Rose Interior. WIP 1

5" x 7" Caran d'Ache Supracolor pencils on Stonehenge paper.

I know, I was going to do something on Black Stonehenge paper.  Well, I did start a drawing on that paper but a disastrous choice of pencil colours meant that it had to be abandoned and it's just too cruddy to show!  I did actually like working on that paper, it's very soft and I could get nice strong colours..... just not the right colours!  I'll try it again soon.

In the meantime, here's a little number I've just started.  I took lots of photos last week of some roses which were in glorious bloom in my daughter's garden.  It was a sunny, slightly cloudy, day and the light was perfect for taking pictures.  I dithered for ages trying to decide on a good crop for this drawing and I settled on this one.  I think the closer you get into a flower the wider the range of hues you can see.

I'm using the Supracolor again because the yellows in this range are really nice.  I'm using about 8 different yellows on this plus Khaki Green which is a very light green.  I'm also using Light Purple and Aubergine.  These colours, I think, would be fine on a darker paper but because this paper is White I need some shades even lighter than this so I've brought into play some trusty Prismacolors - Pale Sage, Lilac, Lavender and Greyed Lavender - too.  

This first draft looks a bit rough and ready even though it's taken about 3 hours to get it looking like this!  One reason for taking so long is that I can't be as cavalier with the pencil strokes on White paper, it's not very forgiving and it shows every mark.  Another reason is that I like to get the shapes just right ( just call me anal!).  Once the shapes are 'right' then I can concentrate on the colours and tones.  Hope that makes sense!  A way to go yet.