Shell, Leaf & Pitcher Study - Graphite on Stonehenge Work in Progress

Pencil Drawing on Stonehenge Paper in Progress

I decided to start a separate blog to document my fine art training that I have been working on. I just realized that from my commissions blog which I have not updated sinc February that it looks like I have been up to a whole lot of nothing.

Not true! I have been studying the classical method of drawing and painting which takes much more time but I think the results are so worth it.

The drawing I am currently working on still needs a fair bit more work but it is getting there. The darks seem to take a lot more time to build up on this paper and using harder pencils. I intend to do an oil painting of the drawing once it is completed. Normally I do a very rough sketch or a mock up in photoshop prior to starting a painting. I decided this time around I really wanted to work out as many issues as possible before I even get to the canvas. I may also do a monochromatic oil study and then a full color poster study (that is my goal) prior to starting the final painting.

The more I learn I find the less I know and it seems that the artists that I admire the most have a firm process of creating thumbnail, sketches, poster studies and then the final painting even though they have finished their official training years ago. In hindsight, it seems a little arrogant on my part to think that I could produce something even close to the calibre that I am shooting for without all the prior effort. Yup, the more I learn the more I realize how little I know!

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Tracey Costescu Fine Art

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