Trois Crayons

My artist's journey into portraiture has continued with more pencil and graphite work and then into the classical "trois crayons" (three pencil) method used by many renaissance artists.  I learned this first from a video by Gunhild Hope on sktchy art school (in the class 30 Faces / 30 Days) and have taken it forward in half a dozen drawing since and am really enjoying adding the touch of colour from the sanguine pencil and the toned paper.

The idea of trois crayons is that you do the main part of the sketching in sanguine pencil (sangine is the colour of dried blood) and then darken it where necessary with a black pencil and then add final highlight with a white pencil.

I obtained my materials from the Faber Castell Pitt Monochrome set of 12 items (available at great discounts from various art outlets). and I found that a good paper to use is the Strathmore Toned Tan.  I also tried Daler Rowney Ingres paper but founds it had too much "tooth" (it was too rough) and wouldn't give me the smooth drawing effect I was looking for - a shame, as its very high quality paper. 

This set has an interesting selection of materials.  The black and sanguine pencils are like pastel pencils but are oil-based - this means that they don't smudge as easily as an ordinary pastel pencil. The white pencil used for highlights is a normal pastel pencil.  In addition there is a brown pastel pencil , a charcoal pencil and a graphite 2B pencil (perfect for doing an initial sketch as its so easy to erase mistakes).  A putty eraser is include and also 4 square block chalk crayons - like Conté crayons, which are useful for large areas like backgrounds. Also, a 6B Graphite stick.

The only thing you need in addition to this is a couple of blending stumps (made of rolled paper and available cheaply on ebay).

Anyway, here are some drawings I've done with trois crayons.  These are all drawn from sktchy photographs.

I've really enjoyed doing these and I'd like to develop the technique further so I can do more detail in the drawings and get a more artistically refined result.

Thérese of Lisieux

I love the Normandy region of France and have been there many times.  I live near the ferry port of Newhaven and ships from there take us straight across the English Channel to the Normandy port of Dieppe.  From there it is only a short drive to some very beautiful parts of Normandy, not least the lovely Calvados country with its apple orchards and farm-based Calvados distilleries where the farmers let you sample their apple brandy.

The ancient town of Lisieux is interesting and contains a huge church - the Basilica dedicated to the Catholic saint of Thérese of Lisieux.  While I am not a Catholic, I have to say, there is something quite special about the story of Thérese and I can see why she inspires to much devotion, particularly among Normandy residents who now have their very own saint.  When you go to the Basilica and descend to the crypt you are confroned with a beautiful chapel dedicated to St Thérese, rich with colour and decoration.

Anyway, hear is a painting I did yesterday of Thérese's childhood home in Alençon (also in Normandy).

The house is open to the public and the website says (English translation), 

 . . .the family home of Saints Martin Spouse, also birthplace of St. Therese, opens its doors to get closer to them and find the authenticity of the time they lived. The visit accompanied by the house introduces the life of the Martin family - Saints Louis and Zélie, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and his sisters - to Alençon, thanks to five spaces: the reception hall with the historic gallery, the exhibition of personal objects, the auditorium, the house and the chapel. A film from the family correspondences presents the life of the family in Alençon, the only city where she lived in full, from 1871 to 1877.  

The staging allows to recreate the atmosphere and atmosphere of the family life of the Martin, and the youth of the little Saint. The chapel with its sculptures and frescoes evokes Saint Therese and opens on the conjugal chamber of Saints Martin Spouse, also birthplace of Saint Therese and place of the death of Saint Zélie. 

Whatever you think of this sort of thing, this is a fascinating place and very picturesque.  Well worth a visit to either Lisieux or Alencon.  

NewYear 2019

Its good to put Christmas behind and to think ahead to the New Year.  I began 2019 with two paintings of buildings – the Pilot Inn at Eastbourne and the Quaker Meeting House at Bridport.  For both these images I used Google Streetview as the source for reference photographs and as I did this I realised that I could do a street scene of virtually anywhere in the world thanks for Streetview.  For someone who’s travel options are rather limited due to disability in the family this is a great option.

Anyway, here is the Pilot Inn – always a nice pub to call in on and located just a few minutes from the cliff tops and the sea.

I have been involved with Quakers for many years now and although I have had a long break from actually attending a meeting, I have been to my local Quaker Meeting a couple of times in the last few weeks.   Quakers have been meeting together since the 17th century, when George Fox, their founder toured the country gaining converts.  It has changed greatly since his day and is now part of the established religious scene in Britain – although a very small part with most meetings being fewer than 20 members.

Here is the Quaker Meeting House in Bridport, Dorset.

Quaker Meeting Houses are usually quite ancient buildings and painting the Bridport one has made me think that perhaps I’ll do a few more.

Christmas 2018

Another year has flown by and I am pleased to see that I have continued to paint and sketch throughout the year.  Painting small pictures and sketches with no pressure to produce "finished" works ready for framing, is a very enjoyable pastime.  I am always planning my next sketch and whenever I go out I am on the lookout for new views or buildings.

Here are three recent painting, the first is Combrit in Brittany.

I enjoyed painting this little Cotswold shop - I've done it before but this one is very different to my first attempt.

Finally this wonderful doorway is at the Parish Church in Kilpeck, Hertfordshire.

More Moleskine watercolour sketchbook work

It is unusual for this time of year in England to get such a prolonged patch of dry sunny weather.  Its been a delight to keep going out with my sketching equipment and to spend an hour or so sitting outside drawing the lovely views around East Sussex.

Here is St Mary's church at a tiny village called Tarring Neville, nestled into a fold in the South Downs (a range of hills on the South Coast of England)

And then another one painted on a gap in the hills overlooking the sea at Birling Gap

I painted this first one on the cliff-tops at Eastbourne, our nearest large town.  At first I find myself a little embarrassed to be sketching alone perched on a my tripod seat but within no time at all I am so absorbed by the drawing that I don't notice anyone passing by.

Finally, here's one from the church at Bishopstone village, about a couple of miles from home.

Pen and ink

Its been fun revisiting memories of France and it wonderful architecture.  The chateau at Amboise is second to none, aided perhaps with its prominent position above the majestic River Loire.  I really enjoyed drawing it and remembering a lovely afternoon with Margaret, wandering around the streets of this ancient town.

A couple of days later I decided to give a similar treatment to the castle at Chinon, a few miles up the Loire, which also enjoys a commanding position above the river.  This time I added some watercolour - not sure it was a good thing, but there it is.

That year we were staying in a pretty village called Montrichard which was also full of beautiful perspectives with a small castle of its own.

I probably overdid the hatching marks on this one but its too late to do anything about it now.  Lesson learned for the future!