February 2022 Animal & Wildlife Challenge - all welcome!

[Schuee]

So sweet, Kay. Well done!

What a lovely puppy, Patricia. You have certainly used the new charcoal pencils well. Thanks for the information. I had heard of them but not known anyone who used them. I enjoyed seeing the WIP.

 

[ams]

Patricia, I love your snoozing dog. The results you got with the tinted charcoal are beautiful. I enjoyed your wip pictures too.

 

[eyepaint]

Vivien - thank you
ricky - thank you
ams - thank you. Awww little water-soluble graphite mouse and moth on a leaf - such grand shapes on the wings - another non-digi - how are you finding using these media?
sanlynn - thank you. Awww sleepy doggie
Christel - thank you. Awww moo - great proportions
JSparrow - great job on your Whimbrel - the markings on the feathers in particular
Leley - awww the doggie
Penny - thank you
Tim - thank you. Wow this is fantastic! You must have an interesting mind
Patricia - thank you. Awww doggie Thank you for all the progress shots. So well done.
Kay - aww what a snug bunch of smug faces

 

[ams]

ams - thank you. Awww little water-soluble graphite mouse and moth on a leaf - such grand shapes on the wings - another non-digi - how are you finding using these media?

Thanks EP. I am really enjoying working with water-soluble graphite. I love watching the magic when I add water. I have also ordered a small set of inktense pencils which I am hoping will give the same magic but in color. I'm sure I'll play around with digital more in the future but right now I am enjoying the quick sketching with the water-soluble medium.

 

[CMorPaint]

Great job by all.

 

[Joy]

I am still working on mine, as I got quite busy at home lately getting new carpeting throughout our top two levels. Time does not permit me to comment on all.

Vivien - Nice powdery look to moth.
Penny - The different colors to make gray was a smart choice.
Ricky - Welcome! Amazing you got so many done; they all look good.
Federico - I think this is one of my faves that you have done. It is frame worthy! The BG colors really coordinate well with the subject.
Anne - The moth is excellent - greens are so difficult.
Sanlynn - Your work is always great, very soft texture.
Christel - Your rock paintings continue to become refined. Highlights are very well placed.
Patrick - Wow, wow, wow! You could sell prints of this.
Lesley - Your quick work is very expressive and well done. You have progressed brilliantly lately.
Kay - I like the subtle way you made identical subjects look different.
Patricia - Very soft, great texture. WIP appreciated.

 

[pcj]

Penny, Anne, Eyepaint, Christel, Joy -
Thank you very much for your comments on my drawing
Cheers,
Patricia

 

[Joy]

Sorry I'm late to the party with my submission. This is a small one in my Canson XL watercolor 140 CP sketchbook, 4 x 7.
Overworked, as usual. My attempts to get a "watery" BG with masking dots and spattering did not work as well as I would have liked, and I thing the fins are not "transparent". This is the first fish I have painted, so I am trying different things recently.

 

[Sanlynn]

Thanks so much for commenting on my sleeping dog.

Ricky – I missed commenting on your excellent digital work. Well done!

Christel – Your cow on the rock is really special.

JSparrow – Wonderful work, love the water.

Lesley – So well done for a quick sketch.

Tim – What an imagination you have. Love it.

Kay – They are so cute.

Patricia – How wonderful. I have never heard of these tinted charcoals before. Thanks for the WIP and introducing me to them.

Joy - This is wonderful painting. Love the colours and how you’ve painted the fish.

 

[fedetony]

Penny - Beautiful Doggy. You think Acrylics are difficult, but I believe color pencils are more....
Ricky - Very nice. I like a lot that thy look quite realistic, but when you get close they look artistic. Is quite interesting.
Fede - Lovely mouse.Is good to see you've taken some artistic freedom for Colors and shapes.
Eyepaint - Your drawing are quite entreaging. They include most of them and is nice the way you outline with the color.
Anne - Lovely MnMs... Moth and Mouse ... I've got to try those soluble graphite.
Sanlynn - Your hound is lovely... You made a very nice depth also the format is great.
Christel - Lovely Cow... I wonder where you set the stones...
JSparrow - Is wonderful the Whimbrel, yet I really like the background...
Lesley - Well done, looks very free.. very well done!
Chaffee2 - Very interesting. If It was not in the challenge I would not understand the Whimbrel.
K Kay - Is really Lovely and cute. I like it very much.
Patricia - It looks great Tones are very appropriate. And lovely WIP.
Joy - Fishy looks great, very colorful!

