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A painterly surface was built up in the image above by using oil painting techniques, which included blending into thick layers of colour, scraping back with a knife, blending and smudging with fingers and scratching in lines with a pointed paintbrush handle. The oil-paint shine that resulted can be seen in the surface reflection.
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| CONTÉ CRAYONS | These crayons were invented by the Frenchman Nicolas-Jacques Conté, who was also responsible for inventing the modern lead pencil in the eighteenth century Made from pigment and graphite bound together with gum and a little grease, conté crayons are similar to pastels in their consistency and appearance, but are slightly harder and oilier. They are available in pencil form, and in the original form of square-section sticks about 75mm (3in) long. |
Types and colours
Conté crayons are similar in effect to charcoal, but because they are harder they can be used for rendering fine lines as well as broad tonal areas. Although conté crayons are now available in a wide range of colours, many artists still favour the restrained harmony of the traditional combination of black, white, grey and earth colours – sepia, sanguine (terracotta red) and bistre (cool brown). These colours impart a unique warmth and softness to a drawing, and are particularly appropriate to portraits and nude figure studies. The traditional colours also lend to drawings an antique look, reminiscent of the chalk drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rubens or Claude.
Fine and broad strokes
Modern, pencil-form colours
As with pastels, the most practical method of using conté crayons is to snap off small pieces about 25mm (1in) long. This way, you can rapidly block in tonal areas with the side of the stick and use a sharp corner at the end for drawing expressive lines.
Blending conté
Snap off small pieces
Conté is soft enough to blend colours by rubbing them together with a finger, a soft rag or a paper stump. However, because they are less powdery than chalk and charcoal, conté colours can be mixed by laying one colour over another, so that the colours beneath show through.
Conté work
Blending by laying and rubbing colours
Like pastels, conté crayons are used to their best advantage on tinted paper with a textured surface, which brings out the distinctive qualities of the marks.
John Raynes
Portrait of a Girl Coloured and white conté crayon on tinted paper 51 × 34cm (20½ × 13½in)
John Raynes uses white conté skilfully to capture crisp highlights on his model’s white shirt.
Victor Ambrus
Dorothy’s Dog Lalla Black conté crayon, on paper 76 × 56.5cm (30 × 22¼in)
Victor Ambrus
Morag Coloured conté crayon on paper 56.5 × 76cm (22½ × 30in)
The two drawings by Victor Ambrus show the surprising range of textures that can be achieved by using only coloured or black crayons on a cream coloured paper.
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| PEN AND INK | Pen and ink is a delightful and flexible medium which has been popular with artists since Ancient Egyptian times. The medium is capable of an enormous range of techniques and effects, but the materials required are very simple. The choice available of drawing pens and nibs is large, but falls into two distinct categories: dip pens and reservoir pens. |
Dip pens
Reed, quill and metal pens (metal nibs set into holders) are all classified as dip pens, as they are loaded by being dip ped directly into the ink. The nib retains a small amount of ink, which is held in place by its own surface tension. Dip pens produce very expressive lines which swell and taper according to the amount of pressure applied to the pen.
Reservoir pens
Reservoir pens carry ink in a special holder or cartridge and need only to be refilled from time to time, but in general their nibs are less flexible than those of dip pens.
Nibs
The nib itself is known as the ‘pen’, and the main shaft is the ‘penholder’. A great variety of nib shapes and sizes is readily available. Each nib makes a different range of marks, and the more flexible the nib, the more varied the thickness of line it makes. Since they are so inexpensive, it is worth trying several before buying.
Metal pens
Dip pens with metal nibs have long been the traditional tool of pen-and-ink artists and illustrators. Inexpensive and versatile, these pens consist of a holder and an interchangeable steel nib.
Mapping pens
Mapping pens have a very fine, straight point for detailed drawings. Because the metal nibs are flexible, you can vary the thickness of line to a considerable degree.
Crow-quill pens
Crow-quill pens (a type of mapping pen) also have a delicate point for producing detailed work, but can be less flexible than mapping pens.
Bamboo
