Dream

24" x 18" colored pencil, acrylic, paint pen and paper collage on board

In Full Bloom

--Above is a detail of a piece I just finished, while it was still in process. I have dealt with much more obvious and intense blooms, but this is the best photo I have of one thus far. If you look at the middle of the scalp you will see a strip through it running down into the leather strap, that is much more dark and rich than its surroundings, that is where I have wiped away the bloom, and revealed the original colors.--

I've been wanting to write about wax bloom for several months, but I haven't been able to find any good visual examples online, and being a visual thinker, this has kept me milling about, waiting for my own blooms, because there must be an example! Well, I wait no longer, let's begin.

Almost all my pieces bloom. what is blooming? It is a side effect of using colored pencils. After a drawing has had time to sit, one might say settle, the pigment and its carrier the wax will separate, leaving the wax resting on top in a cloudy layer with the pigment underneath. Dark colors will look dull and washed out, it won't be as detectable on lighter areas but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened and that your drawing isn't dulled.

Blooming doesn't happen to all drawings, but it does especially in pieces with very thick coats, one might say burnished into the substrate, something I almost always do. I prefer to work my colored pencil surface until it will barely take any more pigment, so this is a common issue for me, but blooming may be something you never encounter. My pieces usually bloom after they have been allowed to sit three to four days. Another way I can spot a bloom on lighter work is if the surface is matt when I reflect light on it, and it shows finger prints quite clearly, I like my drawing to have a very polished shiny finish, which is the natural quality of the pencil on board, regardless of fixative.

The solution to blooming is deliciously simple. You just wipe the wax off! Ta dah! I like to use a dry clean paper towel, however I work on board and my drawings are... what did I say, yes, burnished into the boards surface so I can be a bit rough, if you're working on paper you may want to use a soft cotton rag. What is important to think about while removing the wax, is to not rub a dark area into a light one, and visa versa and do not rub into any other mediums in your composition.

It will probably surprise you how little pigment will be picked up when you wipe because the wax is on top and the pigment is settled into the substrate. This is especially true if you're drawing with a very waxy pencil like Prismacolor.

I let my pieces bloom about three times before I seal them, once a piece is sealed, say with, workable fixative, it shouldn't bloom again, however if it does, things are not so simple, if a piece blooms underneath a seal there is no way to wipe it off... basically, you're stuck with it. This thankfully has never happened to me, and so I don't have any advice or solutions if it happens to you. This is the main reason I let my pieces bloom at least three times before sealing, because by that point most of the wax that wants to separate has. Often after I've wiped away that third bloom even if I don't seal the piece it won't bloom again.

I try to avoid blooming altogether in a piece that has integrated graphite with the CP, because graphite smears all over the place. sometimes in B&W pieces I like to use graphite for my initial sketch and darkest darks, and in this case I may use workable fixative throughout the drawing process and immediately after finishing the piece, because with the graphite so integrated into the CP wiping away a bloom would smear my piece into oblivion.

Now, wasn't that exciting!

for more resources check out this online book:

The Colored Pencil

By Bet Borgeson

a brief update

Hello you dahling! So, here we are at the end of the year. I've been awfully tardy here in blogsville, but that is because I have been hard at work out in the real world, plugging away at work.

There have been a few group shows I haven't promoted online whatsoever. For that I deserve a good slap on the wrist (doesn't sound unbearable...) Momentum Tulsa, The Champagne & Chocolate gala at Living Arts, and a great little underground show at Ebb & Flow Woodworks, tucked away in downtown Tulsa to name a few exhibits. These were great shows, and I hope I saw you there. Maybe I'll mention something here next time. foo.

Shortly to come are a few new posts. You'll soon be seeing three new works for my March show at JRB Gallery, in OKC, and hopefully tonight I'll finish putting together a technical piece explaining the troubles with wax blooming in colored pencils and what you can do about it. Bloom what?

Thank you for continuing to stop by during this stale period, things should be happening at a rapid pace from now until the opening in March, so, please continue to come by and see what's News. Also I promise I'll be more proactive about promoting group shows where you can see my work, and letting you know about other goodies abounding around.

Thank you, JP Morrison

i love my job.

all works in progress.

the girl in the high collar waits.

