness behind the appaloosa, to create contrast through both the use of values and color.  Secondly, I attempted to keep the edges of this horse's neck and head fairly sharp, as hard edges also increase contrast thereby drawing the onlooker's eye.  For similar reasons, I had to work very hard to keep most of the foreground foliage very loose and soft: too much detail there (hard edges) would have distracted from where the areas of interest needed to be.  As it is my tendency to feel as if I must place every little detail (okay....yes....I have control issues), this was quite an undertaking for me.  Finally, because colors of high contrast or intensity at the margins can pull a viewer's eye out of the image, I attempted to slightly darken the values of the sunlit dust on both the left and right-hand margins.

I have the distinct feeling that the process of this piece and the many things I have learned, of which the above is just a sampling, will change my future artwork: how and to what degree, I do not know.  Clearly in both life, and art, there is a lot to be said for pushing oneself beyond one's comfort level.

Thanks for reading.

"Dust and Thunder" Update: Maintaining a Focal Point

While recently developing a couple of preliminary layouts for future drawings, I've continued to work on Dust and Thunder.  Below is a photograph taken late this week, during one of its many (smile) "ugly phases".

During my recent research and readings about composition both online and in books, I am increasingly intrigued by the many ways in which an artist can create a dynamic composition by the handling of certain aspects of a drawing / painting -- color, contrast, edge control, and temperature, to name but a few.  More specifically as applied to this current drawing, I have been giving a great deal of consideration to how controlling contrast can help to define my focal point.  The focal point of a drawing / painting should have the strongest contrast of edges.  This can be achieved not only through the use of color and / or value, but also through edge control, with hard edges providing the greatest contrast.  Areas of high contrast other than the focal point, can actually pull the viewer's eye away from the focal point.  For this reason hard edges throughout an image (guilty!) can be problematic.

In Dust and Thunder my plan is for the area of the appaloosa (spotted) horse to be the focal point.  As I develop the background colors and foreground foliage, as well as continue to define some edges and soften others, it should become more clear as to how I am attempting to use the above information to do this.  I'm interested to see how the conscious application of the principles pertaining to contrast may effect my drawing, both on this piece and in the future.

Thanks for reading.