Modern Day Mona

Here is an image of one of the projects I am currently working on that I'm thinking of calling Modern Day Mona:

I still have a LOT of details to add before this will be complete but I think it's coming along nicely.  I used layers of HB blended with a chamois, then 2B for the skin tone (which is very smooth looking right now but it won't be much longer).  I used a 9xxb for the pupil and a combination of 2B and 4B for the irises.  The hair is 2B, 4B and a little 9xxb.  I didn't really know what I wanted to do with the background of this drawing so it sat on my drawing table, untouched, for nearly two weeks intimidating me.  So, last night, I just jumped in and started randomly applying graphite with some General's graphite sticks (2B, 4B and 6B) and blended my graphite "splotches" with a cotton pad.  With the first layer I thought "Oh no, I've just ruined this whole thing!" but I kept on layering and blending.  Finally, the drawing itself seemed to decide what it wanted the background to be and now I have a clearer image in my mind of where to go from here.

To get you caught up with the procedure up to this point, here is a pictorial summary of the work in progress:

Stay tuned for more updates!!!!!

Nature's Bounty- Part 1

Last weekend my sweetheart and I hopped in my convertable and took a drive north to the state park in Brown County. It was a beautiful day for a drive with the top down! We went to explore and to get some scenic nature shots for artistic reference. God is always sending us little surprises when Cecil and I are out and about like that and this time was no different. We decided to explore the Friendship Trail (which isn't really a trail as much as it is a community meeting circle with a circular stone campfire pit at it's center- way cool actually) and one of God's most adorable little creatures decides to get into the friendship spirit and do a little posing for us.

I had some Strathmore cold press watercolor paper, 6x18, at home and I wanted to do something on it. With a little cropping of one of my bunny photos, I was able to come up with a layout that would work for me with those dimensions.

I initially intended to try an ink and wash, but as is often the case, intent rarely has anything to do with what actually happens. Normally I would not do a graphite drawing on cold press paper, but as I was putting down the outline and brief notes of tone, I discovered that I liked the way the paper and graphite were working together for the textures in this piece. I still wanted just a hint of color so I decided I'd try out my new Derwent Graphitint pencils.

To emphasize the subtle color from the Graphitint, I decided to do straight graphite, 2b, on the tree bark. So far, I like the effect.

I have a pretty good layout now so I'll work the details into this piece from left to right. Stay in touch for part 2 of Nature's Bounty.

Copyright 2009, Sarah D. Salisbury. Unauthorized use is prohibited.