Roz Wound Up

Changing It Up: When Your Drawings Aren't Working—Part II

Above: Scruffy pencil dog from imagination. Two colors of Prismacolor on a laid-texture paper in an Exacompta sketchbook (approx. 6 x 8 inches). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

(Part I of this series appeared on Monday, August 29, 2011.)

One of the results you should expect when you start to change things up is that you'll end up going down some interesting side paths. Gearing up for "Paws on Grand" I found that I became so entranced with the laid texture of one of my practice papers that I started doodling more and more drawings.

But this side path, while enjoyable, wasn't getting me to faster sketches. Was it a waste of time to draw on a paper I wasn't going to be using?

Left: Detail of the scruffy dog's face. I'm enjoying myself way too much with those sharp pointy pencils on this laid texture. That's too much detail for the time I'll have on the day. But it's interesting to see what comes out. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

No, because it was focusing me on the texture possible with the pencils I thought I would be using. Also it was forcing me to work smaller with those pencils.

And it was encouraging me to play—which is what I needed.

I took an additional side journey off to Wet Paint where I purchased some Arches Text Laid. Usually I get the Text Wove (Velin Arches), but I thought, hey, I'm having so much fun with this other laid paper…maybe…but that's a discussion for another day.

Side paths, they can be very fruitful. Explore some.

 

Printmaking Class at MCAD Coming in September!

Left: Click on the image to view an enlargement of art from the class announcement. ©2011 Marty Harris, used with permission.

Twin Cities artist and illustrator Marty Harris is teaching a printmaking class. I just learned about it at Saturday's State Fair Sketch Out, where some of you met Marty—he came and sketched and was at the 4 p.m. meeting.

Marty is the mastermind behind Moly_X. You can see his work at 'Skine art. There's a wonderful energy to his line in his art and I think you will be inspired by his work, the observations he captures, and his humor.

Check out this course description and call the number at the end to sign up: the class starts on Septmber 10

Course Description
Bringing that good ol’ rugged, resourceful, romantic American sense of adventure to the printshop, Printin’ from the Hip is an exercise in spontaneity, simple materials, basic skills, creative solutions, and loving the printshop. In the spirit of the Wild West, we'll make prints from anything we can pick up along the trail. Monoprinting, collographs, and relief printing are all part of our printmaking rodeo. And everyone will take home a passle of fresh, fun, original art.
Three Saturdays in September: 10, 17 & 24
9:00 am-5:00 p.m. (w/ 1 hour lunch)
Instructors: Marty Harris & Mary Liekvold
Non-Credit Tuition: $167.00, plus facilities fee $45
For more details:
Check this link or call the Continuing Education Office, 612.874.3765

Changing It Up: When Your Drawings Aren't Working

Left: A tentative colored pencil sketch of a very handsome German Shepherd Dog, Dozer, on Stonehenge paper. No dog could have sat more still for me! Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Before I leave the topic of Paws on Grand which happened at the beginning of August, I wanted to share a couple more "stages" in the development of why I drew with the tools I used on the day. I think seeing the entire evolution might help you make your own drawing tool decisions.

I had intended to work with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen or the Faber-Castell Pitt Artist's Calligraphy pen. (There are lots of examples up on the blog before August 7.)

But I knew I was going to be working on a  5 x 7 inch piece of Stonehenge and I would have very limited time for each portrait (aim for 6 to 8 minutes, pray it doesn't take 10). One day I got frustrated (and a little spooked) because all my practice sketches were turning out with "surprised" dogs, eyes wide open and startled.

I called my friend Ken Avidor who reminded me that dogs aren't birds ("you don't see the whole round eyeball") and, "when you get in a drawing rut look at the drawings of someone else you admire and see how he handles it."

Left: A colored pencil sketch of a dog from a photo I popped up on my computer screen. Black Grape and Black Cherry are the colors I think. Or that red might be Tuscan Red. I had the sense I wanted to use two colors, quickly, and tied it out first with a photo. But right away I knew I was doing too much detail and this wouldn't be possible in 6 to 8 minutes with a squirming dog. I was working on a drawing paper with a laid texture which I just love: see the texture coming through in the nose. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Ken isn't suggesting that you copy another artist. He means that in looking at the lines and shading and such another artist uses you can see another approach, get more verbs for your own visual vocabularly (that's my explanation). It also helps you really look at something again with fresh eyes. You see that Sargent didn't need to give detail in this shadow, but still described the features of his sitter, or you find that Turner had a trick for making mackerel scales glint in the light. Your mind and hand start to ask your brain "how can I do that?" And the next thing you know you're off with a new awareness that shows in your drawings.

