Pencil Drawings with a Twist!

Pencil Drawings.  Pencil--aka Graphite.  Graphite, a soft carbon used in making pencils.  Special drawing pencils of soft and hard leads. I have a set of these special pencils that go from Hs to Bs.  But my favorite drawing pencil of all (for contour drawing) is a Sanford Design Ebony Jet Black Extra Smooth 14420.  Why?  Just like the name says, it provides a soft and fluid line.  It makes the line as dark as you want--just by pressure.  Here is a photo of a drawing I did with it.  Can you guess what it is? 

Graphite Copyright Lydia Gates 2012

Our Bluestem Art Guild has a new assignment for our April meeting:  Pencil Drawing.  Well, we just completed a pencil drawing to do a self-portrait. (I heard some slight grumbles in our group as the project slip was drawn randomly from the jar.)  However, a pencil drawing can be anything!!!  There are no parameters.  The possibilities are endless:  Contour, blind contour, landscape, plant, food, whatever tickles your fancy.  Just draw!  

  **An interesting drawing to try is using line to create negative and positive spaces.

  Choose a chair, ladder, a small table with legs and rungs, windchime, etc. with open spaces

1. Use a pencil to create vertical* lines around the shape.  But don't draw the shape, but draw the spaces around the shape-those you see inside and around.  Don't worry about making it perfect, imperfections, simply add character to this piece. 
2. Experiment with different lengths of the line, short, medium, long, close together, dark, light, etc. to add three-dimensionality.  Dark close lines can be used to indicate shadows. As you add the lines, you will see the chair appear on the page as a white negative object, as the lines become the dark positive spaces.  
3. *try using diagonal, or horizontal lines or try cross-hatching. 

This project teaches you hand-eye coordination.  It  may be a little hard at first, but try it several times.  I did one of a pair of salt and pepper shakers, and it was amazing!  I have also done other objects. 

Good luck!

Hint:  If you have trouble seeing the object as a negative space, you can draw a very light contour of the object and then add the lines, but honestly, this is kind of cheating.  Try to draw the lines without it.


**Credit:  A Survival Kit for the Secondary School Art Teacher by Helen D. Hume, pg 64. 



Post and artwork copyright  Lydia Gates  2013