Finishing the Dandelion

Finally beginning to feel like my self again...thank goodness. I am not a patient patient! Thanks to all of you who have sent me notes and get well wishes. Very much appreciated.

While finishining the recent dandelion drawing, I thought I might show you how I have been finishing my drawings on pastel board. (Many people are experimenting with this support right now and there are no right ways to do it; this is just what I'm trying right now.)

The drawing below is the final drawing stage before burnishing (blending). As you can see, even though I have applied many, many layers of Prismacolor colored pencil to the board, the grain shows through. While you have the option to call your drawing "done" here and it well could be, I have decided to push it and play a little more. What the heck, right?

Drawing before burnishing.

To burnish colored pencil on pastel board, you have several options, as you do on paper, but I choose to drybrush using cheap hog bristle brushes which I have trimmed down to about 1/4 inch. I also clean and dry the brushes frequently with solvent when the color builds up in the brushes. It's very helpful to me to use a drafting brush and clean off the particles kicked up by the burnishing as I go.

And here is the finished piece. Because I worked until the sun went down and wasn't able to get the photo quality I wanted, I still hope you can see the change in color saturation and intensity after burnishing.

Don't be afraid to try new, experimental techniques with your colored pencil drawings. If you are harboring that fear of the unknown, get over it! Sometimes when I want to work "outside the box", I'll do what I call a "small draw"; you won't have as much time, effort, or money invested but you can still play. The Ampersand pastel board can be purchased as small as 5 x 7" and relatively inexpensively. So, go on and play a little!

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. - (T. S. Eliot)