Rebecca J. Stahr

What’s on the drawing board…

Rebecca J Stahr — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:33:33 +0000

This is Alex with Scotty. (The pony is Scotty just for the record.) I have put 6 hours into this drawing so far. I it might take me another 2-4 hours depending on how picky I get with the details of the bridle etc. It is done with graphite pencil on illustration board.

Graphite Powder Worn Shell Fragment Study

Rebecca J Stahr — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:53:17 +0000

Worn Shell Fragment
5″x5″ graphite powder on vellum finish bristol board
graphite applied to board with brush and denatured alcohol.

It’s Finished!! Sketchbook Project 2012 is ready to mail.

Rebecca J Stahr — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:56:01 +0000

I did it! The Sketchbook Project book is ready to go. Here are my final pages.

Sketchbook Project/EDM #16 Draw a favorite tool
I couldn’t live without my food processor. It’s old but a workhorse. I use it constantly.

Sketchbook Project/EDM #17 Draw a musical instrument
My piano that my husband gave me when we moved into our house 11 years ago.

Sketchbook Project/EDM #18 Draw a view from a window
The final page in my Sketchbook Project book. It is a view of the houses across the prairie out one of my side windows. I think I was in a little of a rush to finish this one and it’s very sketchy. Nevertheless it is the back page of the book so I am including it.

More Sketchbook Project Pages – EDM Challenges #13-15

Rebecca J Stahr — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:50:24 +0000

I’m working hard to meet the January 31st postmark deadline my Sketchbook Project sketchbook. Only a few more pages and it is off for it’s world tour…

Sketchbook Project/EDM #12 Draw what you ate for dinner

Rebecca J Stahr — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:52:51 +0000

It was a simple dinner. My eight year old son wanted to make us dinner because he is learning about the food pyramid in Cub Scouts. One of his achievements was to plan and cook a dinner. He was all excited to make us a salad. I had toast as well. Gluten free bread can be ummm….interesting to say the least. Millet bread, although pretty dense, when toasted isn’t too bad.

Working on finishing my Sketchbook Project 2012 sketches

Rebecca J Stahr — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:07:01 +0000

Now that it is January, I am staring at the empty remaining pages in my Sketchbook Project sketchbook and wondering where the heck the time went. I haven’t posted a few of the previous entries so I am posting them as well.

This entry unfortunately had to work around the fact that I had used marker in the previous entry. I guess hindsight would have been to paste in a page over it to have a clean surface. Oh well… I have decided to stick with ballpoint pen or pencil throughout the rest of the entries.

Gesture drawings of Alex and his cousins

Rebecca J Stahr — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:39:59 +0000

Ballpoint pen quick gesture drawings in Moleskine sketchbook.

Sketching at Pie High Pizza

Rebecca J Stahr — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:47:16 +0000

We stopped on our way home last Sunday in Fontana, WI at Pie High Pizza. I happened to see in an ad of theirs that they offer a gluten-free pizza crust. There aren’t many places I can eat up that way so I wanted to check this one out. I will be adding this to my list of go to places. I really wish more places would post whether they offer gluten-free menus. It was pure luck that I found this ad. If anyone has any suggestions for gluten/allergy friendly dining in the Lake Geneva, WI area…please post me a note. I will be a loyal customer!

While we were waiting, I pulled out the sketchbook. As you can see, I got another view of the top of my son’s head as he is entranced with the usual electronic device. I think he would die if he had to just sit there.

New entries into Sketchbook Project 2012/EDM Challenges

Rebecca J Stahr — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:26:03 +0000

After a slight break in my Sketchbook Project 2012 sketchbook, I am back at it. I think the reason I held off is because I was at a challenge that didn’t really speak to me. Draw your favorite well loved object was the next challenge and I really don’t have many objects that I would consider well loved. I try to hold loosely to items I own and instead value the memories associated with them. Therefore the best I could come up with is my wedding ring. I would be upset if something had happened to it so therefore that does fall into the category of well loved. It reminds me of getting married on the beach in Costa Rica. The watch on the opposite page was given to my last May by my husband for my 40th birthday.

I actually did drawing challenge number #7 to get over the hurdle of being at a standstill with the sketchbook. I love the graphic boldness of the Red Gold label so this was an easy choice. My pantry is always full of these cans. Much to my son’s chagrin, I seem to use them in just about everything.

The Graphite Powder Experiment Findings

Rebecca J Stahr — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:37:41 +0000

My experimentation with graphite powder had gotten off to slow start. My first attempt at it was on hot press illustration board. This is the board I normally use for my finished drawings and so I wanted to see how it would react and how I could incorporate it into my existing work style.

I had started by treating it a little like charcoal and toning my board. It did create a nice mid-tone that could be easily pulled out with a kneaded eraser but I was not able to get any of the rich darks that I have seen others achieve through using it dry with a brush. I then started to apply it wet with a blending stomp and denatured alcohol. It did give me the darks but it started to have a more painterly style to it when applied in that manner.

Graphite Powder on Hot Press Illustration Board using both Wet/Dry Technique:

My next attempt was to see how the graphite powder would react on a more textured surface. I started with the same technique of toning the paper first. This time I used a cold press watercolor paper. The graphite didn’t lift well using the kneaded eraser and I still couldn’t achieve the darks that I was hoping for.

Graphite Powder on Cold Press Watercolor Paper using a Dry Technique:

They say that the third time is the charm and this seemed to ring true here as well. I decided to try a light weight vellum bristol board. There seemed to be just enough surface/slickness ratio to give me what I was looking for. As you can see below, I was able to achieve a great variety of applications all with success.

Graphite Powder on Vellum Bristol Board using both a Wet/Dry Techniques:

The graphite powder with denatured alcohol created ink like washes that were somewhat permanent once applied. The eraser did not erase them well but they were able to be blended out with more alcohol.

The dry brush graphite powder layered nicely and when I used the blending stomp it created nice darks. The kneaded eraser pulled out highlights easily.

Lastly, I tried a technique that I found while doing a little research on the various techniques. I used the dry brush to apply the graphite and then between layers I sprayed workable fixative on the area. This created beautiful soft layers that I was able to create great darks with.

I will continue to play with this now that I think I have found my groove with it. It is a fun variation that feels a little like painting, drawing and charcoal all combined. I like the feel of it and how it sort of brings out a new creative approach to my drawing style.

Has anyone else had experience with graphite powder and found successful methods of application or papers? Please share with us all below!