Thank you all for the nice comments...

 

[ams]

Sorry I'm late to the party with my submission. This is a small one in my Canson XL watercolor 140 CP sketchbook, 4 x 7.
Overworked, as usual. My attempts to get a "watery" BG with masking dots and spattering did not work as well as I would have liked, and I thing the fins are not "transparent". This is the first fish I have painted, so I am trying different things recently.

View attachment 19291

Joy, like your fish. Great that you are trying new things.

The way to get the fins to look transparent is to have something behind them shows through faintly. It could be another fish or a piece of seaweed. It won't show sharply and may only show in spots but it gives the illusion of seeing through the fins.

I think your background came out quite well. I like the gentle color changes and the spattered spots.

 

[pcj]

Joy - I like your colourful fish,

Sanlynn, Federico - Thank you very much for commenting on my drawing.

Cheers,
Patricia

 

[ams]

Anne - Lovely MnMs... Moth and Mouse ... I've got to try those soluble graphite.

Thanks for your comments.

I have been having a lot of fun with the soluble graphite. It makes the sketching go much quicker than it does with dry graphite. The other thing I like is that it doesn't rub off as easily so the graphite doesn't transfer from one page to the facing one in my sketch book. I use mix media paper and then I can work on both sides of each page. Cuts the cost in half!

 

[Joy]

Anne, thanks for the excellent advice!

 

[chaffee2]

Thank you, Penny, Patricia, eyepaint, sanlynn and fedetony for commenting on my submission, I know it's "out there" , but I wanted to do something on the abstract side. Also thanks to those of you who hit the like button, I appreciate y'all!

Kay, great job, this needs to be on a card with a caption!
Patricia, really nailed it! Wouldn't expect a greasy feel from chalk pencils, interesting.
Joy, poppin' colors on the subtle background looks wonderful, nice!

Tim

 

[Christel]

Thanks for all the great comments on my stones!
Federico - I actually went to the nursery and bought a bag full of stones as the stones around my house splinter and therefore cannot be used.

 

[ams]

A quick sketch (about 30 min) of Whimbrel. Ink, water-soluble graphite and watercolor.

 

[pcj]

Anne - Fantastic Whimbrel - he looks very alert. I like quick sketches,
they seem to capture gesture and 'spirit' better than a long study.

Cheers,
Patricia

 

[fedetony]

Thanks for your comments.

I have been having a lot of fun with the soluble graphite. It makes the sketching go much quicker than it does with dry graphite. The other thing I like is that it doesn't rub off as easily so the graphite doesn't transfer from one page to the facing one in my sketch book. I use mix media paper and then I can work on both sides of each page. Cuts the cost in half!

For sure I'm intrigued... I wonder how they are made... I've tried to use powder graphite with water and it leaves very dark marks, but take a while to dry.... So I replace the water with alcohol and worked fine, still not easy to control. Once dried the graphite is very evenly deposited but also is very easy to move it, so if you need to preserve it you need to use fixative.

 

[ams]

Anne - Fantastic Whimbrel - he looks very alert. I like quick sketches,
they seem to capture gesture and 'spirit' better than a long study.

Cheers,
Patricia

I know what you mean. I have done quick sketches and then full paintings of the same subject and liked the sketch better.

For sure I'm intrigued... I wonder how they are made... I've tried to use powder graphite with water and it leaves very dark marks, but take a while to dry.... So I replace the water with alcohol and worked fine, still not easy to control. Once dried the graphite is very evenly deposited but also is very easy to move it, so if you need to preserve it you need to use fixative.

From what I understand, they are made like regular pencils but the binder used to make it is water-soluble so it dissolves and leaves the graphite behind. I have two brands of water-soluble graphite: Derwent sketching pencils and Artgraf in a tin. The Derwents have a finder grind for the graphite so they go into the paper better than the Artgraf. The graphite will move on rewetting for both brands if you make it heavy enough but light to medium washes stay in place nicely.

Thanks both of you for your comments.