Pete Sketches

I took a whole slew of photos of my horse the other night as he fussed and played with the other horses in his pasture. I tend toward taking pictures of him as he looks directly at me or grazes–in other words shots of him not moving–but I think it’s time to put more motion into my practice. Even the blurry shots are useful, and I plan on doing a whole series of various Pete sketches that take less than 30 minutes to complete.

I’m loving the gray toned Strathmore sketchbook, which is what I used for the first sketch. The second set is on a light cream color which isn’t as useful for his bay roan coloring. I lean toward choosing grays, dark blues and purples, and orange highlights, which work well on white or cool-colored papers.

Neocolor II: Pebbles

I found the reference image of these pebbles in water on Paint My Photo, using only a small, cropped section of the picture. I used Neocolor II watersoluble crayons by Caran D’Ache. One thing that’s so neat about the crayons is that you can draw with them, which is what I did initially, but then use a brush on the crayon to pull off extra saturated pigment to add in the darks, highlights, and details.

Neocolor II watersoluble crayons on a page of a Stillman & Birn sketchbook.

Sam Savitt, Horse Artist

My all-time favorite horse artist is Sam Savitt, illustrator of hundreds of children’s books, articles, how-to’s, posters, and paintings. I was always taken with his art, even as a child, because he captured the beauty and inquisitive nature of all types of horses. I purchased his how-to book quite a long time ago, Draw Horses with Sam Savitt, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in horse art.

I discovered he authored a Grumbacher how-to book on painting, The Art of Painting Horses. I guess it doesn’t matter that I don’t paint in oils or acrylics, I still wanted it. The thin paperback has five tutorials and was about $15 or so on eBay.

I had a heavy hand with the crayons (horse on left) and colors got muddy, lines became too thick. A light touch is necessary, especially for the first layer.

I used Neocolor II watersoluble crayons by Caran D’Ache for all of the tutorials. I first drew with crayons and then used water to paint them out from the base drawing. One tip I can pass along with this type of watersoluble medium is to draw in your initial layer thinner/smaller than you need. When you use a wet brush to activate the pigment, you’ll probably push the lines out, making the image larger. Plus, it’s far easier to make something bigger than take away.

The pony painting is the worst one–I got way too heavy and sloppy with everything. I’m planning on trying this one again.

All of these were painted in a Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook.

This hunter looks a little too lean, but it was super fun to paint a horse in motion.

Honestly, I would have never chosen to draw a polo match or a huge draft, but Sam Savitt loved all horses. Great inspiration and quite a challenge.

Neocolor II crayons have really rich pigment. I kept the backgrounds super light on all of these as I tend to be far too dark with pretty much any medium I use.
A silly-looking man on the right doesn’t mean I didn’t have a great time painting this gigantic draft.

Other than the pony painting, I’m pleased with the pictures. They capture horses looking lovely and still but also in motion–some with funny-looking humans. (They’re not funny looking in his book, mind you.)

For those of you with an insatiable curiosity about Sam Savitt, there are two sets of videos on Youtube that may interest you even though the quality is poor. The first is a lecture, the second a demo.

Sketchbook Sketches

Toned paper is more fun than I had imagined. I love practicing animal sketches from the old Walter T. Foster art books. They’re geared more toward oil and acrylic but I make do.

I keep practicing textures from the book 101 Textures for Colored Pencil:

Here’s the start of two metal point sketches, a little bunny and a mossy tree. I bit off more than I can chew with the tree, however. The detail is overwhelming. The bunny is on mineral paper, and the tree is on watercolor paper with the traditional silverpoint ground that came with my kit. I’ve found it’s very hard to photograph metalpoint because it’s shiny and reflects light.

Silverpoint Sketch

Metalpoint is an interesting medium. The stylus is silver (or gold, copper, brass, etc.) instead of graphite. This method dates long before graphite was discovered and used. I bought a set of two silverpoint pens, one with a thin stylus and one thick. I’m sketching on mineral paper. Plain paper won’t catch the metal, and so the surface needs to be prepared with gesso or something along those lines. Mineral paper, however, is a fine metalpoint surface on its own.

It’s a slower process than using a pencil, but the effect is light, airy, and shimmery. It doesn’t smudge and lasts for a very long time. Some metals tarnish, and this silver sketch of my horse will probably turn sepia as time goes by.

Apple, Pear, Tangelo

I’m into fruit lately.

Mineral paper, in this case 16 pt. Terraskin, has a smooth surface and creates a luminous quality.

Inktense background

These Caran D’Ache Luminance pencils have a dry quality but the color is vivid.

The basic colors of the apple are done

I’ve grown fond of the pear after drawing it three times this weekend.

All three done except for the darkest darks and shadows

Colored Pencil Sketchbook

My new fascination with colored pencils has been, well, fascinating. I purchased a set of 40 Caran D’Ache Luminance pencils, which I’ve since heard are among the most expensive due to their exceptional lightfast ratings.

The texture samples are all from Denise Howard’s book, 101 Textures for Colored Pencil.

Having only used Prismacolor, I don’t have much to compare them with but I can guarantee they are very nice. The color is strong and covers easily. I find, too, that I’m not going over and over areas, so I have a feeling theses pencils will last longer than other brands–perhaps they’re not quite as expensive as it seems. The main reason I chose Luminance pencils is the color choice. I was thrilled with the earth tones and grays.

I also bought a Strathmore 400 sketchbook, and I’ve been following some tutorials and playing around with blending, which seems to be at the heart of colored pencil work. Above I tried many different blending techniques, all of which I like for different reasons. I’ll stay away from oil, however, because it soaks through the paper and doesn’t dissipate. One of my favorites is using colored pencil over Inktense. I’ve used this in various ways, and I always like the effect. I never thought I’d enjoy mixed media, but never say never.

I came into this medium thinking it would be a great combination of painting and drawing, but I think it’s more accurate to say it’s like shaping and shading.