Sunday, June 30, 2013

Conte a Paris


What was your favorite studio class? Mine was Life Drawing. I learned more in that class than probably any other. I would MUCH prefer to draw from life than from photos, but most people won't sit still that long if they're not being paid, especially a 2 1/2 year old! 
Several months ago, I got an invitation to stop by a vendor booth at the NAEA convention. The problem is that I wasn't able to attend unlike some lucky ducks. I was pretty lucky, though, because I got a swag bag in the mail from Liquitex, Reeves, Letraset, and Conte a Paris. (I don't know how to put the little marks above the "e" and the "a"- anyone know that trick?) Anyway, I FINALLY had a chance to play with some of the supplies from the swag bag. I had never used conte before, but I have to say I'm a fan! I just drew for about an hour while my 2 1/2 year old napped. I really liked using the Pierre Noire sketching pencil to lay out the sketch. It doesn't erase easily, but I don't mind seeing the marks I adjusted. My Life Drawing teacher just said it shows the artist's process. I kind of liked the sketch just in black and white but since I was just playing I figured I would go ahead and add a bit of color.
 
 I liked that I could smudge the conte a bit, but they were harder than pastels. It kind of gave me the control of colored pencils but allowed me to work quickly like with pastels. I'm looking forward to playing with conte more and testing out the rest of the goodies!
Not the same as drawing from life, but a fun exercise.

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