Black on Grey on White

Closed for inventory yesterday...sounds like a sign that would appear on a shop door in January...! Feeling very organised and ready to confront the up and coming holiday season head on. Here are the final stages on "Above the Bit." Step 5 and 6 are basically focused on rendering and slightly detailing the mouth. This is the stage where I found it the hardest to stay loose. To render an impression rather than the full visual detail. I worked using a flat tip as opposed to a sharp point. The metal was done with a fine paint brush. Step 5: The mouth and nose added Step 6 (zoomed in) Work on the metal, all the edges are still to be cleaned and worked. This scan also clearly shows the tooth of the paper. This is not visible to the eye from a distance so I chose (with difficulty) to ignore it. Below is the signed and sealed version of  "Above the Bit".   The title is so obvious forming a nice contrast, I feel, with the crop I chose to illustrate. Once again had a great ...

Mid term is now over and I am busy running around in all sorts of odd circles. The only place I seem to settle is behind my drawing board and as a result I have made some progress with my new equine drawing. After completing " Welcome Impact ", I knew I would bring out my soluble graphites again.  I am using the same Vellum paper and working "medium-big". My main objective (apart from learning more about the soluble graphite) is to limit detail and achieve strong contrasts . Here are the first steps  Layout and first strokes. Went for the darks to establish my tones. 2B Derwent used and Cretacolors' soluble graphite 8B. Working out the lay of the grey coat, the sweat marks under the throat as well the lines created by  the leather bridle and the bit. This is where the ugly stage starts to turn into something a little more real.  The leather has been done with a layer of soluble graphite and finished with a very fine and barely wet paint brush. The horse's c...