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Monday, January 21, 2013

Sculpture and Drawing

I'm in love with 6B.
Not the mysterious stranger in apartment 6B, but the pencil, 6B.
Yes, I love a good soft pencil.
figs by Patrick Gracewood ©2013 graphite drawing
I gave up using pencil in my drawing books. By the time I finished an entire pad, all the pencil drawings were badly smeared all over the preceding pages.

But for finished studies, nothing is more seductive than slowly, carefully building up a drawing with velvety layers of graphite. No erasing, the game is to draw around the highlights. No lines, just thousands of lightly brushed pencil strokes.
It's incredibly tedious, but oh so satisfying once you stop trying to hurry the process.
pear by Patrick Gracewood ©2013 graphite drawing

5 comments:

kramam said...

I love your drawings. The shadows are so soft and perfect, the fruit almost jumps off the paper.
Kind regards, Anita

patrickgracewood said...

Thank you, kramam. Drawing this way with 6B is incredibly tedious but nothing else looks like it... Same could be said for any discipline, no?

Theresa Cheek said...

I lean towards a 6 or even 8B! It is all about the process of layering and layering. Once done, give the page a spray of fixative and they will not smear. Give me a 6B, rubber eraser and a shading stump with some paper with a little tooth...ahhhh

patrickgracewood said...

Theresa, didn't know 8B existed. Must get several tomorrow. Since I don't do chocolate anymore, an 8B sounds like the next best indulgence.

Theresa Cheek said...

Too funny,Patrick!