Hello art friends,
As i was saying in other posts I am participating in challenges on other websites, two french speaking drawing sites. Their challenges do not have pictures as inspiration for drawing but themes. I find this more challenging than drawing from photo reference yet I use more my artistic imagination to put together subjects.
THis month challenge on the website Crayons de couleurs(Colored pencils) is transparency. Already a pair of eyeglasses and a bottle appeared as finished pieces and as this is supposed to be a drawing from real life I made my still life arragement with glass and lemon probably ready for a lemonade as summer is here.
Really not thinking of consequences I used cheap paper and cheap colored pencils and on top of everything I simply didn't know how to render the transparency of the glass.
The two objects were placed just "contre jour", that is facing the light, another challenge for me.
Anyway I was ready to throw this in the reject bin but before I wonder if anyone can tell me where is the problem and where are my mistakes or how can this be render more believable as a glass.Thank you.

First of all I love the texture of the back ground. I'm not sure if the glass is tinted but if it were clear then I think the bluish purple in the background should come through more. With clear glass or even tinted glass the background color will come through, except there will be a shiny high light on the side with the source light.

Bobby

also go with the contour of the glass, not straight up and down

I will add that the glass itself would reflect some of the colors around it . nice job

Thank you guys. I think it's a pattern. When I ruin a drawing it's ruined and nothing will help.I will try to add more purple but maybe with some good pencils this time. The background, Bobby has some crayon on top of the Cp but to no avail.Maybe I can do this again tomorow.
This is my glass but I have no orange only lemons.

Today I took a picture of my glass from a similar angle but with light coming from the left. What a difference!

Also added some more shading on my drawing.

much much better,

yes I agree you took the advice here and put it too work for you and this now looks rounded and reflective . I like the photo you took should use it for a challenge it has many challenges about it .

I agree, and I especially love the color combinations. Just wish I had time to draw it in CP. Maybe I will sneak it in my schedule.

Thanks, guys.In the French forum the problem they found with it was the ellipse of the glass.I told them it was a van gogh glass .
Bobby, feel free to post your glass here when finished. I count on you.

I got this cool pic from a Romanian friend and plan to do it next. Just to share with you the original photo.

this is amazing ..I love this photo ..so many challenges ..are these up for anyone to draw ? I would love to give this a try

KIm this photo was my choice; you can draw it, feel free to post it here. I will give it a go tonight.Really translates transparency into space and color.

transparency..reflection...rounded colorful .. its just a fun challenge all around . thank you I will work on mine this evening and tomorrow

These are the kind of pics I like to see in challenges .

that is a really clear and pretty pic elena, i think i may try it in wc..

Kay, I am glad it inspires you. But remember for the transparency you need very little color so the wash be transparent. For watercolor is really challenging but fun too.

Just because the object depicted is transparent, doesn't mean the paint has to be transparent.

For each area in the image, simply paint the colour you see.

here is my attempt, i had to really adjust the brightness, so much white paper and it was glaring on screen. ..but all in all an honest attempt


Click to view attachment

Elena can I try you cup of fish as well? I would love to do a colored pencil one, would take awhile but it is a cool picture.

Oh Kay that is really pretty! Nice...I like your fishes expressions, you make it look easy.

Kay I LOVE this ....you did a outstanding job . going to work on mine now .

dcorc you are so right ...just color it as you see it

thank you both very much, it was nice to do something 'fun'..lol

Kay, wonderful.I see you went for pale tones. As I was misunderstood I didn't say to invent delicate colors but to observe hues are very delicate in this one.At least this way I see them.Diaphanous especially the upper part of the water.
Here is mine.
Nancy you are welcome and anyone who feels inspired let's show off our work here. The subject is excellent. Kim is right, is very challenging.

that is gorgeous..

i do tend to favor softer colors, i think that is the mistakes we as beginners make with watercolors, is not putting them on dark enough, so that they dry very soft and faint.

Kay, I don't see a mistake in understanding what a medium is all about: water.That's the name watercolor. There are many watercolorists who simply paint with paints as if they were oils or acrylics. It's beautiful art too but this is not the purpose of watercolor to show pure paint but the transparency of layers.The tradition comes from China and is much more obvious in Oriental traditional watercolor and in European watercolor as well, especially past centuries.No matter how beautiful a vibrant painting can be, I admire in watercolor subtle tones and delicate spontaneous work which can display layers like wings of a butterfly.

Elena, Kay is right that is gorgeous. My favorite of your works!!

Thanks, Nancy. It really tested my patience and endurance in minute detail rendering.I will give it a try in watercolor also. But i doubt i can produce something of the same quality.

I will say as well ..my favs of your work Elena ..you mastered this !

here is my try ....I am low on colors because I just could not get it right .

Thanks, Kim.

Yours is very ,very good, Kim. The cup and pebbles and fish, well done. I especially like the rim of your cup.

excellent job kim! you guys have produced some lovely pics here..

for Nancy and Kim who think that the fish is my best work you probably want to know that I invested more skill and learned techniques in this one who is actually the best i did so far in CP.

that is so vibrant and lovely

yes it is ....i favor the subjects in the cup

As i was saying challenges on the French site are different.
There is the theme of the month challenge, no ref. picture and the common drawing challenge where some pictures are exhibited for voting the most popular. Then each participant draws it but approaching it freely, changing colors, elements, etc. All that is required is to be in colored pencils.

The picture of this challenge voted by most ppl. was this butterfly or your choice of buttrefly, any butterfly you find inspirational.
Here is the picture and my take using circulism that is a technique that captivated me entirely.
( In another post I will give you links to circulism CP art that i found fascinating.)

But let's see my work in progress and what do you think of it so far.

Elena, I thought I posted earlier, must not have hit the right button. I like this one as well. You can tell you took your time and didn't rush it, you captured a lot of detail and the colors are very pretty. I hope you have this one hanging in your kitchen, if not it would make a nice addition to it. I am like you I love the colored pencil, you can get a lot of detail but probably not as fast a medium as painting.

Thank you,Nancy.
Actually my gallery is in my studio everywhere desk, sofa, tables.The kitchen sees me very little.

Here are the links to Virginia Tupper.
and my favorite portrait in circulism technique.

Elena, I just meant that your picture of fruit with its rich colors would be ideal for a kitchen wall painted in a warm color. Especially if you are not the one doing the cooking, let others enjoy your art work, especially the one who does the cooking.

Nancy dear, thank you for the compliment. I am the gourmet chef, see here, but since i started drawing I am not experimenting new recipes and spending much time as before in the kitchen. Though i have all my buddies in colored pencils(the cat and dogs i did with jeanette)on the fridge door.Just the copies of course.The rest of the walls in the kitchen are with art souvenirs from our voyages.
I said once that what I created this past year and since the begining of 2009 is nice in a child's room. But that is something i don't have.

Elena you underestimate yourself sometimes, I guarantee you if you had it framed nicely someone would buy it for their kitchen, not their childs room. Art is to be appreciated not just by the artist.

Maybe, Nancy. I cannot see my art with outsider's eyes.I love doing it but I am very demanding as a person and still belive I have a long way to go before I reach the wall status.
You people on drawspace are too kind, but in the artists world the competition is fierce and there are many very good artists to choose from. I just love spending my time playing with pencils and if I make my art a gift to friends and family is good enough for me.
Thank you for your kind words.

My attempt at circulism is ready for show off.



Tell me what you think. My husband finds this artificial. I like the lil circles and the whole effect but I am not that good yet.