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Drawing Methods - Technique |
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Drawing is a form of expression. Although I may not have formal art training, I enjoy the techniques that I use and believe that they complement each other well. Through my experience as an artist I have learned to use several techniques to develop depth, texture, contrast, and style. The following outlines and describes each of the techniques and how I feel they add to the uniqueness of my work. I've categorized the methods as follows: Order, Using All the White, Incorporating Sketches, Dots, Plant Life, Etching, Tribal Patters, and Color. |
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Order |
Traditional painting is typically done from back to front. By this I mean the background is completed first, followed by mid-ground, and finally foreground. With the way that I have been pursuing art, the entire picture needs to be planned out before you begin because it requires, in contrast, going from front to back. If a major mistake is made, the entire picture is ruined. I’ve thrown away more than I care to admit because a mental error was made. The laborious nature of the style requires that the artist stay focused. For instance, if you’ve already put 40 hours into a work, focus is key to making sure that all that time is not wasted. If the mind begins to wander, too often a mistake is made and the picture ends up in the circular file. As you can probably imagine the background is usually the worst. It adds the most depth and is usually much duller than the foreground (taking less time to complete), but it puts the picture in both context and at risk at the same time.
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Using all the White |
The most important part of the work that I create is integrating a scenario of shapes, lines, dots, and etchings that are not interconnected, but work in coordination to “paint a picture". If the viewer pays close attention, they will begin to realize that each component of the work is separate, disassociated by white (unless an error was made, which in my opinion is the principle part of the uniqueness of the work). These white borders also play a role of adding an additional color element to each work. The thing I want people to realize is that the white is not created, it’s already there. In fact the entire piece of paper is white before I begin to add color to it. You can see in Coronado Dancer an example of how the ‘white’ of the paper plays a role in integrating the shapes
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Coronado Dancer |
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| Because of the above stated, sketches have become a necessity. In fact, many of my works have been inspired by an earlier sketch or two. Most of the sketches seemed pretty simple and insignificant at the time of creation, but with some growth in my mind, they have developed into some rather elaborate ideas. For instance, the Mutated Spider - Adaptation began about 3 years before I transformed it into a final piece. The same is true of Succulence and Merlin’s Funhouse. All in all, there are many sketches I have already completed that I hope to eventually make into something more.
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Mutated Spider - Adaptation |
Merlin's Funhouse |
Succulence |
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Dots |
Pointillism is evident in many of my pictures and I can firmly say it is a practice that is only for those with extreme patience. This often takes the longest to complete and is usually only a very small piece of the puzzle. As you can see in Succulence, Incubating Sun, Mutated Spider , Feeding in the Midnight Haze , and Merlin’s Fun-House (below) , this technique plays an integral role in filling even the most “tight” sections of the piece with color. It allows the creator to get into small places as well as making it easier to blend colors.
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Succulence Incubating Sun Mutated Spider Feeding |
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Plants |
Plants are a tremendous medium for filling foreground (mainly because there are so many different styles that can be used and intermingled together). By adding the floral effect, it often makes it even more interesting. It’s intriguing to take something that you can see in everyday life and transform it into your own interpretation, whether it be through the use of tribal patterns of just simple color variations. Some examples of all the variations that can be used can be seen in Living Space, Feeding in the Midnight Haze, and Succulence (right).
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 Living Space |
Feeding |
 Succulence |
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Etching |
Etching is a practice that seems very elementary to me but adds the most context and depth to the pictures (usually because it is used in the background). Etching is as simple as taking a box of crayons (a.k.a. wax pencils) and coloring within the lines. However, you’d do it in the following process. Start with the color that you want to show through and color that in first. Next, go over that color several times with darker, but complimentary colors until the entire surface is a dark hue. Finally, with a razor (or a sharp or fine edged object), etch the design that you want in the background, foreground or wherever you working. This is where tribal patterns often look the best. I use this technique to create things like lighting variations (as in Coronado Dancer), contrasting color effects (as in Evolutionary Beginnings), or fog effects (as in Feeding in the Midnight Haze).
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Coronado Dancer Evolutionary Beginnings Feeding |
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Tribal Patterns |
The use of tribal patterns is evident through much of my work and adds an additional level of surrealism. The idea is to twist reality enough to make it look interesting, but at the same time still be able to tell what I’m trying to portray. This can be used in background etchings (as in Feeding in the Midnight Haze - above) or in the creation of the primary images (see Succulence and Merlin's Fun-House - right).
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Succulence |
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Merlin's Fun-House |
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Color |
Color choice is critical. It can develop shadows, add depth and contrast, and instill life all at the same time. The colors used are often an effect of the mood that I in (however, about half the time are just what I think look good – some read more into this than others). You can change the entire feel of the piece by color selection and always add complexity wherever needed.
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