"Edwardian" 8" x 8" colored pencil, graphite and acrylic on board.

See her at JRB's small works show, 100 artists 8"x 8" pieces, all priced at $180. Opening Nov. 6th 6-10 pm. show runs through Nov. 29th

JRB GALLERY

Telephone Operator Girl

"Telephone Operator Girl" 8" x 8"

colored pencil, sharpie and gouache on board.

So, I hemmed, and I hawed, and I procrastinated and worked on pieces I shouldn't've and then I went and did something I don't like to admit I am capable of. I did the entire piece in one night. See, above. 8 hours of work, wah la. I am super super happy with her too. It was one of those effortless little undertakings, where the first choice was always the right one. I needed this boost as well, I've been moving a bit show since "Beguiled" opened, and I feel empowered. Huzah! High quality images will be posted to my flickr hopefully by the end of the week. see the link at the top of the side menu, or click here: flickr

a piece I should wait to work on... but I'm not.

This is a quick in progress shot of a piece I've been dabbling with for the last month or so. The shot is in reverse because I took it with the photobooth program here on my little maccy. I'm planning on adding much collage to this piece, it also includes much more invented rendering than most of my work, i.e. no photo reference for certain parts. I'm enjoying it immensely, but currently should be working on two other pieces that I have an Oct. 15th deadline for... this piece symbolizes two things I should be doing, one: not this piece, two: sleeping. for real. The foreground hand is only in its first three layers of work, very unfinished, you can see the difference in tonality and color between the two hands, and working up the wrist. The photos were taken at sunset and the colors are very rich and varied I am especially in love with the blues. I liked this particular shot because of the way the negative space in the background hand created a symbolic eye. Also it has been interesting drawing a face with gravity pushing the features sideways, since it's my own face I'm especially aware of the differences. I've been trying to avoid using myself as a model as much, but I'm right here when I need someone, and I know exactly what the artist wants. Sometimes I'm hard to pass up, what can I say.

The Next Show : a brief musing

I'm currently working on two pieces for my next show in March in Oklahoma City. I haven't entirely articulated what the blanket concept for this body of work is going to be, and the two works currently in process are very disparate in nature, though the mediums and styles unite them. One is a new drawing of a 'hand tree' or 'angel' an example of which is the header for this here blog, the other is me... sleeping... with airplanes... maybe...

I built 'Beguiled' my last show on a very specific theme, and I really enjoyed having the foundation of women in folklore to build upon, but now I want to loosen the reins a bit, wiggle in new ideas that may not necessarily fit into a single box.

Also in this last group of works I challenged myself to remove all nonessential information, wanting to shed my reputation for needing to fill every single space in a work with decorative material. (horror vacui) I shall restrain myself no longer! There will be airplanes... lots and lots of airplanes... in one of the two pieces currently resting on my drafting table... however I have learned some true moderation from my year of blank backgrounds and the 'hand tree' piece will have very little going on beyond the subject itself.

I know I'm talking in very vague terms, with no photos as of yet to explain myself. Describing art and the ideas that surround it with no visual reference is akin to trying to describe a smell; mostly impossible and rather frustrating... but here we are. The only comfort I can give you dear reader is the knowledge that these things shall reveal themselves in time... much like the true nature of this next group of works. I can't wait, can you?

TONIGHTS OPENING!

Tonight, Sept. 4th, 6-9pm @ The Base Gallery. Last Chance to catch me and "Beguiled : The Folklore of Women" in the same room together. Please come out and visit, show runs through Sept. 24th.

The Base Gallery is in the basement of the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, 2012 Baltimore Rd. KCMO

12 x 12

Here is this years 12 x 12, possibly my favorite arts-org. fund raiser, it is a great event for a great organization. You can see last years piece above, as the title art for this blog, and the year before that is prominently featured on my business card, the work I've produced for 12x12 has been some of my very best in my personal opinion, I seem to grow with these pieces. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on last years piece, absolutely worth it for the personal advancement and education, it was a huge leap forward for me. This years work turned out so much better than it appeared it would half way through the process, *wipes brow* sepias and grey tones always give me trouble, but I'm quite please with the results. Please come this year if you'll be in the OKC area on Sept. 26th. Get all the info :Here: