MATERIALS
• Fabriano Artistico Hot Press 300gsm paper
• Faber Castell Series 9000 greyleads in F, HB and 2B Faber Castell Polychromos colour pencils in Dark Sepia,Prussian Blue, Sky Blue.
• Violet, Rose carmine) and Brown Ochre
• Light Violet, Grey Green,Light Blue and Terracotta.
• Derwent Artists colour pencils in Sky Blue and Blue Grey
• Knitting needle
STEP ONE
Fairy wrens are very social birds and spend a lot of time on the ground, so the theme of this image is the welcoming of one bird to a new group against the complex backdrop of the floor debris. All my works are carefully designed, including all the background details, negative spaces and the amount of colour to greylead. The latter is kept in my mind rather than put into the initial drawing. I like to keep some of the development spontaneous so the work keeps its freshness and life. Using a smooth paper and an F pencil, I sketched the work, firstly using blobs of shapes to place the birds and the main background elements, then redrawing each bird accurately. Lots of erasing at this stage, including moving the birds around the page. Once I was happy with the entire design, I transferred the drawing to my sheet of Fabriano Artistico hot press paper with my F pencil, using my light box. Therefore, the good paper is kept pristine, having had no erasing done on it and the lines are very light so they won’t show through the colour pencil.
STEP TWO
Beginning with the “black” areas, I build up the first layer, making sure to create the darker and lighter tones straight away, with a dark blue pencil. I don’t use a black pencil at all, preferring to create black with Faber Castell Polychromos Prussian blue and Dark Sepia. I generally like to build one area at a time to a fairly finished level so the image appears one piece at a time. I use a short stroke to create the feather pattern instead of colouring in the areas.
STEP THREE
Over the dark blue layer, I place several layers of Dark Sepia. I alternate the two colours until I am happy with the intensity of the black. I build up with small strokes to give the feather texture. I keep my pencil very sharp so each stroke is rich and clear. The strokes will blend each other as you layer them so care needs to be taken to keep any texture. Eyes and the beak are also drawn in at this stage, using the same two colours. I polished the lighter highlight on the beak with Sky blue.
STEP FOUR
Blue wrens have distinct pattern and colour areas, which makes them easy to build up by colouring one area at a time. Next I created the light blue feathers of the cap and neck by firstly giving the areas a layer of strokes with the knitting needle. These invisible marks dent the page and resist the colour pencil so the light feather strokes always show through. Using Light blue and Derwent sky blue, I layered the colour in these areas with small strokes. Moving on to all the brown areas, including the two females, I used the same knitting needle technique to create the feather patterns then built up with short strokes of Violet (for shadows), Rose carmine (for warmth) and Brown Ochred for colour). Final touches included the very dark areas, using Dark Sepia.
STEP FIVE
White feather areas like the breast and tummy of the birds is very much a ‘less is more’ concept. Firstly I used the knitting needle to dent strokes all over the areas, this will give a texture to the paper even if no pencil is applied. Then with Sky blue, Light Violet and Grey green, I slowly and gently built up the shadow areas with small strokes. As I am using a background this time, the edges of the white feathers will be defined by the pencil work in the background so I left the edges pale. Finally, the legs and toes needed finishing, using once again the knitting needle to give the scaly pattern and using Violet (shadows), Rose Carmine (warmth) and Brown Ochre (colour) to finish the legs. The males have a bit more Derwent Blue Grey added as their colour is slightly different to the females.
STEP SIX
Background elements are just as important as the foreground subject as they complete the whole scene. To give the birds a bit more dimension,I have decided to fade the intensity of the colour in the background. So each major element is drawn first, using a layer of colour pencil, (Sky Blue and Prussian blue for the dark sticks and Terracotta for the leaves) which will glow through the greylead layers. Once again I create any light texture with the knitting needle, then build the sticks and leaves with an HB and 2B pencil (using Faber Castell series 9000 greyleads).
STEP SEVEN
This next layer of detail I have built up using purely greylead (HB and 2B) and no colour, to give a third level of depth to the drawing. The negative spaces are full of gravel and lots of smaller sticks and stones. I filled each negative space with more pieces, toned the new shapes and filled the gravel area between with knitting needle dots and loose greylead scribble. The knitting needle marks will only give a subtle result yet helps to make the ‘scribble’ look more realistic. As the top half of the image is dark and the foreground will be light, I have concentrated on this area first so I can see how the design and balance is working.
FINAL STEP
Foreground gravel and small pieces of grass complete the effect. Not filling in the foreground too much is the challenge, making the strokes needed very sparse yet strong enough to give a continuous feel to the ground. Placing shadows under the sticks and the birds is the final ‘tweak’ so all elements are resting nicely on the ground. Fading the colour to greylead in the background makes the white chests of the Fairy wrens glow whiter than the paper (which is a pale cream colour) and intensifies the contrast of the colour in the birds. Finally, I make sure all my edges are clean and adjust any details that need sharpening or colours that need brightening. Then I always put the work away for a few days so I can distance myself from it emotionally. When I bring it out again for a final assessment and signing, I appraise not only the technical aspect but also make sure the personality and conversation’ is flowing properly. Happy with the work, it is ready for framing and exhibiting.
ARTIST’S HINTS AND TIPS
• Pencil is a wonderful medium to use, you can pick it up and draw for a short time with no cleaning up or preparation needed. This is very handy when you have lots of interruptions in the studio.
• I use a hot press paper that is a pale cream colour (Fabriano Artistico 300gsm) as the smooth surface takes lots of layers of pencil and doesn’t disrupt any of the detail.
• Keep your paper and work clean, use a piece of paper under your hand at all times and I wear a pair of white cotton gloves that have the thumb and first two fingers removed. This keeps any grease from your hand away from the paper.
• Keep your pencils very sharp and use only light pressure, allowing the pencil to build layers of rich colour.
