Sunday, June 28, 2009

Roots

As most artists (after they have moved past the finger painting age), I began making pictures with a pencil. When I began pursuing art as an adult, I found drawing, particularly in black and white, to be so very mesmerizing.

Having spent the past several years immersed in color, I have recently felt the need to find my black and white "roots" again. So, after a couple of weeks playing with papers and boards, charcoal and ink, I have rediscovered the method and materials I originally fell in love with: Cretacolor Nero pencils on a really soft creamy white Fabriano. It's such an enjoyable way to spend time - almost enough to make me think about giving up color altogether!

4 comments:

Lauren Gallegos said...

Beautiful rendering! You do black and white just as well as color, so if you enjoy it, you should do more! I love the little duckies!

Christina Forshay said...

Gorgeous, as usual :)

Anonymous said...

That's magnifique! Please, what technique do you use for the wonderful textures?

Patricia Cantor said...

Thank you, Anonymous!
I do a fair amount of blending in the flat, gradated areas. And I use a softer pencil, with no blending, in areas like the fur, allowing the slight texture of the paper to play a bigger role.