My new awareness came by looking at the sketches of Charles Tunnicliffe, but since I was looking at a facsimile of his bird sketchbook I decided that I needed to look at animals. (Time is never wasted when looking at Tunnicliffe, however.)

Left: Working small on a 7 x 7 inch piece of Stonehenge I pushed myself to get some sort of shape and density of values in only a few minutes. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I turned drawings of Victor Ambrus ("Drawing Animals"). He has a lovely loose style that is much more impressionistic (less chained to details) than my own approach. He uses charcoal and smooths his shaded areas into a fine blur. I don't work in charcoal, or anything smudgier than colored pencil (too much dust). And I wasn't going to be able to work large. I did several practice sketches from imagination, something that I don't normally do. I also made appointments with dog friends to sketch from life (like Dozer at the top of this post).

I was getting out of my rut. The dogs no longer looked startled. But I still didn't think I had a time efficient approach.

To be continued in another post…

Repurposing Sketches, and When a Background Runs Amok

Above: Page spread from a 9 x 12 Fabriano Venezia. Golden Fluid acrylic paint on the background, Pentel Pocket Brush Pen Sketches on other papers, cut out and collaged, along with strips of Japanese paper to contain jouraling text. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

We all have them, days when our best laid plans for experimentation don't yield the results for which we'd hoped. Here I used one of those textured wall painting rollers to add paint to the background of this spread. (I rolled the paint out on a sheet of acetate with a smooth brayer and then rolled the textured sponge wall paint roller on the paint to pick it up.)

I could have done any number of things with this spread to tone it down. Glazing with a light wash of yellow to push the yellow back and make the blue even more green might have been useful. Washing with a complementary color of either of the main colors would have neutralized the complement and had a similar effect. Painting out areas with a healthy dose of Titanium white or conversely black could have yielded some interesting "masked" effects and areas of color which popped in a purposeful manner. And so it goes.

Instead, as I was near the end of the journal and anxious to move on, I opted for the solution you see above. It allowed me to keep two sketches I really enjoy. And it reminds me vividly that I don't like that textured sponge roller at this scale as a quick background. If I want to use it again I'll need to put more layers into it.

Oh, and as to serendipity—it's interesting that one of the quotations I wanted to remember and note down was from Tina Fey on "bombing." So Monday I can be back panning for gold.

Same Location, Don't Be Fooled by the Different Stand at the First Meeting Place for This Year's Fair Sketch Out!

EMERGENCY UPDATE 8.26.11: I've just returned from my first visit to the Fair this year and they have moved the cinnamon bun stand to the Northwest corner, across from the cattle barn. A BRIDGEMAN'S ICE CREAM STAND is on the Northeast Corner now. Look for us at Bridgeman's on the Northeast corner.

Same corner, different concession stand.

Roz Knows a Famous Model

That's right, my friend Buster is modeling for Target. You can see Buster here in a banana costume (well he is a dachshund). And here Buster reclines on a doggie bed. While you can tell from the photos (even the goofy one) that he's a handsome little guy, what you can't know from the photos, is that he is sweet, energetic, and just plain adorable. He is also a canine good citizen who makes regular trips into the hospital to cheer up patients!

His family and friends are quite proud of him. I couldn't resist sharing this new with you.

In other news: The Minnesota State Fair began yesterday. If all goes well I'll be attending several times over the next 10 days, including tomorrow's sketch out. I've set up some non-Fair posts for next week, in case I'm too jittery from too much Salt Water Taffy to compose a post when I get home. Expect an update on my trip(s) to the Fair to follow at a later date. Right now I have to focus!

If you can't get to the sketch out, sketch a doggie friend!

Paper, Paper, Everywhere: Two Recommendations for Quality Mixed Media Papers

Above: Paper from the last paper tear of 13 sheets of Magnani Annigoni Designo. I was able to make signatures for five 6.75 x 9 inch books (some with 4 signatures and some with 5 signatures) and two 7 x 7 inch square books (one with 5 signatures and one with 6 signatures). And all I had left over were the two strips you see in the front. I love it when a plan comes together. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

It's nuts here right now. I've been ill all summer with what my doctor calls a "mystery virus." (We tested for all the "normal" infectious things that matched my symptoms, including Lyme Disease and other tick related stuff—even without the girls around I still go out with dog friends into the woods.)

