Aux Quatre Crayon - Drawing Children

One way I strive to get better at painting is to practice drawing. Besides the versatility of being able to use different materials, I can experiment with working fast or slow, try new techniques and unlike painting, it's ready to go. One drawing approach I enjoy is I aux quatre crayon. In french it means using only four colors: white, red, brown and black. Typically it's drawn with pastels, conte crayon or charcoal on toned paper. I was inspired to to do this after looking at drawings by Peter Paul Rubens.  His masterful use of just 4 colors makes a drawing really come to life and is a great way to explore the idea of saying a lot with a little. Below is an example of his work:

Nicholas by Peter Paul Reubens. An example of aux quatre crayon ( white, red, brown & black ).

Another great way to improve that is tried and true is to copy the work of master artists. With this in mind I practiced aux quatre crayon by translating a painting of the great english portraitist Henry Raeburn.

After Henry Raeburn, aux quatre crayon by Eduardo Fernandez.

Another example:

After Henry Raeburn by Eduardo Fernandez

Later I used pastel pencils to create this portrait of my honorary nephew Henry for my friends Susan and Joe. Whether drawing or painting, my goal is to present my subject in their best light and to bring pleasure to those who commissioned the work. Each medium, painting or drawing, informs the other and I find this greatly rewarding.

Portrait of Henry, aux quatre crayon by Eduardo Fernandez

My New Website...

Howdy all, just posting to my newly redesigned website for the first time. It's been awhile in coming but feels good to finally bring it home. 

Rather than update my posts from Blogger I've decided to begin anew. I will bring in some items from my last blog but essentially I'm starting over... new website, new look, and a new focus.

Up till now my work has been in different genres but over the last few months I've decided to focus on portrait painting. It's challenging, hard to do well, and has a number of aspects to it that make for interesting and gratifying work. Soul searching these last few months made me realize I needed more focus not just in my work but in my life as well.

You'll notice the portfolio on my website is pared way down. I'll post other examples of my work in the blog, but will still focus on my experience in the world of art especially portrait painting!

Thanks for stopping by, hope to catch up with you soon

EF

The Philosopher ( aka The Farmer ) by Maxfied Parrish - Portraits come in all interesting ways, shapes and sizes. I like this painting by Maxfield Parrish! Color harmony, great design and superb draftsmanship all come together to depict this interesting character. Like the farmer in this painting I've been sitting on the proverbial fence thinking things through too.  &:^ )