Artistic Experimentation

Taking My Own Advice

Artistic experimentation, or experimentation of any kind, always puts me out of my comfort zone. You’d think as an artist, I’d constantly be experimenting with new materials, techniques, etc. But for me that’s not really the case. You see, I’m a serious creature of habit. When I go to my favorite restaurant, I order the same thing. When I go to Baskin Robins, I get the same flavor ice cream. That’s right. The same single flavor. Rocky Road. Forget the other thirty options!

I am a creature of habit. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Copyright: Vladimir Gjorgiev)

I realize that I’m probably missing out on a lot of other yummy options. And it seems rather silly for me to go to a whole new restaurant with an unfamiliar menu just to try something new. But that’s just me. I rarely go to any eatery without already knowing what I want. Generally I go places to satisfy a craving. When it comes to artwork, it’s nearly the same thing. My go-to flavor is graphite. Black on white. Plain and simple. Graphite is my Rocky Road. And all of the other colors and supplies out there are the other thirty flavors.

Intriguing & Intimidating at the Same Time

Even though I listed artistic experimentation in my last post as one of my tips for getting out of an artistic rut, it has always been a bit intimidating for me because it always ends up being more than just an experiment. Sure, I might test something out on a small scratch paper before I attempt it on a commissioned piece. But other than that, my experiments always lean more towards commitments time wise. And generally, I don’t have time for any more commitments. So I usually stick with what I know without a doubt will get me the results I’m after.

Still, I watch other artists doing their thing with different media and colors and I’m fascinated. And somewhere deep inside, that creative fire burns and wants to try doing what they do. So recently, I decided to give it a go. It wasn’t a huge stretch. But it was artistic experimentation nonetheless. Instead of my usual black on white, I did a lion portrait in reverse. White on black.

Obstacles

You would think that it wouldn’t be that much of a challenge, but there were a number of factors that I wasn’t expecting. The first thing I didn’t expect was the very low-grade headache it gave me the first couple of days. Yes, a headache. Literally. My brain actually hurt from thinking in reverse! You see, when I draw with graphite, I am working to build up the shadows, letting the white of the paper work for me as the lightest areas of each drawing. With my little experiment, I was building up to highlights instead of shadows. In this case, I let the black board work for my shadows. But throughout the project, I found myself really having to think about what I was doing. I’m not used to that. With my regular drawings, as detailed as they might be, it’s pretty much autopilot for me for the most part.

Sometimes experimenting can be well worth it!

The second thing I had to overcome was the waxy bloom that builds up when using colored pencils. Once you have too much wax on your drawing surface, you can no longer add any more layers. There are a couple of methods to fix this problem which I’ve seen other artists use. But I used one of my own instead. It probably wasn’t the best fix, but it worked well enough for me to finish the project to the point that I was happy with it. Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet, I can try the other methods and see how I do with them.

Ready to Move Forward!

I think I may try another white on black before diving into full color. I have two full sets of color pencils, 120 Prismacolor Pencils and 45 Faber Castel Polychromos. That’s a lot of color and I’ll admit that it scares me a little bit. But this latest project has ignited a creative spark and I want to keep it going. So, here’s to artistic experimentation and the many wonderful roads it can lead us through!

Do you have any artistic experimentation stories to share? Perhaps an outstanding success or a phenomenal flop? There’s something to be learned either way. Please share in the comments below. Do you like what you’re reading? If so, please subscribe so that you won’t miss a post!

Photo Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_vladimirfloyd’>vladimirfloyd / 123RF Stock Photo</a>