Solar Sketching and mixed media
November 8, 2015
1:10pm-2:05 pm (18:10-19:05 UT)
What a great day to spend time outside. The sun is shinning , a crisp fall breeze from the North, and only a few small clouds
in the sky, and the temperature is 9C. I set up the SolarMax 60 and used a variety of eyepieces, 12 mm,18 mm, 25 mm and the 2X barlow.
I sketched the sun using a variety of papers (black construction paper-Crayola Mighty Marks, Black Canson 98lb paper and Canson 65lb Universal Sketch(white) and mixed media. The mixed media consisted of Prism Coloured Pencils, Derwent Watercolour pencils, and Prism pastels.
The goal was to see how each of the media’s worked on the papers, and which one I preferred. Each had its own pro’s and con’s, but it was a fun and great experiment.
Starting with the Black Crayola Might Marks, was called black, though it is more of an indigo colour compared to the Canson Black paper. It is also very light weight.
The coloured pencil does not show up that well. The pastels seemed to blur and smudge too easy. Both of the following images were sprayed with fixative.
Black Crayola Might Mark Paper Solar Sketch
Pastel on Crayola Contruction Paper
As you can see the paper is ridged giving a pattern to the sun, and makes it hard to colour dark.
Colour Pencil on Canson 98lb
The ridged effect gives does not give a true surface feature to the sun, and it is hard to have a defined edge, though it blends well.
Mixed Media Coloured Pencil and Pastels
As you can see the pencil gets washed out and does not show any colour. I will not be using this type of media on Black Canson paper anymore. Great to find out though!
Derwent Watercolour Pencil on Black Canson 98lb
I have been drawing on this particular paper for over 4 years and to date it is the best that I like for coloured pencil. Today I used the Derwent WaterColour Pencils, and I must say I really like this medium. though you cannot seem to get a hard line for contrast it is a nice effect on the sun with the filaments.
Coloured Pencil on Canson 65lb
Derwent Watercolour pencils on Canson 65lb
The only thing that I will need to find now is paper that will take the water that is used for the Derwent Watercolour pencils, as the 65lb Canson tends to ripple.
What a great day!
Kim