I'm pleased to say months of exhaustion seem to be behind me. I've made an effort to keep up on my bike though my season total of miles is woefully low (Sunday it was 1,316). My doctor knows I live in a household where you skip your workout only if you have a gaping wound. She encouraged me to keep up with whatever I could. Some of you may have noticed I moved to shorter blog posts. (I know it doesn't seem like that but trust me, they were shorter!)

While recovering, when I did have energy, I would be very antsy, yet not able to focus. That is the only way I can explain all the paper I've been tearing (that and a need for more journals for 2012 for course).

I just finished tearing this batch on August 12. I knew I wouldn't have any time to bind any books because of other deadlines, but I needed to get the paper out of the way so I could clear the studio out to make room for new projects. I was just making a binding schedule up last week when I stopped by Wet Paint in St. Paul.

I wanted to give you a heads up. Their back to school sale is on and just about everything is on sale. But the really cool thing is that Stonehenge paper is on sale. You can get 50 sheets of the same color paper at the 100 sheet price break! When Liz told me about it my mind stopped working because all I could think of was Stonehenge Kraft (I seem to be on a more intense than usual toned paper kick). (And the usual disclaimer—I'm not fiscally connected with Wet Paint, I'm just an avid fan of my local independent art supply store. I've amended this paragraph to reflect the sale info Liz provided in the comments.)

I know what I'm going to be doing this fall and winter! I'll be making decorative paper and binding books, all sorts of books. It seems a good thing to be doing as we move through fall and into winter, because yes winter will get here soon enough, and I'll have a project. I'm looking forward to pacing myself. In the meantime I have to tear down all that Stonehenge Kraft. I have no idea, since I haven't tried to tear any of this down yet, if this batch cracks a bit when folded with the grain like my first batch did—but it's such a lovely color and surface for gouache and pen work that I was willing to let that need go. Now there really is paper everywhere. 

Note: Since composing this post for posting today I have had a chance to tear down 35 sheets of the Stonehenge Kraft. I'm sorry to say this second batch (which is different from the first batch I had, i.e., the store had restocked) is also prone to severe cracking when folded WITH the grain. This is a bit of a problem for bookbinders so I have to mention it here.

Am I going to give up on this paper? Nope, I've got 9 books of it to bind. However, I will keep you posted on how those books hold together, once I start working in them (I hope to use one in September). I have had no problems with the other colors of Stonehenge. There is sometimes some cracking when folded with the grain, but not to the same extent. In those test books with other colors of this paper the bindings have held together very well when worked with under my normal "rough" working conditions. Just keep this "characteristic" in mind when you are deciding whether or not to purchase the paper.

I would definitely NOT RECOMMEND this paper for OPEN SPINE structures like coptic stitching, or even for sewn on the spine structures. The first situation is obvious—exposed spine edges, already cracked from folding, will be exposed to additional stress. In the second situation the signatures are treated individually and so they don't get the additional support of gluing and lining that happens when you make a traditional western case binding. I would recommend you only attempt to use this paper in traditional western case bindings.

(I would also not recommend this paper for Japanese 4-needle structures as the tension required to sew the signatures will be problematic on the already cracking spine fold.)

I'm making a test exception for myself, creating a sewn on the spine 8 x 10 inch journal with fold out pages, because I can't help myself, and I have to test the breaking point of the paper. But going into that situation I have to tell you that ALL fold out pages will be reinforced at the fold with some sort of strong Japanese paper, before I work on those pages. It will be interesting to see how the spine fold holds up to the constant wear of work and viewing without any additional reinforcement.

UPDATE February 10, 2012: Since writing this post I have bound one of the Kraft paper books and used it. It cracks horribly when folded with the grain. It is not suitable for any binding structure that requires folding. I have since trimmed all the "signatures" I folded and will use them as "cards" to be saved in boxes and portfolios. You could stab bind such cards, but the cracking was so severe I would not recommend even that because such a binding would necessitate some bending as you leafed through the book. The surface is an excellent one for working on and I'll continue to use this paper for paintings (gouache) outside of the journal.

If you want to know more about the papers I enjoy binding into my visual journals see my two part post on "What do Visual Journalers Want" which starts here.

I wrote a post earlier this week about a Mixed Media paper I did NOT like (Canson Mixed Media). If you are interested in a true mixed media paper and like to work on a toned surface I suggest you seek out Magnani Annigoni Designo (pictured at the start of this post).

