Two New Drawings

#21, egg tempera and graphite on hand toned paper, 15 x 15 in.

It should have been four new drawings....

Each time I set up my table to tone paper for these Islamic design-based drawings, I tear down four pieces of paper; it's easier to work on a few at a time, always four different colors, as long as I've prepared the size for the color toning. Then I add the circles that are the basis for the painted designs. On one of the sheets of paper, I drew the wrong size rectangle, so I re-toned the paper; then while I was working, I somehow managed to splash color on part of the background and was unable to remove it. That is what happens when I don't pay attention. The second failure came from working with paint that was too opaque for the background's transparency; another instance of not focusing intently on the work I'm doing. But I'm happy with these two pieces. 

#21, detail

In all these drawings, the variations in surface quality are interesting to me. With #21, I wanted to emphasize the contrast of opaque and transparent paint by having a very glossy finish on the red shapes, so I painted a thin layer of the egg white medium, glair, onto them.

#22, egg tempera and graphite on hand toned paper, 15 x 15 in.

These attenuated shapes are somewhat strange to me, therefore intriguing. They seem to float above their ground or be embedded within it. 

#22, detail

The shadow of black lines around the forms add some volume to them. The change of surface appearance from painted and background colors are not as apparent in the photo as on the drawing itself; it is subtle, but there.

I have an odd rule for myself with these works: that I do them in groups of four, so perhaps with my next session of drawing, I'll do six in order to catch up.