Refracted light

Introduction set of Inktense Pencils

I decided to do my "sunlight" prompt in the new Inktense pencils, I received for Christmas. They go on like a pencil, but when water is applied, turn into permanent ink. I was really excited to use them for the first time and made completing the prompt, very enjoyable.

I demonstrated the preliminary sketch yesterday. The next stage was to set down the inktense pencils, to give the illusion of refracted light, as the sunlight shone behind.

First colour application

The pencils go on smoothly, but give no real indication of what the final colour will look like...for once you add the water, it changes the application entirely.

First water application

The colours blend together really well - a little too well. It coloured some of the white pageI left for highlights, but I will remember to give more space next time. Unlike watercolour pencils, the inktense pencils, don't need a lot of water to carry the colour and there is quite a lot of pigment in a light application.

I only had 10 inktense pencils, so was limited in the colours I could use. I think they were enough to convey the application of sunlight however. But I wasn't quite finished yet. I felt like it still needed one more swirl, to harmonise the colour sequence better.

One more yellow swirl, towards the bottom  

~ click to enlarge ~

The story behind this bust is, we are all vessels of light and every day the sun rises, we reflect a little of that in our being. She is almost luminescent, changing the light as it touches her.

We need the sunlight as much as any flower or blade of grass to live.

Sunshine!

Something exciting has started. It's a weekly prompt hosted by Linda at The Daily Art Tattler. It's where artists can come together and share their ideas, around one simple subject matter. This time, the prompt is sunshine! I asked my husband for a prompt and he decided that sunshine may be a place to start.

For more details, visit Linda's post on how the weekly prompt works - for this round. Final pictures need to be submitted by the 31st of December. It's meant to be a fun exercise, simply creating and enjoying the exchange between other participants.

I started my idea in a sketch first, and have chosen the medium, which will be revealed at a later time...

Click to enlarge

I thought about the prompt "sunshine" for a while, tossing between light and shadows - possibly even byproducts of sunshine, like eggs and sunflowers. In the end however, settled on something completely different on a whim.

Did you ever have something you would doodle a lot, while killing time in high school? I started out with swirls on paper, but they soon evolved into heads with hair that swirled. I don't know why, they just did. Maybe the confusion of adolescence had something to do with it?

So this is very much a tip of my hat in that direction, and we'll have to see where the sunshine takes us!