Newly qualified art students in their naiveté think that their work will stand on its own and that by marketing their work they are selling out. By the time that they find out that this isn’t so many have left the art world altogether and others live day by day relying on grants and government handouts. Many top talents never paint or sculpt again.

There are sites on the internet that that are made to help up and coming struggling artists. One of the best in my opinion is Art Palaver. The web master of this site works hard and thinks hard about helping artists that want to develop their art marketing skills.

Unfortunately, in my opinion most of the other sites are coming from the wrong direction. Quite a lot of the art marketing sites are developed by people who are, or have been in the art gallery system. I have supported myself through my art for a lot of years and it didn’t take me long to decide that I wasn’t going to survive for very long if I relied on the whims of gallery owners. It’s a catch 22 situation – you can’t get exposure in galleries unless you are a recognised successful artist, but you can’t become successful without gallery coverage. I would rather use some of the 50% that the galleries take off my sales to advertise and promote myself.

I could go on till the cows come home criticising, but I want to be more constructive.Where is this going you may ask. Well now that I am of retiring age and spending less time on my own art I thought that it would be a good idea to pass on some of the ideas and techniques that have kept my head above the water in the art world. I have opened up a new site called “NOT THE STARVING ARTIST” in which I will give advice that I have picked up over 40 years of living the artists life without the humiliation of having to look for handouts.

My advertising philosophy is to take your artwork directly to the public. I have always tried to think of my artwork as not too precious but more as a craft. This thought process led me into researching how others promote their goods. I found that basically their was little difference between promoting art and photography as promoting any other niche.

I know that this can be a bitter pill for those artists that think that their art is diminished if their work is treated in the same way as a salesman sells toiletries, but quite frankly I think that it’s worse to toil and suffer for your art and then find that no one wants to buy it.

Any way, I am just building up the site, but please have a look at it. It may not be for you. That’s cool. If you do like what you read bookmark it and come back every so often to see how it goes. I promise that what I give you will  be what I consider to be relevant information, and that I won’t wrap it up in “Art Speak” that makes it difficult to understand.

Coloured Pencil on Mylar

Some time ago I was asked to produce a coloured pencil still life for the book “Different Strokes.” I often draw on Mylar or drafting film as it is called in the UK so I completed the drawing on this surface. I like drawing on the drafting film. Because of its transparency I can build up the picture using both sides of the surface. When I had completed the drawing I was told that drawing on Mylar was too advanced for this book and could I redraw it on drawing paper. Following are some of the notes I made while drawing the original coloured pencil on Mylar.

INITIAL THOUGHTS

The Mylar (or drafting film) that I use is a transparent plastic film with a matte finish on both sides.

The reason for using Mylar for this drawing was that it is easier to produce sharp, intense colours, and I find yellows can be worked into without getting muddy as can happen on paper.

Mylar does not have the same amount of tooth that paper has, and will therefore only take 3 or 4 layers of colour.

It is best to start with the lightest colours, applied lightly, and blend darker colours over the top.

Dull pencil points work best. Sharp points can be used for detail and outline.

I have two main methods of working on Mylar, although both methods can be used in the same drawing.

1. To intensify the colour draw with similar colours on the reverse side.

2. Draw the subject tonally in monochrome on the reverse and glaze local colour on the front of the Mylar. This method works best with geometric subjects. As there is are a lot of organic shapes in this picture I decided to use the former method.

MATERIALS USED

Surface: Mylar – matte finish on both sides.

Pencils: Derwent Signature, Derwent Coloursoft, Derwent Watercolour Pencils.

Derwent Graphite Pencils 2H, B, 2B, 5B.

Erasers: electric, putty.

Stanley Knife.

Fixative.

QUICK SKETCHES

Drawing on toned paper using grade H graphite pencil and Coloursoft white pencil.

A few quick sketches, no more than three minutes each, not too accurate – getting the feel of the subject.

PENCIL STUDY

A more detailed study. Helps to work out the composition and embed techniques into the brain. I like my subjects to burst out of the sides of the picture so I slightly enlarged the apples and cropped the top of the picture slightly.

PENCIL OUTLINE DRAWING

I drew the subject to a larger scale onto white paper. I then laid the Mylar over the drawing and traced the subject onto the front surface using a 2H pencil.

STEP 2

Unlike most artists, who work over all of there drawings, I work from the top left and work my way down. I work each area to a finish before starting the next. As the drawing develops I keep going back and making adjustments.

