Pushing Colored Pencil
- Kaaren Poole
- 13 minutes ago
- 2 min read
I’m always amazed at the intensity of color many colored pencil artists achieve. I’ve never been able to do that, and I’m not sure why. A challenge! So for this piece, I decided I’d take colored pencil as far as I could. This is the result. Not very intense, despite my best efforts.
And it wouldn’t even look this intense if I hadn’t used some pen at the very end (Sakura micron pen .01 in sepia).
I think some colored pencil artists use a burnisher. I’ve tried that a few times without much success. I also used rubbing alcohol to try to dissolve the colored pencil so it would sink into the little pits of texture in the paper, but I don’t remember how that worked out.
I checked the internet for more ideas and found the suggestion of using odorless mineral spirits. It also recommended a paper with tooth. I’ve been using Strathmore mixed media paper, but discovered that Strathmore also produces a paper for colored pencil. I’ll have to try both those things.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying working with colored pencil. Paint is more satisfying, but messier and requires more work setting up my work space. I’m so-o-o lazy sometimes.
Here’s a closer look at the chipmunks. This version would probably make a nice card.
Anyway, these chipmunks and wildflowers took a long time (probably longer than painting would have), and working on the piece was frustrating from time to time. And, since this is a transparent medium, once you get a color down that it turns out you don’t like, such as those bright blue-green leaves on the right, there’s not that much you can do about it—at least as far as I know. Adding more color over it makes it darker, but not necessarily closer to the color you want. Maybe I chose the wrong color to put over this bright blue-green. If I’d used a Burnt Sienna I may have been more successful at dulling it. Well, at least it’s cheerful!
On the plus side, I really liked the way the color layered. In other words, it was fairly easy to get a nice wide range of color, which makes the piece more interesting.
The bottom line is that I’ll keep working in colored pencil from time to time. I'll try a different kind of paper and maybe a solvent and see what happens. I must have hundreds of colored pencils. It’s a shame not to use them!
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