5" x 7" Prismacolor colored pencil on Storm Blue Colorfix paper. 2007.
This was part of a DC115 members' project for the hospitality suite display at the 2007 CPSA show. The overhead lighting used in the piece gave me the idea to draw Cascade - although I switched to brown Colorfix paper for that piece.
Haven was done on violet blue Colorfix paper. I envisioned the skin tones being filled with blue, and the woman's face being nearly silhouetted against the light of the window. I wasn't quite sure how to handle such a dark blue picture, but I thought I'd figure it out as I went along. I've put together a progression of the drawing from start to finish so you can see how I tackled it:
The skin tones start with a base of Clay Rose, and then get multiple overlays of blues, purples, and a touch of dark brown. The highlights are Powder Blue. The warm light which catches the tendrils of her hair is Ginger Root, and overall her hair is a mix of blue and purple for the darks, pink for the midtones, and Ginger Root for the lights.
Prismacolor and Lyra color pencil on violet blue Colorfix paper, 12" x 9". Completed 2006.
Rembrandt Lyra and Prismacolor colored pencils on light blue Colorfix paper, 12" x 9 " . Completed 2006.
This was my first Colourfix piece. There's an interesting story in my Art and Fear post about how I almost gave up and tossed this mid-piece. There was a definite learning curve with Colourfix, and the colors weren't cooperating. But I stuck it out, and in the end I really loved the piece. It did well - it went on to be juried into the CPSA Explore This! 4 national show. One of my favorite parts of this work is the streaming hair, which reminds me of water pouring over a ledge. I extended and stylized it a bit so that it sweeps all the way to the right. The other part I like is the borders of blue that come in and out around the hair. With all of the blues, and the hair pouring like rain, it would be easy for this piece to have a sad tone - but it doesn't. Like many of the blue series pieces it's about introspection, and the hint of a smile on the model warms up the mood.