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Discover how to use hatching to build tone in your images through controlled lines! By adjusting the thickness and spacing of each line, you can manipulate the ratio between the drawn material and the surface underneath to control both value and color with precision. Whether you want to create volume, soften edges, add expression, or blend colors, hatching provides an incredibly versatile technique to achieve stunning results! Hatching Building lines parallel to one another is called “hatching.” By controlling how light and heavy, or thin and thick these lines are, artists can control values. Thin lines and wider spacing between the lines create lighter values.Read More →

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Magic Slate Today is the first day of my retirement and of course at the end of any period of your life you tend to reflect back on what you have achieved. As I reflected I automatically checked to see if I had any work e mails, and was reminded of how quickly you are wiped away by the institution you have worked with. My work e mail had already been taken down, I no longer had an electronic presence and if course all of those files that record the many and various activities I have worked on over the last 48 years are noRead More →

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Whether you’re a full-time traveler or weekend wanderer, learn why sketching and painting are the best tools for capturing memories of your travels. Discover how to observe details, create meaningful art pieces, and see the world with eyes wide open. This post is only available to members. Source linkRead More →

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The Milky Way There will be a head-on collision between the Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. in approximately 4 billion years. The fact that I can even speculate on that is an amazing thing, science has given us eye extensions so powerful that we can see into the future and so wonderful that we can also see billions of years into the past. This awareness has also made us think again about our relative position in the universe. In the grand scheme of things we are totally insignificant, we will be so far gone when this event happens, that nothing will remain ofRead More →

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In this tutorial, we’ll be talking about line art and different ways to enhance our ink drawings. We’ll observe and practice some techniques that lead to crisp, impressive, line art. Why is this topic worth our attention? An ink drawing is basically a collection of straight and/or curved lines. A line operates as a building block – a small, yet important element. Used together, lines can communicate a subject so that we understand it as a three-dimensional object. But line does more than this. Lines help to define edges and planes. They can be used to convey texture and indicate form. A line can alsoRead More →

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Oh dear, nearly two years since my last post here, and it was getting fairly infrequent before then; apologies to anyone who is still there/here! I’ve kept up the daily drawing from life (thirteen years now!), and am still regularly sketching around town etc, but just got out of the blogging habit, posting on FaceBook and occasionally on Instagram instead. My style’s much the same; default subjects are people (selfies or strangers). But I’m mostly using neutral coloured pencil instead of ink. The best I’ve found are Luminance pencils, smudgeable for tone when you want, but much more stable than graphite and heavily pigmented. I’llRead More →

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Did you know there’s a technique for using alcohol markers and blenders that can transform how you work? Alcohol ink markers can be a bit tricky to use, as they dry fast and are pretty much permanent. Plus, if you’re not careful, the colors can bleed or create unwanted streaking. In particular, it’s challenging to blend and create smooth gradations. For these reasons, I’ve shied away from markers, but I’ve always been curious about using them. There are some amazing works created with markers and, with the right coach and some practice, I know it’s possible to overcome these challenges. To help, I connected withRead More →

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Gordon Matta-Clark: Splitting: 1974 A while ago I posted on the tear and its implications, the split is very similar in terms of visual language but there are subtle differences. I first came across the split as an idea in the work of Gordon Matta-Clark. He had made a series of works he called “cuttings,” in which he opened up buildings by slicing shapes into their walls and floors. In Splitting (1974), he bisected a building and laid it open. The building used, like Rachael Whiteread’s ‘House’, was about to be demolished and he took a slice from the centre of it, undermined its foundations and removed the four cornersRead More →

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Surfaces for Drawing with Colored Pencils I’ve had quite a bit of experience drawing with colored pencils and I love colored pencils. Colored pencils are one of my favorite drawing mediums to work with and I’ve found some pretty exciting surfaces over the years. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. In this post, I’m going to share with you each one of those surfaces, the advantages and disadvantages of each one of those surfaces, and the unique characteristics of each one. (Some of the links that follow are affiliate links which means that I make a small commission if you purchase at no additionalRead More →

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Art markers are a highly versatile and accessible medium, suitable for both professionals and amateurs. While they may not always receive the same level of recognition as traditional media, such as oil paints or watercolors, markers offer distinct advantages and find widespread use among professional artists across diverse disciplines. Here are a few reasons why markers shouldn’t be overlooked as an artistic medium for professionals: Precision and Control: Markers allow for precise and controlled lines, making them ideal for detailed work such as illustrations, architectural drawings, fashion design sketches and graphic design. The fine tips of markers enable artists to create intricate patterns, textures andRead More →