Black on Grey on White

It's fantastic! So many of you are asking questions that I know the answer to and that I feel confident answering! Happy dances! Therefore, it may very well be time (after thousands of hours at the drawing table) to, finally, create a wee series of tips and share my experience with all of you here on my blog. My Short Drawing Tips (SDT) are going to be short (yep!), exclusively about the technical side of graphite drawing (double yep!) and will all be based on my trials experienced and errors made. Some of you may remember I shared my drawing recipe a while back with a more poetic focus. The objective this time round, is quite simply to share, in a short and snappy way, how I approach my craft. These SDT s are never going to boast being the right and only way, they are just what works for me . Topics covered will be the very popular topics of choice of paper, pencil choice, drawing surface, sharpeners, fixatives, blending but also extra personal tips of the trade. ...

Unique Trust Pencil on Paper 57 x 46cm Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved After spending a little more than six weeks hand in hand with my feelings, memories and pencils, I proudly present "Unique Trust". In line with my 2013 resolutions, I was determined to jump out of my comfort zone and roam a little in the unknown suburbs of my drawing ability. A different approach had to be taken. So I went big much much bigger, stepped away from the classic head pose and began discovering how to convey a very special intimate, precious moment.  "Unique Trust" happened in layers: a layer of technical knowledge topped with a double layer of whipped emotions, sprinkled with a wee bit of pencil magic. 

Currently on the board: a new drawing. Pencils have been scribbling dreamingly and slowly on this new piece. Leaving marks highlighting tenderness, trust and emotion. Technically I wanted to push myself and work big (57x46 cm). Emotionally it's all about pulling off combining that very special contact between horse and man. So far :  one (half-closed) eye and two ears closer to my goal! (Untitled) Pencil on Paper WIP Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved.

Sandor 41 x 29 cm pencil on paper. SOLD Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved. "My horse is ugly!" These words were said to me a few years ago after the subject of a portrait came up and they  bothered me ... no end. There is no such thing as an ugly horse. Every time my pencils get scribbling they prove it, show the world just how erroneous those words were. Each stroke merging tones, combining strength, proving in black on white the fallacy of this perception. A beautiful chiselled equine face has a “wow factor” but take one, like Sandor (pictured above) shaped out of honesty, wisdom and kindness the “wow factor” is just as big and lands just that little deeper. Underneath the muscle and the power is a mind blowing personality and astuteness that is anything but … ugly!

The "Christmas Secrecy Act" is lifted (and has been for the last few weeks...wee bit behind again whoops!) Christmas commissions #1 is the handsome Gizmo. A great big chocolate lab with a lovely nature. A beautiful subject to render, my pencils had no problems getting dug in with gusto and enjoying all the details from his vivid eyes all the way down to the small wave in his coat. "Gizmo" 44x25 cm Pencil on Paper Sold Sheona Hamilton-Grant. All rights reserved

Yeah! 2013 is here ! 2012 was a year in which I believe I stood too still. Enjoying my comfort zone a tad too much... artistically not taking risks, trying too please, my curiosity asleep. 2012 is being archived just after this post. 2013 is when I step FORWARD pick up my pencils out of our snug comfort zone and into a colder  unknown & un-tackled world that we have ignored for too long To prove my point, here's "Touched" my brand new drawing. An amass of verticals and horizontals, stark and dramatic yet soft and tender. A mix of contrast, texture and shapes. A study of both equine and human body language. A little girl lost safely in the world of big gentle equines. " Touched " Pencil on Paper. 57x44 cm. Sheona Hamilton-Grant. 2013 All rights reserved  2013 will be my year of marching FORWARD one focused step at a time. ... left, right, left, right, left, right...

Gently putting my pencils down for this year but not without a wee cheerio, a heap of seasonal greetings and great big THANK-YOU. So many of you have visited my studio blog and showed support throughout another fascinating year.  Looking forward to sharing more of my art world in 2013! Cheery cheers!