Whenever I start learning how to use a new tool, I ask myself what makes this tool interesting, and what it can bring to the subject - I learned to draw with wax based coloured pencils that don’t smudge easily, that can create a variety of layered lines. Using graphite pencils, I am really interested in how they can create blocks of blurry, semi-negative space and how those blurred lines can create shapes and texture.
For this drawing, I built up a background using graphite stick, moving from HB in the lighter parts of the sky, down to 6B in the darkest areas of the drawing, and blending them together with a tissue. Then I built up the gestural lines of the trees and the dark areas of leaves, and blended them together with blending stumps, before darkening the trees with B4, B6 and B8 pencils - I tried to drag the darker colours across the trees to create the illusion of a cylinder shape, but with little success - creating 3D shapes (spheres, cylinders, cubes and composite shapes) with graphite will be next practice project!
The drawing was based on a picture my wife took of a bamboo park on a misty day - I wanted to capture the diffused light in the bamboo corridor, and the almost submerged feeling brought about by the diffused light. I tried to capture this with the undefined edges of the leaves and the sinewy trees, which almost looked more like seaweed in the finished result. I aimed to create contrast with the bamboo in the foreground but struggled to find the details to capture the essence of the plant.
I chose this image because of the light and the strong composition, moving towards the vanishing point at the centre - I drew the stairs using one-point perspective and used the graphite on the blending stump to fade the path up to the horizon line.
I debated whether to include a person in the composition - without the figure, the composition was more open and mysterious, but lacked a sense of story. One of my favourite artists is Mathew Wong, and I’ve noticed that I engage more readily with the pictures in which there are figures, which give a sense of personal journey. The figure was meant to be swaddled in their poncho against the current of dampness.
Soon, I’ll be taking the more advanced graphite class, as I am also obsessed with traditional mediums and have so many more ideas for things to draw with graphite.