Dunes and Clouds, Colored Pencil and NeoColor

Working on a 6x18" Cradled Gessobord, I have created this atmospheric beach dune and sky drawing. On the left, my sky is underpainted with NeoColors to which I added water, dissolved the crayon for a background wash. The foreground I laid in with colored pencil and dissolved with some mineral spirits instead of using the NeoColors. On the right, is my finished piece. I added colored pencil to the clouds and softened some of the darker blues. I also added some mineral spirits to the clouds to smooth them out and lose the texture of the board showing through. Then I added color to the grasses in the foreground with colored pencils and NeoColor crayons.

Field & Sky Colored Pencil & NeoColor

I have decided to work on a few landscape pieces in a loose, flowing style with lots of colorful clouds and an airy feeling. The surface I decided to use is 2" cradled Ampersand Gessobord covered with Coloufix Primer in white which I tinted pink for a soft, warm base. The top image is the underpainting which I worked in NeoColors then added water and dissolved to make a nice surface to work on.
Next I added colored pencil and then more NeoColors on top of some of the colored pencil. I like the "pebbly" effect of the NeoColor crayon on top of the colored pencil, it looks almost like pastels without the chalk and the dust, plus I can varnish over top. This piece was really fun and I like the results!

Evening Colored Pencil Class Drawings

My evening class has been working on a drawing of pears on a surface of Ampersand Gessobord covered with Raw Sienna Colourfix primer. We worked from one of my photos and I had them begin by laying in color with Caran D'Arche NeoColors then adding water with a brush to push around the NeoColors around as an underpainting. When they were satisfied with the background, they began rendering the pears with colored pencils covering the NeoColor base. Here are four of the examples of my student's work which I think are all fabulous! Notice the two on the left are more abstract, the student who worked on the top left piece, chose to focus more with the NeoColors and the water to create more of an abstract look. She only added a little bit of colored pencil to the top, she is a quilter and enjoys bright colors. The bottom left piece has some great bold areas of color. The top right piece was rendered in lighter colors and the artist chose to let the pink and peach colors in the pears show, for a softer look. The artist who worked on the bottom right piece used Prismacolor Peacock Green for the darker valued and shadowed areas of the pears. A color I wouldn't have thought of myself but I really like the vibrancy it gives, the pears almost glow.

Learning from Mistakes

My finished piece measures 7x8" and looks lovely in the frame with a smooth, glossy coat of varnish over the artwork it doesn't even look like colored pencil.
My piece in progress, working on Ampersand Gessobord with Terra Cotta Colourfix primer applied, I began working the piece with a thin underpainting of Caran d'Arche Neocolors and water with colored pencil on top. Read below about all my mistakes and how to apply the varnish correctly.

I think I should have titled this post "What Not To Do" because it's what just I've learned. As I've written about in past blog entries, I have been experimenting with different ways of presenting my colored pencil work so that it is varnished and not under glass. I have been admiring Ester Roi's work and her process of glassless framing explained on her blog. Ester uses Golden Polymer varnish with UVLS - Gloss to finish and present her work and I decided to try her method. I read Ester's blog entry a little too quickly and then read the label on the jar of Golden Polymer a little too quickly also, I mixed up the proportions. You mix 2 or 3 parts of the Golden Polymer with 1 part water and I did just the opposite, puzzled by the water-thin varnish and why it was taking 10+ coats to get a nice varnish. My second problem was puddling in areas and my third problem was lots of air bubbles.

In the photo above of my pears which began as an 8x8" piece, I laid the artwork sideways in order to show the problem spot right at the top and center. As I applied the varnish incorrectly, it puddled and left an uneven area which I attempted brush smooth after it had partially dried. However, I hadn't properly sealed the drawing so the pencil smeared when I tried to re-brush the area. Later when it was dry, I attempted to sand the area with a fine sandpaper which only left scratches that I couldn't get rid of (I think you can see them). Frustrated, I called Golden and explained to the representative everything I had done wrong. He sounded mortified and flustered and referred me to the Golden website and the technical information for the product and how to use it correctly.

I learned quite a bit from my flustered Golden rep! First of all, the artwork should be completely sealed with several coats of a non-removable clear, oil based varnish before the Golden Polymer varnish is applied. Part of the reasoning for this is because the Golden varnish is water based and can be completely removed if need be. He also suggested colored pencil use gloss varnish as opposed to matte varnish because matte varnish is porous and provides less UV protection. The rep recommended thinning the varnish with 25% water but I am still experimenting with the percentages as I find if the varnish is too thick, it can be streaky. All in all, I cut off an inch of the pear drawing containing the damaged part and I ended up with a nice, glossy finish on the piece (above).

