Art Journal: Value Control
Grey ink sketches of cubes and an eye. Hand lettered text included in post caption.
12.31.20
DeAtramentis Document Urban Grey
Value Control
Mapping basic structure with cross-contour
Pen & Ink Drawing A Simple Guide by Alphonso Dunn
I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m a fake!
At least that’s what that negative voice in my head (his name is Chad) tells me sometimes.
Reasons I feel like a fake artist and that everyone will find out someday:
- I’ve never taken a life drawing class
- I went to school for graphic design and never took advanced painting classes
- Line drawing, cross-hatching, and value range is A STRUGGLE for me. It feels like an unsolvable math problem that my brain can’t seem to comprehend.
Color just makes sense to me! It comes easily and my brain lights up with fireworks. When a line drawing isn’t working I usually throw some color on in an attempt to distract from the flaws.
The reason I began the Affirm Black Women portrait series in black and white is because I wanted to challenge myself to improve my line drawing and value range. Painting in black and white without a rainbow of color to fall back on was hard! But working with a limited palette helped me create paintings with a more dynamic range from light to dark.
This year I’m going to challenge myself to conquer my fear of line drawing and cross-hatching with the help of Alphonso Dunn’s, Pen and Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide.
Be sure to check out Alphonso Dunn’s work on Instagram! HOLY WOW.
