Glenn Arthur

Glenn Arthur

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Waste Not, Want Not: Practice Makes Proficient!

Hey guys!

Between getting paintings ready for gallery shows and whatnot, I like to constantly squeeze in sketches and practice different types of art so my skills don't get rusty. When I do this, I usually just use art products that I already have hanging around so they won't go to waste. (I have a ton of Prismacolor products so I tend to use them the most for practicing. They're great quality and really versatile so they're perfect for this sort of thing!) Here is a piece I just finished using Prismacolor brand art markers and Prismacolor Verithin brand colored pencils on 8x10 bristol vellum paper.


I thought it would be fun to share my process on this piece because, like I always say, practice makes proficient! Although I consider this just a practice piece, I'm really happy with the way it turned out and can't wait to apply what I learned working on it to my show paintings.

I started with a base coat of marker. I used a lot of warm tones on this ones, layering from lighter to darker, building up values until I got to the point where I wanted to add in detail with colored pencil.


I went in with colored pencil, using similar colors, to build up more values and soften out the edges left behind by the marker. I also added in a lot more detail to the hair and to her makeup.


Once I felt like she was refined enough, I went back in with marker to add in her collar and some more tattoo design to her chest. I followed the same procedure as before by adding some polishing details with colored pencil on top of the marker.


That's about it. Hope you enjoyed my little practice piece of art and I encourage all of you to go make some practice art too! Have fun and don't forget... Practice Makes Proficient! 

Love you guys!

Glenn

15 comments:

  1. Very cool to see your process. What kind of paper do you normally do this on? I know most papers can only hold so much ink when it comes to prismacolors!

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    1. Thank you! This was done on bristol vellum paper which is my favorite. It works great with marker!

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  2. I love your artwork, it's always great to see the process :)

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  3. Awesome work as usual, Glenn. I look at your work on a daily basis for inspiration! Keep it up.

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  4. I love seeing your progress pieces :)

    I don't have markers, and I rarely use color pencils, but seeing your drawings really made me want to use them more, I even made a drawing sort of inspired by your style: http://bit.ly/NdbqaH

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  5. Wow! I'm so glad I found you, thanks to Carisa Swenson of Goblin Fruit for sharing your art on facebook!
    Your style is just so amazing, love the Art Nouveau/neo Victorian influence! & thanks for sharing your process with us. :)

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  6. Hey Glenn, it seems you like to give your works awesome titles. What about this one? Does her have a name? :)

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  7. Fantastic drawing.
    It looks and feels a lot more alive and familiar.

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  8. So great. I found your drawings/paintings so inspiring! I see your pictures of your drawings on Intsagram and it would be so awesome to meet you in person one day. You're my favorite artist and i want to be able to draw like you one day. I've tried but doesn't really look so good but "practice makes proficient". (:
    If you ever have time to see my art on instagram that would be so awesome i would die. @gageu01

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  9. I love your process! Thanks so much for posting... these short tutorials are so great for young artist like me to help me refine my process too. Check out my work if you've got a minute. My latest post with my art: http://whitneygoller.blogspot.com/2013/03/ask-yourself.html

    whitney goller

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  10. This is incredible, I just love your art and you are so inspiring, and I never want to give up when I see how good you are. Thank you! <3

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