This step, and all of the following steps start with light layers of signature pencils. I use a box of 36 usually taking out all of the colours that I think that I will need for the stage that I am rendering. For the orange rose area (top left) I took out all of the orange, red and light yellow pencils. The darkest parts of the drawing were made darker by working on these areas on the reverse of the Mylar.

STEP 3

I continue exactly as the previous step – taking out the colours that I think that I will need and rendering the drawing as best I can.

STEP 3 REVERSE

I have enriched some of the colours by working quite heavily on the reverse side of the drawing. Some of the modelling from the front can be seen.

STEP 4

Adding more colour – adjusting previous drawing.

The dark red rose (between the orange and yellow rose – top left) was far too dark. I used a putty eraser to lift some of the colour. It is best to use a putty eraser as other types of erasers make the surface slippy making it difficult to add colour. I also used a Stanley blade to scrape off colour right back to the original surface in order to create highlights. This is also a good technique for drawing the veins on leaves. A delicate touch is needed in order not to puncture the Mylar surface.

STEP 4 REVERSE

Dark green was used on the jar. When the drawing is turned over this will give a good base for the rendering of the jar.

The picture develops in the same manner as previous steps. When all of the Mylar is covered it is time to evaluate. Parts of the drawing that need strengthening, made lighter or darker are rendered using watercolour pencils, using just a touch of water. The blade is used to scratch out any highlights that are needed. I use an electric eraser to draw into the pencil also giving highlights. The spots on the apples were rendered using this technique.

The final stage can be dangerous! Because burnishing doesn’t work well on Mylar there should be no wax blooming and therefore fixative is not necessary, but I like to add fixative at the end in order to get a little more tooth to allow me to add final touches, usually with Coloursoft pencils. The picture has to be placed perfectly flat to prevent the pigment from running while the fixative is wet. I spray from about two feet away very gently. This gives enough tooth needed to add touches of colour.

The completed drawing is placed on top of a clean sheet of white paper. I have, on occasions, used a coloured paper as the base and even metal foil. The base colour shows through the Mylar. Different base colours can turn the drawing into completely different drawings.

The intensity of colour, and the organic shapes placed against the geometric background shapes hold the interest in this drawing.

THE FINAL PICTURE REVERSED

THE FINAL PICTURE

Although pencil drawing is the first art form that most of us encounter don’t let anyone tell you that learning to draw is easy. Nothing worth while ever is. There is no one way to learn pencil drawing, but there are a number of basic exercises that can help develop drawing skills. One way of developing drawing skills is to take Cezanne’s statement and focus exercises based on the quote.

Train yourself to look for these shapes in different objects every time that you have a spare moment. If  you have pencil and paper with you analyse the object for these shapes and record them. This is a great exercise for beginners that can be carried out anywhere and at almost anytime.

A development of this exercise could be to take photographs from magazines and work with your pencil on top of the photograph looking for these basic shapes. You could use a different colour for each shape.

I don’t expect that you will ever see a person as a cone with a sphere on top but try to imagine how the figure would look if it was simplified in this way.

Next using just a pencil and paper develop different ways that these basic shapes can combine and morph into each other to represent different objects. You will find that you can draw any subject from these basic geometric shapes.

You don’t need to use artist quality pencil and paper for these exercises. Use cheap materials so that you are not frightened of making mistakes. Look for things around the house and garden to analyse and after a short while you will find that your observational skills will improve hand in hand with your drawing skills.

A last word about Cezanne, because I believe that he is an inspiration for all artists. Cezanne wasn’t a naturally skilled artist. He new what he wanted to do, but had great difficulty in the technique of doing it. Look at his early pencil drawings and paintings, compare them with his later work and see how he developed, and take inspiration from that.

White Chair, Oil Pastels

Botanical Tulip After The Rain, Oil Pastel

Oil pastels are quite a new medium when compared with most of the others that have been used for centuries. Picasso said in 1947 that he wanted a coloured pastel that he could use on almost any ground without having to prepare or prime it. Two years later the Sennelier company came up with the first professional oil pastel. The very wide range of greys were chosen by Picasso.

Completed oil pastel paintings never dry, so they can always be worked on. Because of this when completed they need to be framed behind glass. As mentioned earlier, these pastels can be used on almost any surface. Paper made specifically for the pastels is available, but I don’t like the texture of these papers. I enjoy working on mountcard.

I always split any new pastels in two. One half I use for traditional drawing, the other half I use for putting down larger flat washes – good for building up the colour in layers, or for scrumbling colour over blended layers.

