I haven't drawn in this style for some time, but much of my work used to look like this. After my Drawing II class in college, my drawing style changed dramatically. I became very aggressive with prismacolor and elements of collage began to integrate with many of my drawings. It was a very experimental time with media. I was a smoker at the time and I collaged the gold foil from my cigarette packs into several drawings.
With this piece, I experimented with Wite-out and discovered that it created a nice base texture for the drawing. Once applied over the Wite-out and rubbed, the color pencils would create very pleasing subtle shading. I think I stopped using it in drawings over fears of archival quality, but this piece it still sound almost 20 years later. Maybe I need to play with Wite-out again.
I think I backed off this technique also because it was incredibly messy. By the time I was finished with one of these drawings, my drawing area would be covered with the bits of prismacolor I'd erased or scratched off the drawing. This was also an expensive process. I'd draw and erase, scratch, or even scrap the drawing. In the end, I went through a great many prismacolor pencils before a single drawing was complete. When I discovered layers in Photoshop, I almost burst into tears.
I don't use this style as much today, but occasionally it does return for a fresh piece. Handling this drawing again and thinking back to that time has made me nostalgic for the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and pads of bristol board. There are several pieces coming up From the Archives that are of this style or its painterly counterpart.
Sadly, I no longer own many of the pieces from this time. I've had many moves since these days and have given things away to make room. I also lost some drawings that were being stored to a flash flood back in the 90's. So much of my art has been lost to time and tide. Those losses are the reason Zombie Bites and my other blogs exist. This way, if I lose the original, at least here there will be a record.
2 comments:
Well, SOMEBODY has been holding out on us : ) I could easily see this hanging in a museum somewhere. The pale bleakness contrasted with the energy of the color stripes just makes me stare in fascination. I'd say the complexity and cost of the technique used was well worth it.
LOL. Not really, but Thanks. :-) There is a pile of artwork here to scan or photograph that I never seem to get to...there's always a million things.
I wish I could remember the inspiration for this piece. I also don't remember if this was a project from class or personal...another reason for the blogs I think.
You know, I just realized that in all my mess, I haven't been listing sizes for the things I've been posting. eep. I suppose with digital it doesn't matter as much, but with the hardcopy work it can be pivotal. I may need to change that. Especially since some of the aforementioned pile of art is much bigger than a breadbox...
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