Pleine Aire Drawings

Gregory Becker wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 1:26 AM

Graphite heightened with a gel pen.

Graphite heightened with a gel pen.

Graphite

Graphite.

Feel free to critique

Sharon Repple wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 6:17 AM

These are beautiful paintings. the simplicity of graphite is so powerful

j.b2 wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 7:30 AM

A white gel pen?

I've seen them, never tried one..

I do like the drawings with the white overlay...

Gregory Becker wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 7:48 AM

Thank you Sharon and J.B. The white gel pen is a very managable. The slightest touch produces the best results. If you put too much down just dab with your finger tip and it reduces the whiteness. Thanks for looking.

Kathryn Clark wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 8:34 AM

This is a good forum subject--plein air drawing in sketch books on just on paper.   I have a couple of questions:  First, I see that each drawing has a hard edge frame around it.  Technically, how did you do that?  Second, did you "fix" the surface with a spray fixative? and what brand do you like?  When I draw in my sketch book, I tend to smear the drawing as I'm working, expecially if I'm using a soft pencil or charcoal. Do you use a bridge of some sort or another piece of paper laid on the drawing between your hand and the paper?   I'd like to know what other artists do too, if others would like to reply, and I'd also like to see uploaded photos of other people's drawings plein air.

Margo5 wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 10:09 AM

Gregory, your drawings are beautiful!

Margo5 wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 10:33 AM

Kathryn, if you look closely at his drawings, he has lightly penciled in an edge to contain the drawing and then it looks like he has toned the entire inside of the rectangle before beginning to lay in darker tones.

Gregory Becker wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 12:32 PM

Hello Kathryn, thank you for taking a look. First, the hard edge around the drawing was made by using Post-It tape. Just like a post-it but it comes in a roll like masking tape you can find it at office supply stores. The downside is that when you pull it off it makes the edge of the drawing a little bit sticky. The solution is to put a straight edge onto your drawing and use a kneaded eraser to go over the area where the tape was.

I use to use a reworkable fixative but it changes the tone slightly so if you use them it's good to keep that in mind while you're drawing. Ijust wanted to eliminate that from my thought process in exchange for more freedom while drawing.

To avoid the smearing I simply dont touch the paper but using a bridge is the best method especially when you're doing highly detailed work.

I also use graphite dust to tone the paper and that eliminates large areas of tedious tonal work and I always choose the tone that dominates the drawing by size. I apply the grphite dust slowly with a soft brush and a cotton ball. I use a kneaded eraser to lift out tonal work dominated by light to get a light/dark composition and then I go in with a 2b mechanical drafting pencil. The preliminary tonal work is 20% of the drawing and the pencil does the rest.

Thank you again

Gregory Becker wrote

on 22 Oct 2009 12:40 PM

Margo, thank you for looking. The edge is created when the cotton ball is being used to tone the paper. The graphite dust naturally collects more at the edges because of the post it tape. This is also why it is important to erase the edge where the tape was after you pull it off because that grphite always seems to find its way there.

One more thing I forgot to mention is the benefit of using graphite dust. When applied with a cotton ball you can make the darkest dark and it will not be shiney the way a pencil can be.

Warning...the graphite dust should never be breathed in so, in pleine aire drawing make sure that the wind isn't blowing it in your face. Other than that have fun.

Gregory Becker wrote

on 23 Oct 2009 12:15 PM

Thank you Margo and good luck with your new studio. It sounds exciting.

Nelson2 wrote

on 23 Oct 2009 10:46 PM

I like the technique and style. I'll try that some time. Capturing water is so hard to do but you got it.

What brand white jel pen and where do you get them? Also graphit powder.

Gregory Becker wrote

on 24 Oct 2009 5:50 AM

Hi Nelson, thank you for looking. The gel pen is... Y&C Gel Xtreme GX101W. The upc code is 031248518286. I think I got it at Blick art materials. The Graphite dust comes in a small plastic bottle and so far it has lasted me 3 1/2 years and I am only halfway through the bottle. I use a small film canister to store enough while I am out and about. The graphite is...AGS Extra fine graphite refillable shop size 1.76 oz the upc code is 077146084218. It has a pointed top with a tiny red cap. I pour it into the film canister and then I can dip my brush in that.

I forgot to mention this...if you dip your brush into the graphite you can tap the brush toget off the excess and if you tap the brush over your drawing surface it looks like it's snowing graphite. Learning to control that will give you a uniform covering before you start moving it around with a cotton ball or a brush.

The whole drawing surface of this drawing at one time looked like the tone of the upper right side. This was a 20 minute study. Toning the paper helped reduce the amount of time spent on solving the tonal tasks so that I could dive right in. The light changes too fast outdoors and this is one way to reduce the speed of the changing light.

Hope this helps.

Margo5 wrote

on 24 Oct 2009 7:29 AM

Nice tip on how to get even tone when you lay down the graphite dust. Thanks for sharing it.

Kisu wrote

on 24 Oct 2009 9:05 AM

Drafting tape works well to mask off straight margins, comes off easily, and doesn't leave any residue.  It comes in a roll and looks like masking tape, it adheres well while you need it to stay put, but isn't super sticky like masking tape.  It is widely available in art or business supply stores.