I was at the Dundas Valley School of Art yesterday, joined by a full studio of enthusiastic art students. The title of the workshop, the Dramatic Pen, refers to the use of black and white ink on a toned or tinted paper. This practice goes back a long way. We looked at a book of German drawings and I’m showing a few here from the great Albrecht Dürer.
The paper colour in the German drawings varied from grays to blues, greens, deep reds and exciting purples. The tone of the paper, regardless of colour, acts as a middle tone. The colour of the paper often dramatized and enhanced the subject.
The tools of our trade were fairly simple. Pigment ink pens in black and white were used. The white pen is a Uniball Signo broad. I would have preferred a somewhat finer nib but it was unavailable at our local art supply store. The black pen is a #8 Pilot drawing pen. Our paper is Canson pastel paper, purchased in a pad.
We kicked off with a discussion of basic volumes and principles of light and shadow. This gave us a chance to try out the pens and work on our cross-hatching technique. Note that the white is reserved exclusively for areas of direct light.
Our next project was of a garlic and each student was issued one. The creases in the skin of the garlic helped us decide on line direction. Here are two steps of my demonstration:
The students selected the paper colour of their own choice. They did a great job with their garlics. If you click on any of the critique images, you’ll see a larger version.
Garlic critique a
Garlic critique b
Our final drawing was of a beautiful Henry Moore sculpture. Wait a minute! That sure resembles a dog chew. No offence intended to the great Henry Moore. The organic quality of the dog chew made it a good subject. Have a look at two steps of my demonstration. I added a bit of stippling to this study.
Once the comments about dog chews died down, everyone applied themselves to the task at hand.
I’m offering one more workshop this spring; Introduction to Portraiture in Pen and Ink on Thursday, June 14. Stay tuned!
Tags: Barry Coombs, Canada, drawing, Dundas Valley School of Art, Ontario, pen and ink, pilot pigment ink drawing pen, still-life drawing, Studio Classes, toned paper, Uniball Signo broad, works on paper
Barry Coombs Art Workshops 
25/05/2018 at 5:21 pm |
Nice emphasis on value with pen and ink. I especially like the contrasts on the orange paper.
06/06/2018 at 5:21 pm |
Been gone, sick, sis, but back to enjoy, the Articles. So nice. Love, the Birds, and pen and Ink. Shoes, nice, but a challenge.
Thanks for sharing all. Loius