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Welcome to the Drawing Board #18!

Good morning All! I've been going through stacks of my work in the studio over the past few weeks, and I have art materials on the brain. More below on both of those- but also a quick note about the image I use as a header for these Drawing Board emails: that's from my first "drawing board" that I purchased in 2005, which is now covered in acrylic, chalks, oils, shellac, blood (always use a sharp x-acto blade! The dull ones are hard to control!), gesso, and so much more... (and dirt, I can only assume.) After all these years I still use that board as a support, and the various splashes, stains, and frames of over-spill are a reminder of making art and getting things done. A nice material reminder of time passing. Do you also use a bunch of materials in your practice?

What exactly is "mixed media"?

One of the most common questions I get asked when I'm teaching and showing my sketchbooks in class is a variation of "how do you use mixed media?" I must confess, I usually find this question to be a bit strange, as I feel like I've always worked with different materials in various combinations. However, during a recent Tuesday Virtual Studio Hangout my good friend Michael and I found ourselves chatting about some of our shared early illustration influences, and it hit me: most of my students are used to either digital art or a form of academic art that prioritizes a more "traditional" media application (usually with a narrow concept of what "drawing" can be!)

They didn't grow up reading comics illustrated by Dave McKean, Barron Storey, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Mack, Ashley Wood, or George Pratt, (and the list goes on...) A good deal of my early influences were doing whatever they had to do to create an outcome that stood out at a time before digital illustration work was overly common (really dating myself here- wow), yet set themselves apart from the standardization that came before. Most of this illustration work was much more atmospheric, and darker in tone that what was going on in the previous generation (sharper, pop-y colors!) So like any young artist I set out trying to understand the art that I loved, making my own versions of the work that inspired me through trial and error and having a blast while doing it (so many sketchbooks filled during these years!)

One of the best bits of advice I have when it comes to really getting to know your materials, their character and personality, their "burdens and benefits", is to work experimentally in context- not isolated studies (I see folks make this same error while studying color as well...) Use combinations of media in your work and don't be afraid to navigate the issues that arise: that's the best learning opportunity you could ever give yourself! When I was studying this all on my own in the early days of my undergrad program, I liked to tease out anchor concepts like layering "wet" over a "dry" layer that I sealed with matte medium, or pushing "chalk" pastels around with a wet brush and making them into a murky watercolor, then going into them with "waxy" colored pencils to bring out more chroma and "life". Different mediums want to behave in certain ways- playing like this will help you find your favorite combination of media. One of my favorites is a chalky acrylic gesso. It lets me have the "wet" element that I like, gives good coverage, and has a chalky, toothiness that's wonderful to work back into or stack on top of. I don't think I would've figured that out for myself if it hadn't been for the influence of comic artists who used atmospheric ink techniques.

If this type of material conversation interests you, please check out my new course starting in June: Sketchbook Development: Portraits & Materials.

We'll be working across graphite, ink, colored pencil, watercolor, and building a mixed-media approach using the portrait as our anchor. The emphasis is on material behavior and design decisions, not on getting a likeness, though I'll happily give feedback on that as well as our work develops.

If your sketchbook has been sitting longer than you'd like, as mine has these past few weeks, this is a fun reason to open it.

Join us for four Thursday evenings, live on Zoom. Recordings never expire- so no worries if you're unable to join us live for any reason, it'll all still be there for you to work through at your own pace!

Speaking of dating myself- Look out for a Birthday Sale on Original Artworks:

I'm turning 40 this Saturday (!)

To celebrate I'll be offering a whole pile of sketches, drawings, and demonstrations for sale. I'll send out a link with available works and their sale prices this Friday. If there's a work of mine you've had your eye on for a while, please don't hesitate to let me know- I'm sure we can work something out.

I'm glad I can share one of Dave's sketches- he's by far my favorite illustrator, and one of my favorite overall artists. Folks are often taken aback by that because my work doesn't look like his (though my more illustrative work certainly is influenced by him), and I think that's fun. Thanks for reading - more art soon!

Happy drawing,
Evan​​

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