This paper (Magnani Annigoni Designo) has the weight to take heavy collage and acrylic paint and media attacks. At the same time it will let you float your watercolor or gouache washes. It has enough tooth to accommodate the pencil artist, yet it is smooth enough to do pen work (though it might be a little soft for some pen artists—I successfully use dip pen on this paper without clogging my nib with fibers, but it takes a little bit of finesse). I recommend you buy the paper in sheets as the padding process tends to flatten the lovely surface of this paper a bit. That said, I have made books using this paper from the very largest of pads (before I could get my hands on sheets) and it is also lovely to work on, and pen artists might appreciate a bit of "flattening." Here's just one example I've posted where I've thrown a lot at this paper.

So now you have two mixed media papers you can try out—Stonehenge Kraft Paper Brown and Magnani Annigoni Designo. Just remember to pace yourself!

Minnesota State Fair Sketch Out 2011—Reminder

Left: Spin Art—Just one of the many fun things you can do at the Minnesota State Fair. Click on the image to view an enlargement. (One of my spin art pieces from 2010.)

The Third Minnesota State Fair Sketch Out

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 2011

Meetings at 1 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

See the map in the first post on this event, for locations of the meetings.

Come to the third MSFSO and sketch the animals, people, food, rides, interesting signage—you name it there's something for everyone to sketch at the Fair.

Remember, sketch from life at the Fair and you get one of this year's commemorative buttons. (While supplies last.) Can't join us on Saturday? Go another day, sketch something on site, and send me a jpg.

Does it get any better than that?

More on Reed Pens

Above: Reed pen made by Dick at the August 15 meeting of the MCBA Visual Journal Collective. His is more elegantly carved than mine—he's got skills! You can put a hole in the top at the split using an awl (this keeps the split from growing), but we didn't have awls (there was a class in the other room I couldn't disturb). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I mentioned in my report on the Reed Pen meeting of the Collective that I would post again with images of the pen. I haven't had a chance to draw anything using my pen (I have been running out and about getting ready for the Fair and can't risk spilling ink all over myself!) but I did take some photos of the tip of the pen Dick made so that you can see what we are all wild about.

 

Left: Side view, with the top side of the pen resting on the table and the underside facing upwards. You can see the lovely gentle slope of the two curving cuts down the length of the pen tip. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I'm not one for shaving or cutting wood. I do have to use an X-Acto in my work and when I collage. In general I tend to stay away from sharp objects.

If you are similarly disinclined to use sharp blades I have to urge you to still try this because it is very simple to cut through the reeds—simple in the sense that you can make a clean stroke and cut. Success will of course come with some practice—but then the reeds can be found anywhere.

You can also do this with bamboo stakes—the type sold at the gardening supply store, but you have to saw those down to size. They are also thicker and I imagine they are harder to cut through. I didn't try one.

(Note: when you are cutting your reed down to the size you want you simply put your knife edge at 90 degrees to the reed and rotate the reed so that you score the entire circumference. Then you simply snap it off! Quick and clean.)

Thanks again to Tom Winterstein for showing us such a great toolmaking technique.

Above and Below: These last two images are of the underside of the tip. They show the very fine point that is possible, and also show the metal reservoirs that Tom showed us how to make. (In Dick's pen I can see that he used the pop can. I found the pop can too bendy and went with the catfood can lid.) The reservoir point doesn't have to sit right at the center of the tip, it still works well if it shifts over a bit as you can see in the last photo. The next photo below shows the same side of the pen, but from a different angle. I thought it would be useful for you to see both. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Canson's Mixed Media Paper—I Don't Think So

Left: Test page of Canson Mixed Media paper. Click on the image to view an enlargement. Read below for details. (Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and gouache on a 9 x 12 inch sheet.)

It seems to me that the more papers I test the more I like my old favorites. But since companies get taken over and felts burn in fires (or simply wear out) and for 10,000 other reasons I have to keep looking.

So despite the fact that I've tested more papers than I care to this past 12 months I plunked down my money for the Canson Mixed Media XL Series wirebound sketchbook. I got the 9 x 12 inch version. (I frankly don't recall if it came in other sizes and I dislike the paper so much I'm not going to waste more of my time looking it up on the internet to see. You'll have to find that out for yourself. I will provide you no links today.)

It cost $13.55 for 60 perforated, wirebound sheets that are 98 lb. weight. The covers are stiffer than most sketchbook covers, but they are covered with ugly packaging logo and type.

