Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Edge of a Dream


The Edge of a Dream is what I've titled my latest colored pencil drawing. I may  have mentioned in previous posts that I love walking on the beach any time of year and taking photos of the surf, the waves breaking on the beach and the clouds. I've worked several drawings of beach scenes from my photos but never incorporated any other subject into the scene.

Subsequently, earlier in the summer my husband and I were invited to a fashion show fundraiser in which we were lucky enough to be seated directly next to the runway. As the models sauntered past I whipped out my little camera and started snapping away, my thoughts of incorporating these tall wiry women and their interesting costumes in some of my artwork. This young woman was exceptionally tall and exceptionally thin and I had been pondering what type of interesting scene I could drop her into. After much thought I pulled out some of my more dramatic beach photos and decided to create a scene in which she is walking along the beach, stormy clouds and colorful waves behind, her skirt flowing in the sand. My intent is to give the the figure and the scene a dream like quality, as I was working I would put myself into the scene, perhaps she is me.

As in my past several drawings, I am using the UArt sanded paper with Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. The Polychromos pencils blend and sink into the paper when burnished with a bristle brush. The Prismacolors blend also but not quite as well because they are much more waxy. The paper is very textured with distinct horizontal lines and I find that burnishing vertically and horizontally helps blend out those lines. The sanded paper eats up brushes in no time so I purchase cheap, flat bristle brushes and cut the brush hairs to about 1/4" so they will be stiffer and better for burnishing. I enjoy working on the UArt because it takes the colors so quickly, I can achieve deeper values and brighter colors on this sanded surface.

On another note, I am going to be leaving Spring Bull Gallery in Newport, RI at the end of August. I have been at the gallery since 2005 and enjoyed it so much. Spring Bull Gallery is a cooperative gallery  in which the members share in the expenses and duties. I have really enjoyed my past seven years at the gallery and I love the family of artists in the gallery with me. Leaving the gallery is bittersweet, I am sad to go, however new opportunities await and are in the works. Customers are welcome to contact me and see my work at my studio in Middletown, RI.

5 comments:

Kelley Carey MacDonald said...

I love it, Kendra - and you nailed the hips-forward posture of those girls!

Kendra said...

Thank you Kelley!

Jenn Falcon said...

Kendra, you know I'm a fan of your work, (and you do more in a week then I do in a month), but this one I just don't like! They don't seem to me to go together. Maybe she is too pale to go with the beautiful, colorful beach, or maybe she looks mad, or unnatural, maybe it is the angle, or that posture (which is bad for your back!). You juxtapose nature and man in that "Keepers of Mystery" one so well. (Not like you asked my opinion!) Something about this one bugs me though, sorry.

Kendra said...

Hi Jenn, I appreciate your feedback and constructive criticism. I don't expect everyone to like everything I do, sometimes I'm not particularly happy with one of my pieces. You are correct, she is very pale, very angular and she did look intimidating as she walked the runway. I am a big fan of color and can't help but make the gray beach scene more colorful than it was in my photo. You've raised some good points and I will have this piece critiqued at some point.

Anne Winthrop Cordin said...

I love this one Kendra, the model is out of place on the beach in that glam skirt, but that adds drama and intrigue, she fits the scene perfectly for me. After all, it IS titled Edge of a Dream !