Monday, September 14, 2009

More Graphite with a hint of colour - Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom
12.5 x 14.5 cm
Graphite and coloured pencils on drafting film
This is the third in the series of graphite pencil portraits with a hint of colour. The reference photo for this lovely little fellow was kindly provided by Juno from Artist Friends Network.
I approached North Light Books to see if they might be interested in a book on producing photorealistic work on drafting film. They were very interested in looking at a book proposal, but only on traditional supports, rather than the drafting film. I feel there is an abundance of books out there about achieving photorealism on paper and more traditional supports, and will persevere with the idea of a book on drafting film, mainly because there is so little information out there about it. From the publisher's point of view, I guess it is best to stick with safe ground. From an artist's point of view, I feel we are always hungry for that elusive medium or support that will help us achieve what we would like to achieve in our minds eye, and it is always so exciting to try new mediums and techniques.

6 comments:

Arcobaleno said...

Hi, I have no words... your art is fabulous!!!! it's all wonderful!!!!!

Barbara A. Freeman said...

Karen, you are so correct. That seems rather short sighted, not wanting to see a different approach. This is turning out to be such a lovely series. I love the eyes and the strong lighting. Anyway, good luck to you. I know I will continue to do my landscapes on film from time to time. I like using graphite even more than colored pencil on film.

Debra Keirce said...

I agree Karen. And if you ever self publish a book on Lulu.com, let me know and I will buy it! This is a beautiful piece. Do you spray with a matte finish when you do these? I'd be afraid the graphite would run a bit, but yours look just perfect.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much Arcobaleno, Barbara and Deb for all your lovely, thoughtful comments.

I love using the graphite on the drafting film too Barbara, and I love what you do - it is sooo smooth, although I feel the need to do some colour again soon.

Deb, I use a couple of layers of workable fixative. It works much better than a spray varnish, which dries unevenly. The first coat of fixative is generally a bit uneven, but the second or third coat are usually great. I haven't had any problem with the graphite running, (only the purple coloured pencil like we talked about before).

I did check out Lulu too, and would look at that down the track if I can't convince a publisher about the drafting film. I get sooooo many enquiries about it on here, Flickr, RedBubble etc.- so I know the interest is definitely there!!!

Debra Keirce said...

You do RedBubble? I posted a bunch of my work on there, but darned if I've figured out what I have to do so folks who go in to purchase art can see my pieces with prices. I have that on my todo list - figure out RedBubble.

Unknown said...

Do you mean originals Deb? I never sell originals on RedBubble - only cards and prints, so I'm not exactly sure what you mean.