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Well hello my friends. It has been a long time. I am so sorry, l have been so behind with things lately, but here l am making it up to you with a sneak preview of my latest piece. I won't even be posting these photos to Instagram until next week. And yes, it is another Fighting Fish. It was always my intention to draw a pair of these, but l keep choosing ones that don't really match! So you can be sure that there will be another before too long. Strangely though, l have to tell you that this is the hardest piece l have worked on. I just couldn't untangle all the detail and make sense of it. Several times it nearly got consigned to a spot behind the cupboard of no return! But when you have spent so many hours working on a piece (the first shot is two days work), there is a grim determination that sets in, so despite my eyes straining and feeling so horribly frustrated l made myself plough on. Worse still l really wasn't that happy with it at the stages you see below. It has taken me a long time to start to understand that l mustn't let the negative feelings that often come with the early stages of a piece stop me from completing it. It is quite normal, especially with coloured pencil, for work to look flat, dull or even downright scribble early on.  Below there is the start of another fin going in and l felt a bit better. By now l could see that the colors would look good, but untangling the reference photo was still a problem and turned out to be so throughout the entire piece. The fins cross, go under and over as well as all the shapes that they make. It can feel a bit overwhelming. If l find myself starting to feel that way l break it down into even smaller sections than normal. Concentrating on one teeny, tiny section at a time makes it feel much more manageable.  I guess that would be my tip for any piece. If you are struggling, break it down, work on a smaller area, if you are still struggling, go smaller still. It doesn't matter, each tiny piece eventually makes a complete picture. And l am so happy that l kept going with this piece because in the end l am pretty pleased with it. It should be available to order from my shop later this week, so do watch out for it.
5 Comments
Carla Austen
2/7/2017 08:27:04 am
Hi Sallyanne, I am now all caught up on your blog:) I am so impressed with this blog, your tips etc. I have all the books, watched lots of online tutorials and so far nobody has been able to convince me to buy Stonehenge paper because it is sooo expensive here in Canada. Well the good news is the the UK now have it at Jacksons. It is half the price to buy it from London and have it shipped all the way to Vancouver Island. How nuts is that? I have to wait at least a month until I get it but it is worth the wait:) I ordered 2 pads. I am very excited to try it! You are quite the inspiration! Thank you so much for sharing your art experience. Carla x
Sallyann
2/11/2017 05:56:10 am
I am so happy to hear that you have managed to get some Stonehenge paper. I love it. I think that as l take a week to complete a piece the cost of paper is negligible. I think with other art forms where you use a lot of paper it can become very expensive. I buy it in the large sheets and usually cut a sheet into four smaller pieces, broken down that way l probably don't spend more than two dollars a week on paper. I try and think of it that way, rather than looking at the cost of an individual piece. The other paper l absolutely love is the Fabriano Artistico 140lb hot press extra white ?
Carla Austen
2/11/2017 07:41:38 am
I never bought Fabriano Artistic because there has been a lot of information about how the company changed the quality of the paper and many people who do botanical watercolour art no longer can use it. Perhaps for coloured pencil it is fine. I watched a live stream with Lisa Clough the other night and somebody asked if the Stonehenge pads were as good as the sheets and she had said no. Unfortunately that is what I bought ,as the sheets are not sold on Amazon. I don't know why they would be so different I doubt they use different equipment to produce the paper. I'm upset now. I haven't had an email that my order has been shipped. Maybe I should cancel the order.
Carla Austen
2/11/2017 07:53:14 am
I just checked and it is too late to cancel the order. I was reading what people were saying about it on Wet Canvas and as long as I use a light touch I can lay down lots of layers, but I am disappointed :( Oh well, I'm sure it will be fine.
sallyann walker
2/13/2017 12:16:32 pm
Aw, well l will be interested to see what you think. l didn't even know it came in pads, l have always bought the sheets. l actually have a sheet of the heavier weight one that they do to try. l am trying out new papers myself at the minute. l have just tried out the Canson Mi-teints and do not like that at all, too floppy, l keep creasing it! l can't see why the paper in a pad would be different to the sheets as that would require them setting up a whole new system, so do let me know what you think, although of course if you have not tried the sheets you can't compare. l will try to get a pad next time l place an order and see :) Leave a Reply. |
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