Let's get right too it. See all that shadow area throughout the image? I tore my test page out and put it on the scanner with weights on top of it and it still was severely buckled.

I wasn't even using a lot of water.

ISSUES:

• So besides buckling severely, even when I don't use a lot of water on it, the paper performs in the following manner:

• Washes settle where you first touch and don't move easily over the surface. This surprises me because the paper is rated as a Mixed Media paper for acrylics, watercolor, and pen and ink and pencil.

Let me pause for a short rant: It seems to me that paper companies are so used to artists making due with inferior papers so we can make our journal art, that they have come to believe we'll work on anything. What they really need to do is realize that what we want is a high quality paper with watercolor capabilities. Start there, work from there. Give us something that is a joy to use. Frankly I have already adapted a whole pile of other non-watercolor papers to my wet media and bookbinding use and I don't need them to make inferior papers they push off on us as "meeting all our needs." As artists we need to be very vocal about what we think mixed media papers should be able to do. And if any mixed media papers (from any mill) don't meet those criteria we shouldn't reward them for producing an inferior product by buying it. I will have more to say on this at a later date. Canson is not the only company doing this.

At the same time I think artists need also to instruct themselves on what a great paper is, and what they can do on one, so that they can adapt their working methods to alternative papers (great papers, fine art quality papers such as many print making papers, which nevertheless can stretch to the demands of the artist's technique), or even, upon occasion inferior papers. It means expenditure of time and effort and also money to buy great paper, but if you don't take yourself and your work that seriously to do that then you probably have picked the wrong media to work in. But that's a whole other rant perhaps.

If artists don't start being this vocal we will soon be presented with shelves full of paper created by non-artists with only economy in mind. I really don't want to become a paper maker in my lifetime. I want to paint. If you don't want to become a paper maker either, wake up and speak out.

• Repeated washes on an area, wet on wet, wet on dry, leads to pilling, without any great friction.

• Washes look dull and flat, absorbed into the paper.

• Washed areas on one side led to heavy puckering on the opposite side of the sheet.

• The paper, when wet, smells like wet sheet rock, a clayish heavy smell that is unpleasant. Also there are tones of wet wood in the aroma. Not a paper for people with allergies or asthma. (It actually doesn't smell that nice dry either.)

• The opacity of the sheet is marginal. Brush pen and watercolor clearly show through. Writing with a Staedtler Pigment Liner did not show through to the same extent. I'm talking about work being VISIBLE on the flip side of the sheet, not bleed through.

Bleed through is when ink or paint wicks from one side of the paper to the other. I didn't experience bleed through with this paper, that's something in its favor. 

• Crummy cover graphics, wirebinding, and perforated pages make this a sketchbook with no pretentions for journal work. I don't like perforated pages in my sketchbook. If something comes out of my sketchbook I can trim it neatly. Perforations always fail at the oddest of times.

POSITIVES:

• Heavy weight (if ugly) covers.

• Working with the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen on this paper is fun, if you like a bit of drag on your brush tip and like to get dry-brush effects. (See "Issues" above, however for opacity issues.)

• Writing with a Staedtler Pigment Liner or other similar type marker is pleasant on this paper. Sketching with markers might pose problems for marker artists used to a smoother surface and a less absorbent one.

• The slightly textured surface is receptive to dry media such as graphite and colored pencils.

CONCLUSIONS:

I won't be purchasing any more of this paper. If you want a mixed media paper in wirebound form that really will take wet media I recommend you try the Strathmore Journal Series' Mixed Media Journal. At least it will allow you a little fun with your watercolor, smells nice, and you can tear off their garrish "journaling" label packaging and have a plain (if oddly textured) cover. I think the price is comparable, though I can't find a price tag.

The Great Canadian Sketchbook also contains superior paper which will take light wash work well. I recommend it, though its cover is wimpy—it is just a sketchbook. However they have an even heavier weight paper version that comes with two heavy black board covers. Look into that. I use this type of sketchbook in life drawing as it allows me to use pencil, pen and ink, and also add watercolor washes if I choose. Alternately I can use watersoluble colored pencils to sketch and then bleed out some shading with a Niji waterbrush.

I think that if you're looking for a SKETCHBOOK to take to life drawing and you like to work primarily in dry media with a little bit of wash, and you don't mind perforated pages and want the convenience of wirebinding for folding your book back on itself, and how your paper smells doesn't matter to you, then this might be a useful book for you. If you're looking for anything else, skip it. Keep looking.