I loved this scene immediately, but I held back drawing it, thinking that I just liked it because the bee was in focus! However, while I was cruising through my photos with some filters that allow me to look at my photos abstractly, I decided that I really did like this composition. I’m still awfully found of the bee, though.
To Blend Or Not
I tried my new non-blended method of hatching for this drawing, but the details were just too delicate for that type of hatch. I’m pretty sure I’d have to skip over a few of them if I was working with dulled pencil points.
And, of course, there is the problem with erasing with the non-blended method. The non-blended hatch doesn’t lift as easily as my brush blended hatch does, and I create many subtle details by using erasers. These flowers are full of subtle details.
My Motto: Draw What I See
There is an illusion when one solid value butts up against another that makes the eye think the values are lighter or darker at the edges where they meet. This happened especially strongly along the top edge of the large petal of the begonia.
If I was a better draftsman, I could have drawn the petal and the illusion would have appeared naturally, but I’m not that good. So, I drew the illusion, which means I drew the illusion of an illusion. I do LOVE art when it gives me a mental head rush like that.
How My Drawing Technique Evolved, And How Yours Will Too If You Let It
I guess you could say that my method of drawing is a little unique, like me. When I was in college, we were taught with a purist mindset toward the tools used in each class. Drawings were to be completed with certain drawing tools only. I never used a brush for blending in those classes, although I could use a stump or tortillion.
Everyone used the same tools so that we could learn how to use specific tools. Also, it kept everyone in the same metaphorical “boat,” and made it easier when the time came to critique and assign grades. However, outside of class there were no rules, and that’s when I started using a brush for blending. It seemed like an obvious choice to me.
A good brush can make even rough hatching look smoother, if the bristles are the right kind and have been trimmed properly. I recently bought an inexpensive Luiqitex brush that looked like it would work for a blender with modification, but the bristles actually LIFT graphite.
I wrote to the company and confirmed the bristles are designed to absorb liquids and that they may be ‘absorbing’ graphite too. This brush is handy for correcting flower petal shading when I want to lift the graphite back just a smidgen. So, I’m still discovering new tools.
Your tool use is driven by the look you’re compelled to create. If you can’t create it with the tools available, you become a toolmaker, you borrow from another mediums, or modify an existing tool.
Lastly, I can’t remember how many times I’ve heard ‘if you want to paint, paint. If you want to draw, use a pencil!’ Usually I’ve heard this from artists who’ve been painting the same old formulaic scenery for the last forty years. Don’t listen to them. Use whatever tool you need to get the look you want, and you’ll wake up every morning excited to get to work on your next piece.
Okay, You Caught Me. I Was Lazy.
This version is considerably darker is some areas because I was originally working from a gray scale version of the reference. When I finally got around to loading the color reference into my Copyit app (the app I draw from on my iPad) I was fairly horrified to see how much darker the pink begonias looked.
Next time I’ll start with the color version and make my own choices about the values. This darker version will have much more depth, however now that I’ve scanned it, I can see that it has become a too dark in some areas. Now I’m thankful for my Liquitex ‘lifting brush’ discovery!
Remember the motto? Out the window it goes. I’m replacing it with ‘whatever looks best’ leaning toward ‘whatever is easiest!’ An all-around better motto for artists because we have to lie so much.
Oh yes, we draw what we see, sure we do, but we also stretch, eliminate, hide, ruffle, smooth, shrink, enlarge … oh face it. We’re liars!
To finish this drawing, I had to extrapolate the information for the leaves in the bottom left from about dime sized pieces. They had unwanted shadows over them, so I eliminated those and drew the gently gradated shading you see now. It was high noon, so there were harsh shadows mixed with the ambient lighting.
I think this composition works okay, although it’s an odd one. The bee doesn’t stand out as the main attraction, and that’s okay. I’d like the bee to be something your eye finds as it wanders around the begonias. I’m glad I drew this piece.
Keep drawing everyone, even when you’re not sure if the piece will work,
Carol