Just about finished

My piece is finished for the time being although I wonder if I will ever think its complete. Every time I look at the rocks, I see something that can be tweaked because there are so many elements and I'm a perfectionist! I like this piece, there is something calming about it and something that brings me back to that morning on the rocky beach watching the foamy surf making its way over the stones. Ahhh summer!

Skipping along the stones

While I'm working on this piece, I actually feel like I'm moving along the beach and through the stones with my pencils. I start working on one rock and before I know it, I've moved to another and another and pretty soon I'm across the paper. So I'm back and forth adding detail and texture to each different rock. I've pulled out my Derwent Graphitint pencils and am using them along with the regular colored pencil. The Graphitints have a softness when applied and a subtlety to the colors which makes them perfect for rocks. I'm also using the colorless blender or very light gray, cream or white pencils to burnish the smooth rocks. The colorless blender intensifies the colors so it I want them to show reflection or light on the top, I burnish with the lighter colors.

Continuing on Rocks & Foam

I'm working on this piece a little at a time and really enjoying rendering the stones. I'm making them a little more colorful than they are in my photo, I do have some rocks in my studio to look at also. The colors I'm using consist of many grays and browns with touches of other colors; blues, purples, red/orange, yellows. The more I look, the more color I see so I have to back off a little from making them all to colorful and not realistic. My goal is soft and subtle rocks, foam and sand with subtle colors added. While I enjoy working on the sanded grounds in which the pencil can be applied quicker, I have to say my favorite surface is rag illustration board because its durable and takes the pencil softly. Once in a while I don't mind taking forever on a drawing because I enjoy the process and the outcome.

Rocks & Foam

On a recent trip to Block Island, my husband and I hiked down Mohegan Bluffs to the beach below. The beach is absolutely beautiful because of all the colorful rocks that have been tumbled in the ocean waves to a smooth finish. Since it was a little difficult to take the rocks and climb back up the hill, I took several photos and was inspired to start a drawing from my photos. I'm working from the top photo. I am drawn to the foam from the waves encroaching the rocks on the shore. I am weaving the white of the foam among the stones and also embellishing the colors of the stones. Its another intricate piece, why am I so drawn to such intricate subject matter?!

Working on the wave

Here is the continuation of the wave I am working on. The colors are more accurate in this photo although there is some shadowing in the sky from the pencil cups on my desk. I like this surface because the pencil goes on so quickly but it sure eats my pencils fast. I'm already out of a few but hoping to finish this piece using the stubs. My deadline for the exhibit is Thursday, will I make it?!

The next wave

This is the next wave that I have started. Its cradled gessoboard again, this time 16x20". The Colourfix ground is Terra Cotta with White and Burgundy mixed in so that its not so orange-y. I'm working from the top downward because the pencil flakes off so easily, I don't want to wear it off with my arm on the paper. I took this photo at night and I'm noticing the colors are a little bit off, especially the sky.

What attracted me was the large wave in the center and all the colors it contains: greens, purples, blues, grays. The ocean behind is a turquoise/gray. Each time I go to the beach, the colors of the sky and ocean are different. This time of year, everything can be gray but I'm finding such beautiful shades of gray and colors in the grays.

Wave finished onto the next!