Plein Air….Hands and Tools

Just like any other trade or skill….even artists use tools to help them perform their task. 
I used this compass to help me make even wedges for for the above color grid watercolor.



And the tools I used here were gray & black watercolor, a ruler and a black micron pen.



I bought these three hands a few years ago at Hobby Lobby and painted them white for my Gallery Wall.  I was looking for something to watercolor each day when I was participating in the July World Watercolor Month daily challenge.  So I picked these quirky hands.




When I was stuck on what to draw in the July daily challenge, I drew some of my Art Supplies…because who doesn’t love art supplies?  And I especially like drawings of art supplies!



And to close here is another oldie…. a collegiate swimmers hand.  She was a team-mate of my daughter’s…a very good backstroker.  This was how her hands entered the water…….So Graceful!

Ring Bling

Ring Bling…I’d love to have all this bling on my hands as long as it doesn’t catch, snag or bug me…..so the easier thing to do, is just draw some.



Just drew the contour of my hand, and proceeded to color it in.  No photo reference, but when I was stumped I just held out my hand.



Another hand with cool nails.



All those different colored pencils were used.  The green ones help to neutralize the skin tones.  Watercolor for the rings and markers for the nail art.



Just a fun little sketch.

Manicure….3

This angle really intensifies the largeness of the sketch.  Kinda funky!



Put down about 85% of the color build for the skin tone.



Then I had to make a decision!  Had a bunch of ideas….I debated between:

• Silver metallic polish
• Pink series of color (where the pinky is the lightest pink then the following nails are just a bit darker with the thumb being the darkest).  
• Doodles, Designs, flowers, or various colors on a single nail

Since I really wanted to try some “nail art”, the Patriotic nails won.



I liked doing the navy nail, because I was able to show reflection more. The flag nails are harder to show the shininess. 



This is the picture I need to study.  The colors in the inspiration picture are very dull, flat and monochromatic.  I need to step away from the sketching then come back  only in a visual way, I’m hoping I can “spot” where to shadow or highlight next.

Manicure….1

Keeping with my theme of drawing body parts, it was time for a more intense look at the hand.



What drew me to this picture was the nail-art.  What fun!  I don’t think I’ll sketch what’s in the inspiration picture.  I may try to do something a little more colorful.  Since my own manicures get so abused, and I’ve always wanted to do some of my own nail-art, this is the next best thing.  Haha!



Another big piece…..22 x 15 inches.  The same size as Blonde Beauty…but half the size as Hand Jeans.



I’m going to need to build up the colors in the fingers more.  Can’t really copy the “colors” of the picture, but need to use the pencils in a way to imply the correct shapes.  It’s really….. all about shape.

Over Here…three

Roughed in the hand.  My-oh-my there are lots of little itty bitty lines that go into those hands! 



Shaded more around the legs, arms and suit.  Outlined the emblem and added what lines I could see to the hand.  More tweaking needs to be done.  At least it’s taking shape now and that’s what I like.

You have permission….

Yes…..You have permission to use stencils! Really! They get your mind off of your lines, and on to what exactly you want to express on the paper. Did you know that many professional fields use stencils? Drafters, Architects, Landscapers, Interior Decorators, and Graphic Designers. Graphic Designers use a digital stencil or stamp called Brushes. If you’ve ever loaded “brushes” into your photo editing program then you know what I’m talking about. Digital brushes can do so much more than the simple manual ones pictured above. They’re pretty cool and versatile.

Today’s post is in response to a comment from LuLu from an earlier post. She was so cute when she said,

“And thank you, thank you for giving us permission to use stencils - I have a whole stash of stencils that I rarely used - but now I will dust them off and use them more!”

Personally, I don’t think my “art” has suffered because I use stencils. I have found that my line drawing, my pencil grip have gotten better since I’ve taken to using stencils. It’s given me more confidence in drawing a straight line or a circle. The subtle or minor touches to a drawing have been enhanced because I’m actually spending time with my tools (pens, pencils, markers) now. I’m getting that practice in….who cares if I’m tracing over a stencil line? I’m not that proud... Well, maybe a little.

Picture of hand from wikipedia.

NOTE: Since I tend to get my tarsals, metatarsals, carpals and phalanges mixed up, this picture just may help me remember them.

Did you know that the human hand has 27 bones? I found that out only because I really wanted to know how many muscles are in the human hand. I could not find this answer on-line. Anywhere! The articles I came across were all about the “muscle groups” of the hand. There was a lot of talk about the thenar, hypothenar, dorsal, volar and lumbrical muscles. Please……I just want a number, not an education. Was I going to be tested? Ugh! So, please if anyone knows the answer….. post, post, post. I really do want to know! Maybe there will be a prize????

My point is, that with all these muscles and bones, we really need to get our dexterity up to task. I think drawing, with or with out stencils helps with this. We don’t use our hands like we used to. Heck, with all the computer time I put in, my long hand has gotten super sloppy. Which means my ability to make my hand perform certain lines, marks and scrolls has suffered as well.

This flower power doodle is in HONOR of stencils! Go, get out your stencils, your markers, your paper. Use those phalanges and have fun! It’s okay!! Really, it is!