Drawing Animals In Colored Pencil
Bev Lewis has been a member of the UK Coloured Pencil Society since its inception. Her work is a demonstration of the depth of colour and level of detail that can be achieved in this medium. Her favoured subject matter is nature and wildlife, and her speciality is capturing the essence of the textures that can be found; fur, moss, grass and soil are depicted with such skill and conviction. We interviewed Bev to find out more about how she achieves such stunning results and what she will be showing at this year's UK Coloured Pencil Society Annual Exhibition.
Cheeky Girls
Bev Lewis
Prismacolour on drafting film, W 20cm x H 26cm, 2009
Lisa: What do you love most about working with coloured pencil?
Bev: I think that the thing I most love about working with coloured pencils is the control they give me. Of course there are a number of other reasons I love using them, but first is the control. I like to know where I am going with a drawing and although I don't often do thumbnails or sketch out a plan I do always have one in my head, and I know that I will more easily achieve that plan if I use coloured pencils (no happy accidents for me, thanks). Of course they are perfect for drawing fine details and texture too and I also love them because I don't need to break my concentration to mix up a specific colour, there they all are, right in front of me, ready to go. Of course I can use two or three colours together to get a specific colour but it is so much easier with coloured pencils.
Bark and Moss
Bev Lewis
Derwent watercolour pencils used wet as an under wash with FC Polychromos on prepared cradled board, W 33cm x H 33cm, 2014
Lisa: What will you be exhibiting at the UKCPS annual exhibition this year?
Bev: I am showing two drawings at UKCPS annual exhibition, both landscapes, both of trees and rocks covered with moss from Dartmoor. I love the old gnarled roots and the texture of rough bark contrasting with the soft spongy moss. I like the intimate feeling of close up landscapes and they are a fairly new subject for me to draw, perfect for coloured pencils.
Old Man of Dartmoor
Bev Lewis
Prismacolour on Fabrianno Artistico HP paper, W 35cm x H 35cm, 2016
Lisa: You're known to experiment a lot with surfaces and materials with which you work. Do you have a favourite brand of coloured pencil or a favourite paper to work with? What qualities are you looking for in your materials?
Bev: I am always looking out for new surfaces to experiment with, although I always seem to come back to my favourite Fabriano Artistico HP paper which I have used for over 25 years, my curiosity does sometime get the better of me and I will start thinking about something different to draw on, either to achieve a specific effect I am looking for or to speed up my drawing, or even to try and loosen up my work, (that I don't think is going to happen any time soon!). I have tried drawing on cradled board prepared with sanded gesso, but I found the texture got in the way of detail, so I switched to doing my drawing on Fabriano HP paper and mounting it onto the cradled board and sealing the whole image. Over the years I have used many different surfaces from smooth heavyweight cartridge paper, mounting board, sanded papers and many others which looked as if they had potential. Supports must be archival and be able to stand up to a fair bit of rough treatment as I can be heavy handed with pencils. I also like to be able to erase colour to get textures, so a heavyweight paper, 300gsm, is essential. A smooth paper with a small amount of tooth is what I look for because this surface works best with my style of work. I also love using drafting film, the colours show up beautifully and pale colours and white can be used with more ease than on many papers.
Depending on my subject, I have two favourite brands of pencils; for animals I prefer Faber Castell Polychromos and for flowers and landscapes I tend to use Prismacolors, I am a bit of a purist and don't often mix brands although I do admit to using Polychromos dark indigo in almost every picture I do, I seldom use black and this is a wonderful substitute. Quality materials and strong pigments are very important to me in pencils; there is nothing more infuriating than having the core breaking during sharpening or the casing slitting. Although a reasonable level of light fastness is important I think that it can be a little overrated. I have pictures I have done 20 years ago hanging in my house and there has been absolutely no discernible fading, no doubt a controversial comment.
Bad Hair Day
Bev Lewis
Prismacolour on drafting film, W 20cm x H 26cm, 2008
Lisa: Do you have any tips on how to make your marks look really smooth and 'tactile' looking? I'm guessing a lot of burnishing is required…
Bev: I don't burnish except on very rare occasions, but I do like to experiment with blending methods and sometimes use a solvent such as Zest-it or odour free solvents. I also use Pro Marker blending pens. More often I will use a paler tone of the colour to blend and smooth to achieve a more painterly effect which I like.
For blurry out of focus backgrounds I will use kitchen towel and lightly rub over the colours which produce a lovely non specific background.
My methods of drawing will differ depending on the subject. For a landscape, I start my drawing using light pressure, just laying down the initial colours, making sure I have no pencil strokes visible. Once I am happy with this stage I quickly move on to add pressure and colour, mixing two or three different colours to get the tone and hue right, using a variety of strokes from circular to cross hatching, which is not really a conscious thought but more instinctive, something that has developed naturally over the years. The pressure I use increases as I near the finished picture and the application of colour can be very heavy in areas. I do not work in light layers as many coloured pencil artists do, building up the picture slowly, layer by layer. I will probably only use only three or four layers. I build up my tones and colour with pressure, which can be applied with some strength.
