Cake and Fire
Watercolor on Strathmore Gemini 140-lb CP paper
8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm)
© 2009 Steve Penberthy
This painting presented me with several challenges, most notably how to correctly render the light. I first did a pencil sketch, then made a photocopy of it. It was on the photocopy that I did the pencil drawing below, primarily to test if I captured the likeness or not, but also how the shading was going to work. It was in the pencil drawing where I worked out solutions to the problems I was going to face in the painting; I sort of "painted" with the pencil to understand what I needed to do later on. Lesson learned: It's always tempting to just jump in and start splashing paint around, but a little work up front makes the job easier down the line.
"Cake and Fire"
No. 2 pencil on copier paper
8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm)
© 2009 Steve Penberthy
