04/27/2015

 I am Absolutely thrilled with my latest project!

This drawing is done in color pencil on a piece of scrap board a neighbor contributed.

In the past I disliked using color pencils and had pretty much disregarded them.  Until last Saturday morning.  I decided to give them another shot. I wanted to see how well they might work on a piece of wood. 

Now I think I am in love with them...and my results.

We start with a line drawing.

Then a start.

The picture below shows the point at which I decided to try the hairdryer. Redon and you will understand what happened.

So just a little FYI, I drew this with pencil and then inked it with an ink pen that is erasable.  Mind you I didn't even know that such a creature even existed as an erasable ink pen.   EURICA!  

And for those of you who may not know, the reason or the "science", behind erasable ink is friction... Friction produces heat and that erases the ink.  And, actually, on certain services like wood it will erace with the regular eraser, if you rub long enough, again producing heat.  

Also, you may or may not know, that color pencils have wax in them. So like the genius that I am I decided to hit the art with my hairdryer, thus melting the wax just a tiny bit and giving me even better blending.

Within 30 seconds POOF my entire line drawing was gone! Including the outlines on the color pencil work.  I just about cried. But it also turns out, that after the ink is gone there is some sort of residue left behind that makes it very hard to draw back over the top of it. So even though I got a little bit better blending, I had to redraw the entire piece and re-work the edges of the already completed color pencil work. 

NOT FUN!!!

The moral to the story? Don't afraid to try new things, but be cautious and prepared for dramatic learning experiences. LOLOL

Fortunately I was able to save it without having the sand it off the lumber and start over.

Now that the main design is completed I have to figure out what to do for The eye and the background.

Wish me luck.