Bell Pepper Series; October 2022;  Higgins Black Magic Ink with Crow Quill pen on Bristol paper

These studies of a bell pepper were my introduction to using ink and a Crow Quill pen. It was fascinating to see how to create a range of tones by diluting the ink with water, and to watch as salt crystals soaked up ink to create a textured effect.  hatching, cross-hatching, and stipple.  In addition to using new tools and medium, this work was my first exploration in using hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling. Personally, I could probably make stippling or hatching lines all day but to use them to create value is another story!  I really liked stippling and used a 1,2,3 waltz rhythm to lay down the ink.  For the next session, I tried using wash.  That was really interesting to me because I felt like it allowed me to access a bolder, more direct side that I don’t see in my charcoal work (which I think looks kind of feathery).  Finally, I made the last “portrait” using all the techniques.  I had become attached to my subject because of its eyes — a pair of dimples on the skin.  Still, I enjoyed eating it with hummus while celebrating my new adventures in ink.

Skulls (Human and Deer); October 2022; Charcoal pencil and Conté crayon on toned paper

The next part of the project introduced us to the evocative effect of Conté crayons on toned paper.  Like many of my fellow classmates, it was initially hard to wrap my head around the idea of warm terra cotta to show where the light was striking the model skull.  But I trusted the process and I felt fairly satisfied with the drawing.  I positioned the skull at a slightly turned angle, and I noticed afterwards that I hadn’t captured it quite right.  The crayon moves very differently across the paper and that was an interesting tactile change from just working with charcoal.  I think I showed suitable restraint in my use of the white crayon for just the very brightest spots, and in suggesting vs. drawing the entire set of teeth. I enjoyed the exercise so much that I decided to try it again at home with a deer skull we happen to have lying around. I love the dramatic effect of the white surface and the black cast shadow. I think the interior of the skull, particularly the eye socket, needs some more work to show its depth.

 My first self portrait was really fun and celebratory, because it was my birthday and I had on an awesome necklace and spider hat.  Again, I had to take a deep breath before starting and tell myself, “just be curious.”  I had never tried to realistically depict myself, so the stakes felt a little high.  I was also trying to be anti-anti-aging and include the lines on my face and neck and slightly droopy jowls.  Imagine my surprise when I ended up with a very childlike image, fairly small and delicate.  Plenty to analyze there.  I was determined to find a different version of myself in the next portrait, and so I began working on a larger scale and with more of a side view.  This turned out to be really challenging because I had trouble returning to the same angle of my head, as I turned from the mirror to the easel.  As a result, one eye is proportionally larger than the other, even accounting for the angle.  I hope to work on this a bit to capture the head turn more accurately.  I do really like the second portrait, in a different way.  I think they are both good representations of me.  I absolutely loved adding the tiny flashes of white at the very end.  It’s remarkable how effective those are in catching one’s eye.