Recently I completed the two portraits shown here using colored pencil on a smooth sanded paper designed for pastels. I hadn’t spent a lot of time working with sanded paper before, but these two portraits have convinced me that there are some definite benefits to working on this surface.
I find it very easy to work quickly, and the color goes on smoothly and can be smudged like pastels. This can be very desirable for achieving smooth skin textures; very appropriate for women and children. Also, I also find that this surface is very conducive to achieving realism, and I find that I tend to use fewer layers of color than when working on paper or Pastelbord. Though many layers aren’t necessary on this surface, I sometimes like the effect of layering color to create complex colors and textures, so I will continue to also use Pastelbord and paper when deemed appropriate for the subject.
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4 comments:
They're both very beautiful Holly!
I love the light. :)
Thank you, Kasie. I should have also mentioned that I used Faber-Castell Polychromos rather than Prismacolors, which I usually use, because I find that they blend more easily on this paper.
Beautiful. I've never worked on sanded paper. It just seems like it would be so difficult.
Thank you, Perpectual Chocoholic (that could be my blogger name too, by the way). Actually, I find working on sanded surfaces to be easier in some ways - you can work much more quickly, and I think this allows for more instinctive work. Working on smooth paper or bristol board takes a lot of patience and layering, and I sometimes find myself getting caught up in the details and forgetting about the work as a whole. It's a personal choice though, and I still like to use both surfaces depending on the surface and mood I want to achieve.
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