Japanese lady in kimono - studio session 14th June
We were so lucky yesterday evening in getting a Japanese lady in her traditional Kimono to sit for us. I was trying to capture her delicacy and it wasn't easy. I started off with a charcoal and pastel drawing and then stayed in the same spot to do some quicker pen and ink sketches with a fine line felt pen. Towards the end I felt I was beginning to capture her but alas the time was up!
By the way, if anybody has any tips for photographing line work on white paper I'd be interested to know. Maybe I should go to maximum brightness on my photo editor?
posted by Sheila Vaughan at 10:20 AM
15 Comments:
Wow. Your sketches are great. I think you got the delicate nature and quietness of your model.
I'm still saying your drawings deserve to be framed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :-)
DJ - in October is the annual exhibition for the members of the Art Guild and this year they are going to include some of the studio sessions work but unframed. Don't know how they'll present it but I'm hoping to have three of the better pieces selected for that as well as a couple of paintings.
Hello Sheila, what a nice model you had ! I like your drawings, and especially the pen ones. Unfortunately, I stuggle a lot too to photograph my drawings. There is not one solution, but a combination of tips to tweak those pictures.
1. See if you have a light balance setting feature on your camera. If so, settle it to "light".
2. Try to light your drawing as much as possible with two desk lamps, for exemple.
3. In your picture editing softwre, turn the photograph to greyscale. (as opposed to RVB)
4. Try to enhace constrast and lightness in your picture softawre. But you can't use it too much, because it turns the white to fluorescent light !
I think you're right; the last one's the best.
I'm amazed at your virtuosity with a felt tip pen!
Hi Sheila
I've wondered before, how is it that a person's face looks distinctly Japanese. I think you've caught the model's nationality well!
On photo editing drawings, try increasing the contrast, then darkening.
Ghislaine, thanks a lot for that very useful information. I'll look into these things. I've never had this problem before!
Sam, I remember using "proper" pen and ink at art school years ago. They used to send us out sketching and I was drawing an old tree in the middle of one of the town squares. I can remember focussing even on specific groups of leaves, and if the leaf was big, even on a single leaf. Must have been crazy, but I've always enjoyed pen work. As you said before, you can't rub out and that is always an advantage!
Steve, yes, that's an interesting one. A Japanese face is different from a Chinese face. Having worked in Africa, I can almost always tell if someone is Ghanaian and Ethiopian faces are always recognisable. It's fascinating. Your advice on the photography angle is well received and complements Ghislaine's. Thank you.
Well, I guess you can do just about anything! These are lovely, very sensitive lines, I really like them. You are amazing!!!
Joan
Thank you Joan. Love your recent cows painting!
How beautiful. How delicate. Your work is just getting more + more amazing. I love the self portrait. Looks finished to me.
Re: photographing...I find everything photographs best in natural light. Outside, if possible, in the shade. Near a window works well too.
it looks realy good.
Thanks Edith, yes I usually use natural light. Our overclouded skies are good! It was just the white page of the background to the drawings but I have upped the contrast on the photo editor as others suggested and it seems better.
Thank you Pia.
I like this, the multiple heads on the single paper. Nice.
Do you use Photoshop as your computer photo editor? I do, and I use R.Garriott's method: take the photo without worrying much about the light, and then in Photoshop, you use Levels to set just two things: the white and the black. I am pretty sure she even has a tutorial about it on her Photoshop tips blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home