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denisejhoward
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The question I’m asked most often about my work is “How long did it take you to do that?” That’s not an easy one to answer, since I don’t log my hours and minutes at the drawing table. I usually have to estimate based on how much time I spend there in an average session and about how many sessions there were.
An easier question to answer, which nobody ever seems to ask, would be “How many colors did it take you to do that?” I think it’s not asked because we’re used to talking to artists who use paints, with which you can create a million colors from just a few basics, and they’re applied pre-mixed to a surface and blended from one into the other with a brush so it doesn’t look like a paint-by-number project.
With colored pencil, however, there’s no mixing over here and applying over there. One creates the color right there on the surface by applying layers of distinct colors on top of each other, and the space between the microscopic specks of pigment results in an optical blend. Those distinct colors are the colors of pencils you have. For example to create purple, I might draw two light layers of Carmine Red, followed by two light layers of Ultramarine Blue, and then adjust to taste with some additional Carmine Red on top. If that’s too bright, I might mute it by applying a light layer of Mineral Orange, and lighten it with a light layer of White. Already, that’s four pencils to create one color on the paper. And that’s just one area!
Afternoon Shadows 2, 5″x7″, colored pencil on Stonehenge paper, my own photo reference.
Drawn with only a red, a yellow, and a blue pencil.
One can create a full range of colors from only red, yellow, blue, black, and white, and I’ve done that for fun (see Afternoon Shadows 2 above). But zeroing in on the desired result happens a lot faster if you have colors that are already close to it. This is why colored pencils (and pastels) are available in sets of 100 and more. The funny thing is, no matter how large a set you have, or how many different brands you use together, you’ll never have the exact right single color for an area! Layering is everything.
Lithops, 18″ x 18″, colored pencil on light gray Pastelmat, my own photo reference
My just-finished piece “Lithops” depicts over 100 multicolored little lithops plants, each one fully unique. (I know, because I was there!) So I knew it was going to require a lot of colors of pencils. In fact I had to use two brands to have enough variety on tap–Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent Lightfast. I have full sets of each (130 and 100 colors, respectively). I don’t often use multiple brands together because each has its own characteristics for application and blending and that can complicate choices. But these lithops demanded it.
After awhile of working on the piece, my working selection from the sets stopped growing. It became easier to start on a given lithops. From the working selection, I’d pick out the subset of colors–usually five to eight–that I knew would work for that one. This is the first time I’ve had subsets of a selection from big sets going. Sometimes it was tricky to find a particular color in my working selection! It wasn’t always the same subsets, either–as I said, the plants are all unique.
Progression for one lithops
A couple of colors saw a lot of use because they are light, warm, neutral, and helped smooth darker colors without washing them out. Those were Derwent Lightfast Wheat and Polychromos Warm Grey II. In fact I used almost the entire Wheat pencil!
When I finished, I laid out all 43 pencils I’d used for a family portrait. This is one of the larger color ranges I’ve ever used in one drawing.
If you’ve read this far, you’re apparently as fascinated with colors and how they blend together to make a completely different color as I am. You’re my people.
An easier question to answer, which nobody ever seems to ask, would be “How many colors did it take you to do that?” I think it’s not asked because we’re used to talking to artists who use paints, with which you can create a million colors from just a few basics, and they’re applied pre-mixed to a surface and blended from one into the other with a brush so it doesn’t look like a paint-by-number project.
With colored pencil, however, there’s no mixing over here and applying over there. One creates the color right there on the surface by applying layers of distinct colors on top of each other, and the space between the microscopic specks of pigment results in an optical blend. Those distinct colors are the colors of pencils you have. For example to create purple, I might draw two light layers of Carmine Red, followed by two light layers of Ultramarine Blue, and then adjust to taste with some additional Carmine Red on top. If that’s too bright, I might mute it by applying a light layer of Mineral Orange, and lighten it with a light layer of White. Already, that’s four pencils to create one color on the paper. And that’s just one area!
Afternoon Shadows 2, 5″x7″, colored pencil on Stonehenge paper, my own photo reference.
Drawn with only a red, a yellow, and a blue pencil.
One can create a full range of colors from only red, yellow, blue, black, and white, and I’ve done that for fun (see Afternoon Shadows 2 above). But zeroing in on the desired result happens a lot faster if you have colors that are already close to it. This is why colored pencils (and pastels) are available in sets of 100 and more. The funny thing is, no matter how large a set you have, or how many different brands you use together, you’ll never have the exact right single color for an area! Layering is everything.
Lithops, 18″ x 18″, colored pencil on light gray Pastelmat, my own photo reference
My just-finished piece “Lithops” depicts over 100 multicolored little lithops plants, each one fully unique. (I know, because I was there!) So I knew it was going to require a lot of colors of pencils. In fact I had to use two brands to have enough variety on tap–Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent Lightfast. I have full sets of each (130 and 100 colors, respectively). I don’t often use multiple brands together because each has its own characteristics for application and blending and that can complicate choices. But these lithops demanded it.
After awhile of working on the piece, my working selection from the sets stopped growing. It became easier to start on a given lithops. From the working selection, I’d pick out the subset of colors–usually five to eight–that I knew would work for that one. This is the first time I’ve had subsets of a selection from big sets going. Sometimes it was tricky to find a particular color in my working selection! It wasn’t always the same subsets, either–as I said, the plants are all unique.
Progression for one lithops
A couple of colors saw a lot of use because they are light, warm, neutral, and helped smooth darker colors without washing them out. Those were Derwent Lightfast Wheat and Polychromos Warm Grey II. In fact I used almost the entire Wheat pencil!
When I finished, I laid out all 43 pencils I’d used for a family portrait. This is one of the larger color ranges I’ve ever used in one drawing.
If you’ve read this far, you’re apparently as fascinated with colors and how they blend together to make a completely different color as I am. You’re my people.