I started this experiment after seeing one of my favourite artists (Allen Williams) explaining the way he uses graphite powder on a clayboard. I was too curious to try it, so I didn't have enough patience to order a clayboard and wait for it to come, so I gessoed a piece of paper and started playing with the graphite powder (mixed with water). Here is the result of this first step:
The next step was to let it dry and then get rid of the excess graphite powder. This is not easy on gesso, because it is more porous than the surface I saw in Allen's video. So I got to the next step, wiping the drawing with a soft cloth. Then the fun part began: finding and inventing shapes in the patterns made by the graphite.
It's quite a messy technique and I had to wash my hands several times :)
But I enjoyed a lot working on it.
The result was shiny and grey, the details could only be seen from a certain angle, but the fixative enhanced the contrasts in the image and I am pretty happy with the final image.
The drawing is 19x27cm, signed on the back (because I forgot to sign it before applying the fixative :))
Now I have another one in progress, on gessoed board. I hope to find the time to write about it when it's done.
That's all for today :) Take care and be creative!
Hugs,
Alina
Wow, I am so intrigued by this process! Kind of reminds me of the old Greek ladies that would read coffee cups - the designs left from the coffee sediment would create a design that told a story of the one that drank from the cup. But this graphite technique takes it to a new level of allowing the observer to write the ending.
I want to try this! Looking forward to your next project post.
Really beautiful, @alina.iftime
Oh, indeed, in my country (Romania) there were a lot of old ladies who did that! I even knew the meaning of a few symbols myself when I was a kid (I think a cat somewhere in the handle area was a bad sign... or was it good?) :) I had totally forgotten about this, those patterns look indeed so similar! If you want to know more about the technique, look up Allen Williams Studio on Youtube.
I didn't realize that this was a common practice in Romania, too. :) I always got the impression (as a child) that it was a secret type of practice because anytime I asked about it, I was shewed away (not old enough) so I didn't learn the symbols but I thought it was fascinating and wanted to know more about it. I wonder if it is still being practiced or a dying art. I'm curious now.
I did look up Allen Williams' work - he is an amazing artist - content is a little too disturbing to me though ;) But I can certainly respect his skill.
The old women I used to know who practiced this sort of things died a while ago. They could also read in the palm of your hand, in cards, even in beans, and knew some secret "incantations" and practices, for example to make you feel better when you were sick :) I am sure there are some people who still practice this things, but now it's more a business to take money from gullible people.
About Allan, I look less at content and more at technique. There are few of his works whose contents resonate with me, but every one of them seems almost perfect to me. I learned a lot looking at his works and his videos.
It's interesting that generation - the superstitions, too! Very serious offense to step over someone or to have a framed picture break.
That is so interesting about this other practices. Beans! Makes you wonder where all this came from - it's origins and why this was widespread across that generation.
I definitely find Allan's work and technique extraordinary.
I'm definitely going to try the wet graphite as soon as I can - that is very exciting to me. I love working with graphite.
Thank you for sharing so much and I enjoyed reminiscing about old ladies and their coffee cups :)
It was a pleasure for me too. Now you just gave me a new idea, I might want to experiment with my used coffee grounds on a piece of paper :)
Hey, that would be so cool! You could maybe even use masking fluid initially to create some symbols ;) Make it into a historical post as well. I love it!
Dark, mysterious, surrealistic, and beautiful, these combination is my favourite. Very nice art, detailed and deftly executed.
-upvoted-
Thank you very much!
Such an interesting technique! The face on the right I find especially intriguing, and I kept looking at the original piece to see if I could see how you ended up with that! So cool! Thanks for sharing ;)
Thank you! I am pretty crazy about putting faces in my drawings, so I put it there even if I didn't have any hint in the original image :)
@alina.iftime, that's awesome! It really was effective in this one too :)
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Thanks!
This is similar to the way I work. Also, use erasers to work back into light. Clayboard is good of course, but a gessoed panel will do as well. Try charcoal next - it is not shiny like graphite, and the darks are much darker. Tip about charcoal: the powder does not work as well, it comes off too easy. A soft broad charcoal stick works good to just lay down some dark areas, then spray water and work it with your fingers. Another tip: use surgical gloves.
This is one of the pieces I uploaded: https://steemit.com/artzone/@thermoplastic/untitled-charcoal-1
For the signature: you can always add over top of fixative, then spray it again.
Great tips, thank you very much! I do have some charcoal sticks waiting to be put to work, so this might be my next experiment. I love your drawing, some parts of it look like those images of microscopic creatures seen through the electron microscope. The dark shapes in the low right corner are my favourite part of it. I can't wait to try it!
This work is increadible; reminds me of my darkest dreams.
This is so beautiful, @alina.iftime ! Strange and beautiful and incredibly lovely~ I love all the textures and the shapes ... such a dreamy landscape with dreaming creatures * ___ * .... aaahhh
The step by step is also super wonderful, and I love how it came out <3
A gorgeous post <3
(PS. it is also so nice to see you post again <3 you post so rare ; __ ;) (please post more) (i always love your stuff <3)
Thank you very much! I will try to post more often, I just need to find time for everything. <3
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