Turning Colored Pencil into Paint

Jesse Lane creates the richness and feel of a photographic oil painting with colored pencils

Whenmost people think of colored pencil, they recall something they did as children with scribbles of color. Traditional painting is seen as much more refined. It is richer in color, value and subject matter. However, more and more over the last few decades, fine artists are turning to colored pencil, and thus colored pencil is gaining recognition in the fine art world. Colored pencil and paint are more alike than you may realize. Both are made with a combination of pigment and binder. At their cores, these two media are essentially the same. So what separates a colored pencil drawing or doodle from a colored pencil painting? One is the type of pencil, but more importantly, it’s the artist’s approach. In colored pencil painting, there’s a level of richness similar to oil paint. I create my images to have the richness of oil paint and the reality of a photograph. This helps me communicate emotion through my work. When an image is rich in color and contrast, it has more punch and a stronger presence. The image is recognizable at a distance, drawing viewers even from across a room. I achieve the richness of oil paint in a variety of ways. The first way is layering. I prefer paper with a bit of tooth, or texture. A rough paper handles more layers of pencil, which allow more pigment and richness. I begin each portrait by building

large, light layers of color, usually tans or browns. At this point, I am establishing values more than colors. Like many painters, I work from general to specific. Next, I introduce a broader range of color. I lightly apply layers of pink, yellow, purple, orange and sometimes gray or green to the tan base layers. This creates variation, making the skin tone more natural. Because of its precision, colored pencil is the perfect tool to create these variations, especially in portraits. A realistic and dramatic skin tone constantly changes from one area to the next. Some areas, such as fingers, have wrinkles, while a nose has many pores. Much of the body is covered in thin hairs.

Burnishing

I lightly add layer after layer of color until the drawing is burnished, meaning all of the white specs of the paper are filled in. This burnishing, while mixing colors together, creates the richness of oil paint, achieving the full range of contrast and saturation. Skin has a splotchy texture. To achieve this, I begin stippling, making very tiny splotches of color. These fine details provide accents of color to the existing layers of pencil. They integrate well as part of the skin tone, giving the artwork a textured, organic feel. Having a constantly changing skin tone also creates depth and interest. Drawings can often feel flat if the artist uses the same color too frequently without variation. Variety adds richness to the skin, giving it the boldness of a great oil painting. Another way to increase richness is using professional artist colored pencils such as Derwent or Prismacolor. These professional pencils have more pigment than the student-grade pencils used for coloring books.

Lighting and Color

Throughout my work, I use lighting to make my figures emerge into light and disappear into darkness. This draws interest to the focal point, where the contrast is greatest, standing out against the rest of the portrait. Additionally, I often make the focal point more saturated than the rest of the image. This saturation creates a climactic focal point, which I always center around the eyes.

Toned Paper and Contrast

Some artists are surprised that I don’t work on black paper since my backgrounds are almost always black. It may seem easier to begin on black paper rather than white, however I can’t get as

much contrast or saturation using toned paper. The result is a duller image.

No Lines

Oil paint is rich and buttery. You can also achieve this with colored pencil. This means not showing pencil stroke marks. Creating smooth changes in color can be a challenge.

Blending vs. Smoothing

Colored pencil will not blend the same way paint does. It should be understood that colored pencil is used as a solid, while paint is a liquid that dries into a solid. Black and white paint can mix as only liquids can to create a smooth transition between the two. Colored pencil requires a different approach. Some artists use a pencil-like tool called a blender in an effort to create smooth transitions. But in my experience, these blenders tend to make the work look scratchy rather than smooth. I get excellent results by creating soft transitions manually, lightly layering two colors back and forth, alternating between the two. When shading from light to dark, I have found that sometimes the area where the two tones mix can feel dull or have a dirty appearance. I almost always add extra bursts of color such as orange, yellow or purple in areas of transition. This makes the highlights feel brighter and more dramatic.

Voice

Part of any serious painter’s work is not merely the materials they use, but also the voice and the emotional depth of their work. I try to create a connection

with the viewer through my work. This connection is an emotion, told through lighting and the subject’s expression. None of this is about the medium. The image an artist creates is always more important than the tools and techniques used to create it. Therefore, colored pencil can achieve the richness of an oil painting. The fine tip allows each area to be carefully worked to create tiny details and transitions in color that give the piece a rich, dynamic appearance. Colored pencil is still an underdog among the fine art elite. But after seeing what it’s capable of, most people are astonished by what it can do. Colored pencil is becoming a respected, versatile and exciting part of the ever-growing and changing art world we live in.

Face Reality, colored pencil, 23 x 40" (59 x 102 cm)Face Reality is a story of devastation, determination and hope. It was inspired by a fire that destroyed my gallery, RJD Gallery, which has a new location in Bridgehampton, New York. I lost five of my best works. I decided to make a self-portrait depicting the pain of what happened, as well as the strength to move forward. On a more technical note, I created a circular composition using the figure’s arms. The smoke almost radiates from the subject, adding energy.

Adrenaline, colored pencil, 40 x 27" (102 x 69 cm)Adrenaline is about yielding to something greater than yourself. The figure is embracing a large body of water crashing down into him. I used lighting to emphasize the arching pose of the figure, creating a trail of light running down his body. The drawing captures the breaking of a wave with a realistic approach rather than a gestural one. Each drop of water had to be rendered, and the piece took over 1,000 hours to create.

Riptide, colored pencil, 30 x 20" (76 x 51 cm) Riptide is a gentler approach to the edgy moments I usually draw. I chose the title Riptide because she is being pulled away. Riptides can also be deadly, so there is still room for a darker interpretation. The subject’s eyes were originally brown, but I made them green to pull a little more attention. I also added a hot shadow over the eye to add emphasis to the subject’s gaze

Gravity, colored pencil, 19 x 28" (42 x 71 cm) Gravity was inspired by the feeling of complete exhaustion. I used lighting to emphasize the profile of the figure laid out on his back. This created a design of light running across the figure’s body. I let parts of the figure’s body disappear into shadow.

Echoes, colored pencil, 20 x 30" (51 x 76 cm)In this drawing, a girl is shown trying to regain her composure. Two hands surround her face, creating a circular composition. Her tousled hair adds to the circular movement. When something had to run off the image, such as the wrist, I darkened it to downplay it. The composition revolves around a bright blue eye, which contrasts her warmer skin tone. I placed the most emphasis on her eye because that’s where her emotion is best told.