Converse Sneakers

Last fall while our studio Art Boot Camp students were drawing from a variety of shoes, I began thinking about a composition of just the two pairs on contrasting Converse sneakers. I put the mens' black high tops with the womens' regular red sneakers. I'm working on UArt paper and the size is approximately 24x24". I started with a study of just the red sneakers (previous post) but was too intrigued with the larger piece so I abandoned the study for now and jumped right into the large drawing.

I love working on the UArt paper, it is one of my favorite surfaces for colored pencil. Because it is a rough sanded surface, it can take many layers of pencil and give me rich color in my drawings. I also like it because I can apply light colors over dark colors and they blend nicely. The lighter colors applied with a heavy pressure will also help burnish the piece to eliminate the texture showing through. I also burnish using a short flat bristle brush to rub out the texture in the paper.

My favorite part of the drawing is the shoelaces, I began with them using only whites and cool grays then added some light blues and purples. For pencils I used mostly Prismacolor and a few Coloursofts.

Take a look at the Colored Pencil Society of America's latest blog postings. Many of CPSA members, myself included, have donated a small piece for the silent auction. All of the pieces up for auction are posted in four different blog entries. There are some beauties! However, you must be present to bid and win and the auction takes place at the international exhibition in Brea, CA.