The technique that I use more than any other when painting with oil pastels is the blending technique. Pastels made by different firms have different grades of hardness/softness. I find that Sennelier oil pastels are softer than most. Using these pastels I am able to create a smooth and gradual transition between colours or tones by rubbing with my fingers. If I am using harder grade pastels I occasionally use a rag to blend the pigment. Some oil pastelists use sand paper as their ground. I don’t, but if I did I would rub less with my fingers and more with a rag.

My favourite way of blending the oil pastels is with the use of solvents. There are a number of odourless solvents on the market, but I prefer turps as I find that it works more aggressively on the pigment giving me a smoother gradation. Another reason that I like turps won’t go down well with the safety brigade, but I like my studio to smell like an artists workshop so I almost always use turps.

My way of working is to build up layers of pigment using the flat side of the pastel, and then blend in using turps and a brush. I work layer over layer, blending when needed. I finish by adding detail with the point of the pastels. I prefer to compromise my pigment between fairly runny and fairly stiff so that I can manipulate it better. I don’t use masking techniques very often, but on the odd occasion that I do I find it easier using  turps and brush than using fingers.

I recommend that if you haven’t used oil pastels before that you go out and purchase some. They are not too expensive and I am sure that you will enjoy using them.

The two pictures that compliment this post were painted on watercolour paper using oil pastel blended with turps. Both are quite large paintings. I prefer to paint large when using these pastels.

SKETCH BOOK TIPS

Using your sketch book is essential in building up a record of data for future use. Also if used on a daily basis it becomes more than just a sketch book but also a diary. I look back at my old books and remember old times. Looking at old sketch books can bring memories of not just visuals, but smells and other happy memories.

TIPS ON THE USE OF A SKETCH BOOK

: Always try to remember to carry a small sketch book with you. You will be able to record the unexpected and interesting things that you see wherever you go.

: It also pays to have a couple of larger sketch books on the go for more planned work, and for developing what you have in your small sketch book.

: You may have a topic or theme that interests you and so keep one sketch book just for that topic.

: Annotate your sketches. Put the date, where you were when you did the sketch. If you only have a pencil you could note down colours. What the weather was like. Anything of interest, including sounds, smells etc.

: Look for challenging subjects. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake. Learning is all about making mistakes. Any body that hasn’t made mistakes isn’t doing anything worthwhile.

: You shouldn’t be just a fair weather sketcher. I know it is more difficult to sketch when it is raining or even snowing, but remember you aren’t doing a detailed drawing so you don’t have to spend all day doing it.

: If you can, try to carry more than one media with you.

: Although at times we like our sketch books to be private, it can be interesting to share ideas with others. Compare notes with other sketch book users. Sometimes this helps to develop ideas, and push you in directions that you might not have thought of yourself.

Observational Drawing

In my opinion drawing from observation is the best way to teach drawing.  it is obviously not the only way, but I think that it is the best way for to develop drawing skills. Drawing from memory and drawing from imagination are also to be encouraged.

I don’t think that copying should be encouraged. Copying may be O.K. later on when a degree of skill and selectivity is learned, but not to be encouraged early on. In copying part of the problem has been solved for you. The three dimensional subject has already been turned into two dimensions.

I know that artists from the Photorealist School and some others use photographs as part of their initial ideas, but these artists have been through the learning process, they can draw from life if they need to, they know how to use the photograph, they know how to be selective.

Some art teachers have difficulty themselves in drawing from observation, and therefore have difficulty in helping their pupils. I do not understand why art schools stopped the emphasis on drawing. It wouldn’t happen in other subjects. “Sorry, I can’t help you with your essay, I never learned to read and write properly.”

Like all skills, the ability to draw comes from practice. Practice makes perfect, but we are not after the perfect piece of work. Pupils are always after the perfect results but they should be encouraged to not always complete a drawing. Often we have learned as much as we are going to learn early on in the drawing and the rest of the drawing is just repeat work. Of course some work should be taken to a conclusion as this can build up confidence.

Remember that it is normal to make mistakes, and if we aren’t making them we aren’t learning. Much like a golfer practicing his swing and not making his putt until he gets his swing right. Or like a musician practicing scales, ironing out the mistakes before the performance. It never gets easier but the more you learn the deeper you want to push into the unknown.

