Dawning of Aquarius. Marker and colored pencil on marker paper. 11 x 14
So much color. Love it. Getting ready for a show in July.
Tag Archives: marker paper
Work for this month
25 AprEraser Magic
7 JanAs if by magic, but actually by eraser, her hand is gone. It was awkwardly coming up from the lower left hand corner, and was weirdly small. This is another thing I love about this technique: eraserability (no, not actually a word says my spellcheck. really? It’s perfect.) The ability to be erased. Nice.
Anyway, using the Verithin pencils is also helping- they are hard, unlike the regular prismacolors, so not as much pigment stains the paper; allowing for easier disappearing acts. This is also marker paper which is very forgiving when it comes to erasing. I also have a very light hand and tend to deposit colors slowly, building them up gradually in intensity.
Indeed a work in process. It was (as always ) meant to be a simple practice, but it gets carried away with itself. I’m not sure if I’m going to outline everything in India ink either. Big style change? Don’t know. But a completely different technique; which means that I have no idea what it’s going to look like. I know what I would like it to look like- from a color perspective- but what I want and what I’ll end up with can be very different.
janetbalboa2016
Verithin pencils
6 JanI’ve added more colored pencil- prismacolor verithins. This helps me block out the darks and make sure the all over color is going to be balanced. I used copic marker (E00 + E21) for her neck- checking how the color of the pencil shading will show through. What’s great about this technique is that the pencil can still be erased and played with, even with a light layer of marker on top of it. I’m working, for better or worse, on marker paper, which I love because I get all the brightness and vibrancy of watercolor- with marker and colored pencils. Yum.
I hauled the photo into photoshop to brighten and sharpen the image a bit- it is very light and sketchy right now so I boosted the contrast so that its easier to see. I also cropped it for this post.
janetbalboa2016
This is the actual picture, on an 11 x 14 paper. The image has a large celtic knot border and intricate knotwork along the inside of the circle. She is Bridget I think. Or my fondness for spring and warmth and light coming back. But most of all? It’s the fact that I am drawing, and in the studio. After The Holidays – that’s an accomplishment in itself.
janetbalboa2016
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New project and…marker paper!
29 May
Janet Balboa, Anam Cara detail, marker and colored pencil, 19″ x 24″ c. 2014
Here’s my new project. I love, love, line drawings! I always intend to complete the entire image in ink before I color…but that never happens. I grab the markers and pencils. I suppose I can’t wait for it to begin to ‘come alive’. (forgive my photography – the darkness- took it with my phone)
canson marker paper
This picture is 19 x 24 inches, one of the largest I’ve done recently. I drew it out out in pencil on marker paper. If you’ve never tried marker paper – try it. Get a small pad… Initially, I was scared to death to use it. After using Bristol for 30 years, marker paper seems incredibly thin and flimsy, but actually, it’s not. It wrinkles and loses that pristine smooth look very quickly but then begins to adapt itself to the drawing – much like working on vellum. I think the Irish Monks would have used marker paper if they could have got their hands on it. No skinning of animals necessary either. The markers hold their brightness and colored pencils float over the top making for some amazing effects. Marker paper holds up fairly well to erasing, but I usually retrace my entire drawing from an original piece of marker paper or vellum where I’ve done my initial sketches. I keep a folder full of the sketches and drawings that eventually get transferred to the final piece of paper.
solar medallion – Janet Balboa, Anam Cara detail, marker and colored pencil, 19″ x 24″ c. 2014
lunar medallion – Janet Balboa, Anam Cara detail, marker and colored pencil, 19″ x 24″ c. 2014
I got this great copper look on the solar medallion (found on the right hand side of the ink drawing above). Mainly done with prismacolor markers. The Lunar medallion(left side of larger drawing) looks more like shell; burnishing with a white pencil gave that effect. ;)
janet balboa 
