Sustained Investigation #3

Cityscape

11" X 14"

Water soluble graphite on bristol

The story behind this painting is that the city is messy and grimy, not the gleaming technological leap forward that it is often depicted as. This relates to my life because I've been feeling stuck in digital art. Digital art is really nice because it has tools like back and select and flip etc. However, I've felt a bit too dependent on that, so I wanted to try a more expressive painting. I remembered enjoying using water soluble graphite last year, so I decided to go with that for this.

I made this on bristol paper with a tin of water soluble graphite and a water brush. Additionally, I used a ruler to make the lines neater. This is somewhat difficult to see in the piece, however, because the paper was warped.

I used line and value to create the form of the city. I used rough strokes in the shadows to create a sense of emotion. I decided to leave the signs empty because it stands out and adds contrast. My project started as a sketch, then I used a ruler to make it more precise, then I used several washes with the water soluble graphite to increase the contrast of the values. Going forward, I might add some other natural element to the drawing, or I might take a photo and build on it digitally.