I'm still having a little trouble getting rid of tiny air bubbles, if anyone has any suggestions please comment. I find varnishing small work is easier to learn on than large work. I recently took one of my older colored pencil drawings on paper, mounted it to Ampersand Clayboard and varnished it in this manner. However, I wasn't careful enough and found a brush hair and some air bubbles on the surface after it had dried. So I took this experimental piece to the sink and was able to wash off the entire layer of Golden Polymer Varnish, let it dry and begin again. Because I had the good coating of oil-based varnish on the drawing, the drawing itself wasn't harmed. I will post it at a later date.

The conclusion: take time to varnish correctly, read all directions, don't rush and be careful!

Neo Color & Colored Pencil Workshop

Yesterday I taught a one-day workshop on working with Neo Color II watercolor crayons as an underpainting and colored pencil on top. My five students had done little or no colored pencil in the past but are all artists working in different mediums. I've included the reference photo of the pears to show the colors and composition we would be working on. The surface we used was Ampersand Gessobord primed with Terra Cotta Colourfix. Pictured above are their drawings. This could actually be a 2-day workshop because there was not enough time to complete the work in one day.

We began by lightly laying down one layer of the Neo Colors and next adding water with a brush and disolving the color to look like an underpainting wash. After this dried, students began working with the colored pencil and again adding some of the Neo Colors letting them blend with the pencil, not adding water this time. I love all of the results! A few of the students commented that their work didn't look like mine but I was happy that each person developed their own style and I could see influences of the other mediums they work in coming through. I was really excited with each of their drawings and hope they all take the time to complete them!

Candy Apples in Neocolor II Crayons

Here are the candy apples finished with Neocolor crayons. To review my process: first I put a layer of color on the surface with Neocolor II crayons. Next I added water and dissolved the crayon. When it dried, I added a layer or two of colored pencil to every area of the piece. But then decided I wanted to punch it up with color so I added more Neocolor crayon on top and left it dry, not adding any water. I sharpened the crayons with a lip pencil sharpener for the more detailed areas. The result is almost like a pastel but it can't be smudged and doesn't flake off. I like the textured "painterly" look of the finished piece.

Neocolor II Playtime!

Two weeks ago in my class, we experimented with Neocolor II water soluble crayons and I liked them so much that I ordered a set of 84 crayons to try. They just arrived and I just couldn't wait to begin. I decided to create a small candy apple piece because I'm anxious to see what kind of candy apples I could do with these crayons. I am using an 8x8" 2" cradled gessobord coated with (my usual) Terra Cotta tinted Colourfix primer. In the top photo, I've lightly covered the surface with the Neocolors and begun adding water to just the background blue which becomes incredibly vibrant when water is added.
Now I've added water to all of the color and tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to make the color flow and even it out. First of all, I have to remember that the crayon color becomes incredibly vibrant when water is added. Secondly, It can be difficult to brush out evenly, see the blue on the right? No matter how hard I tried, it would just keep lifting off the surface. The bright purple, pink and red apples look a little funny but my intention for them is to be a colorful underpainting.
Now I am refining the drawing. The textured surface and the thick layer of the crayon are keeping this drawing somewhat abstract and do not allow me to achieve a very smooth surface. But its okay because I'm enjoying this process and the experiments. After adding the pencil, which is flaking off like crazy, I'm adding another layer of crayon. I'm leaving this layer dry but I like what I'm achieving, its beginning to look like pastel.

Experimenting with Neocolor II Water-soluble crayons

On Tuesday, my morning colored pencil class and I experimented with the Neocolor II crayons as an underpainting for our still life drawings. In advance for the lesson, I prepared the surface for us to use. I took a sheet of gatorboard and covered it with with two coats of Storm Blue Colourfix liquid primer then cut it into 8x10" pieces for each person. The surface worked out perfectly for our application of the Neocolor crayons, a little water and then colored pencil on top. Colored Pencil artist Ranjini Venkatachari uses this method so successfully, I wanted to give it a try. I read my class Ranjini's recent blog post on how she uses the Neocolor II crayons with colored pencil and then we tried it.

In attempt to keep the lesson simple, our still life subjects were different pitchers and each student chose one. First we applied the Neocolor II crayons lightly and evenly all over the drawing, not paying attention to detail and blocking in large areas. We only had small sets of Neocolors so we had to choose from what colors were available. Secondly we brushed on water and wet the crayon, dissolving it and giving the background a smooth underpainting. Next the surface had to dry and we found we could speed up the process by using a hair dryer and after it was dry we began adding in colored pencil and start drawing and defining colors, shapes and values. The surface is so textured that it will take many layers of pencil and crayon and I even added more crayon on top of the pencil giving it almost the look of a pastel. Pictured is my experimental drawing which I really had fun with.

Now I am anxious to buy a BIG set of the crayons and experiment more of this method. So I'm looking for a sale on-line!