When I am teaching I never do demonstrations on a pupils paper. If I can’t explain the problem I do a drawing on another piece of paper, but this is after asking the pupil to possibly go up to the still life and follow the contours with his hands, and then possibly doing an air drawing, explaining negative shapes, anything that I can think of that is relevant to that drawing. I don’t want the pupil to copy my example. Pupils do copy, just for fun, and this should not be discouraged, but I always emphasise the importance of working observationally from the actual object.

Rather than giving demonstrations, before the pupil start the drawing I like to talk about the subject. Help the pupil to observe by asking questions, “Is it longer than it is wide?” “Where do curves start and straight lines start?” Extend your arm and compare width and height. “Where do parts meet, or overlap?” If you ask the right questions the pupil knows where to start and how to proceed. They know the problems that they have to solve. I think that we often get poor drawings from our pupils because they don’t know the problem they have to solve because we haven’t asked the right questions. A maths teacher wouldn’t give a few numbers to their pupils and expect them to solve the problem. They would tell them what the problem was. Art, after all is about solving visual problems

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Biro Art or Ballpoint Pen Art

is an example of the play aspect of drawing that I mentioned in yesterdays post. I I was talking on the telephone and at the same time doing what we all do … doodle. Yes doodling is drawing. I must have done this hundreds of times, but have never thought about taking the doodle idea any further.

I thought about Paul Klee taking his line for a walk. From this I decided to do a series of drawings using ballpoint/biro pens and using a typical doodle scribble technique, keeping my biro/ballpoint pen on the paper for as long as possible. I have been working on figure drawings recently so decided to use parts of the figure as my subject matter – not all of the figure, but close ups of part of the figure. When the biro drawings were completed the spectator had to work on deciding what the drawing was about. It is easier to see the drawings as figure drawings at the smaller scale of the computer. These biro/ballpoint drawings are up to A2 in size.

View Full Album

Biro/Ballpoint Pen Drawings

well is not a mysterious talent. You shouldn’t think of drawing as a talent that you need to be born with. I take it as an insult when people tell me that they weren’t born with artistic talent, insinuating that I was. Let me tell you that if you want to be good at anything it takes hard work. Everyone has the ability to draw and everyone has some artistic skill.  O.K. some people have less trouble in picking up these skills than others. We just just have to work on what we have and push it to our best level.

The secret of drawing well is that there is no secret. It simply means practice, practice and more practice.

Drawing Tip 1

Sketch: Keeping a sketch book is one of the best ways of improving your drawing. Keep a small book (it doesn’t have to be a posh, expensive book) in your pocket and use it every time that you see something that interests you. Quite often you will see something interesting but won’t have time to draw it at that time. Try making a quick note and return to it at a late date. You will also find that something noted but not continued with at this time may become important at a later date

Drawing Tip 2

Keep all of your drawings to compare them later. This is a great way to monitor your improvement, which will encourage you to practice even more.

Drawing Tip 3

Drawing is fun. It is not a task. Think of your practice as play. On one hand saying practice, practice, practice, and on the other hand comparing it with play may seem that I am contradicting myself. When you really get into your drawing practice and stop being frightened of making mistakes you will start to think of your drawing as fun. In one of the margins of one of Michelangelo’s large drawings in the Medici Chapel in Florence there is a little funny face doodle. So if fun art was good enough for Michelangelo it is good enough for us. Einstein’s remark about the greatest intellectual leaps are made in the mood of play is something worth thinking about.

There you have it … three drawing tips …  sketch as often as you can, don’t throw your drawings away, and treat your drawing practice as fun.

If you would like to purchase a copy or find any other information about John Crisp you can contact Erryl here erryl@errylmac.plus.com

I can fully recommend this book.

The secret knowledge is that there is no secret. When we are very young drawing is as natural as speaking. If you want to draw well you need to learn the language and vocabulary of drawing. Line,shape, tone, colour, composition,texture etc. The only way to learn is to practice, practice, practice.

You probably started this article with the expectation of being tutored in the art of drawing and now feel disappointed and let down. Don’t be. I doubt if I am telling you anything that you didn’t really know. Good advice would be to keep a sketch book and use it every day. Some people set a time every day in which they practice. If you can see and write you can learn to draw.

If there is a secret to learning to draw then it is to practice often; expect to make mistakes – if you don’t make mistakes you are not learning anything; don’t throw any of your drawings away, however bad that you think that they are. They will show your progress and be a source of encouragement. It is much easier to draw from a photograph, but you will learn more drawing from life. The drawing will not look as professional and your ego will not be satisfied, but you will learn more.

I will continue with this trend again soon.