U3A Botanical Illustration: about coloured , part 1 Introduction Coloured Pencils

Coloured pencils can be used on their own or in combination with graphite pencils and watercolour or other media e.g. coloured . There are, of course, coloured pencils and … coloured pencils. They vary in quality and colour strength and whether they are ‘just’ coloured pencils or are water-colour coloured pencils which can be used in combination with water to create watercolour effects. All have their uses and it does boil down to a matter of preferences and how much money you are willing to spend as to which ones you use. Some good makes are:  Faber Castell (especially polychromes)  Derwent (huge range)  Caran d’ache (especially watercolour pencils)  (wonderful vibrant colours)  Irojiten Other equipment Graphite pencils (H, HB, F, B, 2B) Blender Burnisher pencil Plastic eraser / battery operated eraser Putty rubber, blu or white tack, or Faber Castell malleable art eraser for lifting highlights Good quality hot-pressed, acid-free Feather for brushing away loose rubbings Magnifying glass Pencil sharpener / craft knife Fixative spray

Different makes of coloured pencils can be used in combination. Using coloured pencils isn’t just about colouring in. There are some techniques that can help you to create lovely effects in botanical paintings. Some of these are set out below. Basic technique Use elliptical strokes with the pencil to gain a smooth effect. Vary the pressure, pressing more heavily in darker areas and less heavily in the lighter areas. You can use an underlying grey for shadow areas which you can then go over with colour. Layering You can build up strength of colour by layering in much the same way you would with watercolour. Try not to go in too heavily to start with. After establishing your shadow areas e.g. in grey, choose three colours to represent the flower, leaf or part of the plant you are working on: a pale, medium (true) and dark version of each colour e.g. yellow-green, green (the closest to the actual colour), darker green etc. If you haven’t got three shades of the same colour, use what you have. Work from darkest colour to lightest, from shadow areas to lighter areas. Leave highlights white until nearly the end of the drawing, when you can decide whether just to leave them white or to add some light colour to all or part of them . Blending Blending refers to placing a lighter colour or colourless pencil (blending pencil) layer over coloured pencil to blend colours together or to blur edges.

Burnishing Burnishing means making the surface of the drawing smooth and a bit shiny. You can achieve this by going over your drawing quite heavily at the end with a lighter colour or with a burnishing tool, a pencil with clear pigment especially designed for creating a smooth, shiny surface.

Book Ann Swan (2010) Botanical Painting with Coloured Pencils. : Collins. Website: https://annswan.co.uk/

Jan Miller [email protected] February 2019

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