Lanyon Quoit, Penwith, Cornwall, charcoal and coloured pencil. Vivien Blackburn


I decided to work further on the charcoal sketch of Lanyon Quoit with coloured pencils - the mix of coloured pencil over charcoal is a recent discovery and I really like it for moody images.


The green is a little more moorland coloured and the reds glow a little more - it was hard to get a photo with the colour balance right. The clouds aren't quite that dark and the grass is a bit darker. There is a haze of purple about the clouds


Below is the original sketch.





better? worse? what do you think?

Comments

Rose Welty said…
Vivien, I really like this sketch...it's stunning. As you say, it's moody. I also really like that the color is just here and there in accents, it isn't overbearing.

Beautiful.
8:07 pm
Sherrie York said…
You know me... I like B&W.. but the color version is really QUITE moody and stormy... color gives this one real OOMPH. The danger would be going too far... but you kept the energy of the original marks. Well done!
10:19 pm
harry bell said…
Not better or worse. Different. I like it nore because I wanted the original to be darker (but that's just me) and now it is. The colours suit the subject anyway.
10:33 pm
vivien said…
thank you both :>)

It's only a light glaze of colour so the original marks show through clearly - the actual sketch is better than the photo. subtler and moodier
10:34 pm
adebanji said…
Everything about the sketch and the original has a strong drive to it! Great! It is so great to see you didn't loose the spirit of the sketch when working on the coloured one.
1:43 am
Anonymous said…
I think this works really well - I can feel the dark and the coldness of the stone.
2:32 am
Sarah said…
yes I like the colour too...you have caught the mood of the place exactly
7:12 am
vivien said…
Adebanji, Cath, Andy and Sarah - thanks for the responses :>)

your comments have really cheered my day :>)
10:41 am
Lindsay said…
Using the colored pencils really makes this doorway more mysterious. Lovely choice of colors.
12:24 pm
Yellow said…
You've really got it here. I love it.
3:30 pm
vivien said…
thanks Lindsay and Stephanie :>)
6:05 pm
vivien said…
thanks Lindsay and Stephanie :>)
6:05 pm
pete said…
the sky is a bit oppressive in the coloured version. Could you make copies of your first sketch and experiment several ways?

I like coloured pencils and grey mixed together.
6:15 pm
annie said…
I love both and agree with everyone, Vivien: the original lines are still there,the lights hitting the stones in different places; and the colors match the sense of its past-- mysterious, and rich in memories. I wish I could see that moody sky in the original, too.
annie
7:48 pm
vivien said…
thanks Annie

Pete it's less oppressive IRL - it was terribly hard to persuade the balance to work correctly :>(

I expect I'll experiment some more - I want to do a bigger version 24 or 30 inch at least.
8:02 pm
vivien said…
thanks Annie

Pete it's less oppressive IRL - it was terribly hard to persuade the balance to work correctly :>(

I expect I'll experiment some more - I want to do a bigger version 24 or 30 inch at least.
8:02 pm
pete said…
IRL = in real life? I googled the phrase and got indie car racing :)

The black and white appeals to me so much for probably not-artistic reasons: it feels like a fantasy place - 1/2 rock, 1/2 mushrooms! I'd want to add pixies ...
8:27 pm
vivien said…
pixies??????????? shock horror!!!
9:29 am
caseytoussaint said…
I really really love the colored version - it's so full of atmosphere.
12:52 pm
vivien said…
Tbanks Casey :>)
6:08 pm
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