If I am drawing fur this technique is modified somewhat and I colour mix by laying down the colours next to each other as fur is never just one single colour but a mixture of many colours and tones. I keep a lighter pressure for fur.
For skies and out of focus backgrounds I use very light pressure and a circular stroke, perhaps layering three of four times, then I gently rub over the area with kitchen towel, and lay in more layers using a number of different colours depending on the effect I am looking for, finishing off with a final gentle rub with kitchen towel which gives a wonderfully soft effect. Lots of patience and time is needed to achieve this, there is no point in rushing, it won't work.
Eagles
Bev Lewis
Faber Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencil on Fabrianno Artistico HP paper, W 23cm x H 40cm, 2016
Lisa: What is that you enjoy most about drawing animals and do you have a favourite animal to draw?
Bev: I have always loved animals and drew horses from a very young age (I was a horse mad child). Later I started to branch out and included dogs and other animals in my repertoire. Growing up in South Africa I developed a real love for the wildlife which the country is so famous for. I think that my favourite subjects are Elephant, Cape buffalo and Rhino, but I also enjoy the beautiful big cats, lion, leopard and cheetah and of course the amazing African painted (or wild) dog. I love to capture the character of the animals, their expressions, the way they move, the shape of their bodies; just everything about them is a challenge for me which I really enjoy trying to get right. I think out of all the domestic animals I enjoy drawing dogs best followed closely by horses, such wonderful animals.
Daisy
Bev Lewis
Faber Castell Polychromos on Fabrianno Atrtistico HP paper, W 20cm x H 26 cm, 2014
Lisa: Do drawings ever go wrong and if so do you have ways of getting them back on track?
Bev: Of course my drawings do sometimes go wrong, not so often now, as I have years of discovering what can go wrong and what will or will not work. Mostly it will be a bad choice of support which will derail a drawing and then there is really no alternative but to ditch it and start again with something more suitable. If things do go wrong I will try all the tricks I have learned over the years to get it back on track and I really don't give up easily. I will keep working on it until I win the battle. If I have laid down too much pigment and need to work on the area a bit more I can usually manage to lift out some of the colour using Blue Tack enabling me to lay more colours down. I don't have problems with composition as I make sure this all works with my initial drawing before applying colour so all in all, problems don't occur too often anymore.
King of the Reef
Bev Lewis
Prismacolour on Fabrianno Artistico HP paper, W 47cm x H 35cm, 2011
Lisa: Can you describe where you work and what a typical day of drawing is like for you?
Bev: My studio is a small conservatory which in the spring, I share with dozens of seedlings, so it is a dual purpose space, but it is lovely to work in and I can leave my work out so I check it as I pass by and I can pick up a pencil and do 5 minutes work on something that catches my eye (another advantage of using coloured pencils). If I have a project on the go I like to get into my studio early after checking emails and work until about 4 pm with a lunch break around 1pm. I do sometimes find myself staring out at the garden thinking about what needs doing there and I realise I have lost concentration, so I will make a cup of tea and go and sit in the sun for 5 minutes and get my garden fix before going back with renewed enthusiasm for drawing.
Lisa: What are you working on at the moment?
Bev: At the moment I am working on a group of Elephants at a watering hole, although this is in graphite pencil and not coloured pencil, but the next project I have in mind will be a similar group in coloured pencil.
Morning Flight
Bev Lewis
FC Polychromos on Bristol Velum, W 37cm x H 25cm, 2012
Lisa: What do you like the most about being a member of the UKCPS?
Bev: I have been a member of UKCPS from its inception. When Bob Ebdon, its founder, approached me to see if I would be interested in a coloured pencil society I leapt at the chance to join. It has been a huge help in furthering my abilities and knowledge of the medium, which I doubt if I would have learned without it. Before UKCPS I was not aware that other artists used coloured pencils so it was lovely to be able to meet up with other members on our forum and discuss methods, brands of pencils and papers etc. I sometimes I can't believe how far the society and coloured pencils have come. I was on the executive for a number of years helping with the putting together the catalogue, posters and other designs etc required for the various exhibitions UKCPS hold and it was a very rewarding and interesting time, seeing just how much hard work goes into running the society, by a handful of dedicated volunteers and the problems they encounter.
Red
Bev Lewis
Prismacolour on Fabrianno Artistico HP paper, W 50cm x H 22cms, 2015
Lisa: Where online or in the flesh can we see more of your work?
Drawing Animals In Colored Pencil
Source: https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2017/04/24/bev-lewis-animals-nature-coloured-pencil/
Posted by: cintroninted1943.blogspot.com
0 Response to "Drawing Animals In Colored Pencil"
Post a Comment