Five Different Media

While a lot of my daily work is digital drawing these days, there are other media and disciplines besides pixels and oil paint that occupy part of my time. Over the past couple of years I've worked with graphite, ink, gouache, casein, pastel, and watercolor as well as with my main materials. You could say that working in such a variety of mediums can dilute the effect of practice, but I think using different methods and mediums enhances the work.

Over the past few days I've gone back and reviewed works done using five different media over the past few months. For me it's useful to review and reassess work after letting it "rest" for a while.

"The West Bank," watercolor/ink, 5x9

Working outdoors this past summer gave me opportunities to make a number of watercolors, many in sketchbooks I keep in my car. This particular watercolor and ink is actually a view of the bank of Druid Hill Creek opposite my studio. This was done a few weeks ago, before very many leaves had begun to change. The textures and colors of the three trees in the painting contrasted against the backdrop of the forest floor. This work is 5x9 in one of my watercolor sketchbooks.

"Rojo," ink, 6x8

During the month long Inktober event I managed quite a few pen and ink drawings. This was the final drawing of October, a study of a truly mean-looking rooster, done from a combination of memory, references, and imagination. He was based in part on memories of my grandfather's old white rooster whose angry red comb and wattles petrified me as a five year-old. Worse, the old rascal knew I was afraid of him and would chase me from one end of the chicken yard to the other every time we met. This particular drawing was done with both brush and pen using a water soluble black ink. 

"Flintlock," graphite, 6x8

One late October afternoon in the studio I happened on a photo of a rifle from the early days of the continent, a flintlock made in the 18th century. As sometimes happens, I grabbed the first piece of paper that was handy and sketched the old weapon with a #2 pencil that was lying about. Although this particular sketch is rough and unfinished, it represents the kind of mental notes that graphite images provide sometimes.

"Mini," digital

In contrast, earlier in the month (as one of my daily digitalia) I made a fairly detailed and finished drawing of a Mini," one of those popular and fuel-saving small cars that have appeared over the last decade. This was done digitally using a Wacom tablet and Sketchbook. The image reference was a promotional photo found online.

"Chinese Pavilion," oil on panel,12x16

During last summer I began working outdoors a lot more, after buying a new plein air setup (an Open Box M). One of my first excursions was to a local park along the east bank of the Des Moines River. It is an Asian garden, with a Chinese pavilion that is approached past a guardian lion. The pavilion has the typical roof line and colors. I spent two hours sketching the park and pavilion in oil, trying out the new easel, then returned for another couple of hours the following day at the same time and with approximately the same weather and lighting conditions. This preliminary sketch is likely to provide material for a more complete and larger studio work this winter.

Taking time once in a while to leaf through old sketchbooks and shuffle old panels and canvases is good practice, seems to me. A review lets you see where you've been artistically while also providing opportunities for new inspirations or reiterations and improvements in old statements. For me, using multiple mediums is a way to work with each in ways that provides good practice and chances for wider explorations.