Today the seascape starts to come alive with energy as this Thursdays drawing takes a new turn – the power of Mother Nature takes over.
Grand Slam, #5 a charcoal/graphite drawing (9×12) is quickly coming together. By adding the large splash from a crashing wave the seas energy pushes back the tree line and brings us to ground level – the act of placing us at the feet of the turbulent water. Here is what was worked on today:
- Background trees were smudged slightly, so they wouldn’t be uniform and shows evidence of stiff sea breezes
- Rocks in areas being hit with water were darkened
- The remaining frisket was removed and the splash was formed. This was done with a lot of give and take using a touch of charcoal, mostly graphite and a kneaded eraser. Layers were added, then removed by the eraser – this process continued until gentle variations of values within the splash could be recognized.
One more week of refining and I think this drawing will be completed. Thanks for checking in – click onto the image for a larger view.
Grand Slam, #5
DON’T TAKE MY IMAGES!! MY ART IS COPYRIGHTED.
PLEASE DON’T COPY OR USE MY IMAGE WITHOUT RECEIVING MY PERMISSION FIRST – SEE DISCLOSURE ON THE RIGHT PANEL.
Oil Pastels by Mary 
You keep knocking them out of the ballpark. You should have enough images for a huge show!
Ha! Thank you Z and hopefully I’ll be closing this one down in tomorrow – stay tuned!
This is an interesting project – I look forward to seeing what you’ve come up with each week 🙂
Thanks Mark!!
It’s looking fantastic! From week to week, I can’t help avidly admiring the rocks.
Thanks Elana – I’m hoping that this week brings the appropriate amount of drama and a certain elegance to a powerful scene. We’ll see – have a wonderful week ahead! Love your self-portraits, the experiments are awesome to see.
The technical details of your creative process go over my head Mary, but I can already feel the power of those crashing waves! Can’t wait to see it finished.
Thank you so much Madhu. It’s such a compliment when someone can feel one of my pieces, that’s a very big deal for me. Thanks very much – hope you have a lovely week ahead!
A kneaded eraser ??? – how long does it have to prove for ?
;D
Ha, so funny – great quip, now that you bake your own bread! A kneaded eraser is almost like putty and very flexible so that you and shape and mold it anyway you need for what you are erasing or designing into a scene (like thin lines). Odd, but awesome tool for the drawing with charcoal or graphite.
In truth, now that I think about it, it would be a wonderful tool for all manner of tricky things !
🙂
Beautiful! You captured the waves crashing on the rocks 🙂
Thank you Patrick, one more week of touch-ups and then hopefully I can call it a day on Grand Slam! Thanks again ~ have a great week ahead.
This is an amazing piece of artwork, Mary! I love the naturalness of the water splash! Your work is fascinating!
Thank you so much Johannis for your generous comment. It’s a scene that I never tire of drawing. Appreciate your kind feedback, thanks and have a wonderful weekend.
Ah! Now I see it! Fantastic Mary. The wave is so full of dynamic force and the rocks are wonderfully executed! I can see how the title fits so well. It’s amazing the work you do with graphite and charcoal. Your patience is portrayed in this exciting piece. I feel as if I’m sitting on a rock listening to the crash of the waves upon the rocks. Well done my friend! Have s wonderful weekend! xoxo
Very cool Rhonda – so glad that now the force of the water is making the scene come alive. That’s a great compliment and thank you, really appreciate your support and encouragement. Siting by and watching a scene like this would be awe-inspiring – between the breeze and noise what a way to clear our thoughts. I’m so glad you enjoyed this drawing. Almost done – have a wonderful weekend too! Thanks Rhonda!
Mary, Wow! Very dramatic, really love this!
Thank you Geralyn – glad you enjoy this drawing. One more week and the book closes on this one. Thanks again!
Yes ! I feel the energy wapping straight onto those rocks Mary 🙂
Lovely .
Awesome Poppy – now that is cool. You know it’s a real compliment for me when you can feel my work, a very big thank you! Great description of the power of the energy! Have a wonderful weekend.
I like this very much Mary. Loose and yet precise at the same time.
Thanks Anna! Love your assessment ~
It’s really looking good Mary.
Thanks so much Don for your kind feedback, glad you enjoyed this drawing. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
The splash is really looking dramatic now.
Thanks Gallivanta – it’s to a point that I can see the end and am evaluating from a whole different perspective. Appreciate your thoughts – thanks so much!
This is really good, Mary. You must be excited that it’s almost completed. 🙂
So cool Sylvia – when I get to this point, I’m nervous and excited. Nervous that I’ll totally miss a final aspect to work on (cause I use a fixative and that’s it then for the lights) and excited because I want to see the finished piece. Drawing is an awesome exercise that relaxes me. Thanks so much – have a great weekend.
Oh this is really exiting, the force is alive in this one! The rocks are amazing, wonderful execution. Love how the wave is pushing across the entire scene almost then gets to crush and give birth to that huge splash which returns back where it came from, great dynamics just there! I can feel the force and the heavy flow of the water mass, just fabulous. Love when your draw water, you’re a master on executing the medium perfectly.
Hi Eva, thanks so much – finally we can start to feel the force within this drawing. I’m with you and when it’s was being drawn out, finally I could feel the water and big splash. Yes, the force, no kidding – so now I see that the body of water incoming needs to be workup a bit to match the intensity of the splash. This is fun. Seriously love your description it’s awesome and when you know water, you can feel the presence – you know your water! Thank you, appreciate your compliment and support. Very hard to walk away from drawing water – there is always something very dynamic to capture!
Beautifully done…I am in awe of your talent
Xx Paris 💋
What a beautiful thing to say Paris! Thank you for your comment and compliment, it means a lot. Have a lovely weekend.
You’re doing magic to it!
Thank you Maniparna!!
Excellent, Mary! It looks like a photograph. You’ve been busy. 🙂
Hi Jill, thanks very much, really appreciate your feedback. My goal is to draw every Thursday so usually I do a subject that turns into a project that takes several weeks to complete. It’s a very relaxing process for me. Thanks again and hope you have a great weekend.
I really like this:)
Thank you Janet – it’s coming together. Next week I’ll spend a few hours making some final touches. I love drawing – very relaxing for me. Have a lovely weekend.