Sunday, 18 July 2010

Lessons from long necks

Remember last Sunday when I pulled on my white coat and stepped into the drawing lab? Well, I did say that Giraffes were next and sure enough, these long necks have been receiving some special attention from yours truly.

I took small boy to the library yesterday and we came home armed with tales of Mr Pusskins, spacemen and athletic cats as well as a sneaky collection of mammal texts. I'm intermingling the nature lessons with the fiction so sneakily that he'll never realise he's being 'taught'.

Today we both learned that Orangutans make two nests every day - one at night and the other to just sit in during the day while they digest their lunch. But as usual I digress we're here to talk about giraffes.

I was practising a technique where the artist is not allowed to look at the paper - merely the subject. It was harder than you might think. Not so much the drawing part (though that was of course tricky). No, it was the 'not looking at the paper' bit that caused the greatest hardship. Try it and see!

I do however present my best efforts. I was allowed a quick peek for repositioning the pen for internal features - which is the only reason the eyes are not half way down the legs - but other than that I was a good girl and managed to refrain from looking.

I recommend the technique. If nothing else, that constant staring at these beautiful creatures teaches you so much about them - the tiny nuances you normally miss like the wrinkles around the eyes and neck, the fluffy horns and the incredibly nobbly knees! Drawing animals is definitely outside my comfort zone too, but has really tested my observation skills.

I became so enthralled that I then tried a proper sketch too and then decided my long necks needed a splash of colour so, in a further step outside of the 'zone', I experimented with some mono printing. Dabbing some savannah colours on acetate, I then placed it over my sketches and brayered. Had to go over the lines again but quite liked the result.

These 'lab experiments' are becoming my regular Sunday habit thanks to Sophie's prompt for Sunday Sketches. Why not join us. No theme - just draw!

I finish with a moment of serendipity. I have no idea which keys I accidentally pressed to cause this colour inversion in Photoshop, but boy was I happy with the result. Cool eh?

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great tip. Of course you probably know about taking your painting and viewing it upside down as well. Your giraffes turned out spectacular. The color you added gave them a boost too. They would make lovely cards.

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  2. I really love that giraffe sketch!!

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  3. I love your giraffes,especially the top two where you added just a splash of color,was that watercolor. everytime I try to add just a splash of color I end up adding to much.

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  4. I love giraffes and yours are really good.
    And I say BRAVO to your fairy tale!
    Your talents are endless :)
    xo

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  5. Lisa, I have tried this type of drawing and you are right that it is harder than one would think. You have done and excellent job. Love the color splashed and the photoshop one is awesome.

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  6. I really LOVE the last photo. what you did with the photoshop is awesome! Cool art.
    It's fun going to the children's section of the library. I always get inspiration, there!
    I have tried to draw that way as well, and you really did a nice job. love your quest for experiments! good for you.
    happy sunday,
    xo
    heather

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  7. I have never tried this Lisa, but it sounds like a challenge. You have done really well! I love the last one with the fab colors. Their all great! BTW, I love your self portrait on your sidebar. WOW!

    Smiles and happy Sunday!

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  8. I love your giraffes and I love your ability to do mixed media and it all turns out lovely. I'm still afraid to dabble in that area just yet. haha :)

    Happy Sunday!! Hugs!

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  9. All of them are extremely cool!

    You did a marvelous job on each of them. Adding that colour for the unseeing drawing added such a wonderful charm to them!

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  10. wonderful works, they seem to be in motion in the first one

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  11. Wow - I love all the experimenting and great technique! Very cool. One of my sons favorite here! ( me too ) We are getting a great education here on Sundays!

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  12. These are so great! What an interesting technique. I love the photoshop altered one too :) ~Lauren

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  13. Ooh, I think this may be my favorite sketch series of yours so far. There is a name for the drawing without looking, I think it's called contour drawing, I haven't tried it but I have heard that it is a good thing to practice. Helps your normal sketches in the long run. I think you did great on the typical sketch also!

    Isn't photoshop the greatest? So many filters, so little time. LOL.

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  14. These giraffes are amazing! That's one of my favorite exercises from drawing lab. :)

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  15. Ah, I've tried this exercise before - not an easy task at all! You've done a wonderful job here though, really fabulous!

    (Psst, don't you love the learning while not learning thing, always such fun!) ;D

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  16. These giraffe sketches are terrific

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Thank you for your comments - I always love to hear what you think :)

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