Drawing Case Studies
Adventures in Black & White—and yes, I have a thing for hands
There’s no such thing as, “just a pencil.”
I must agree with Maine writer E.B White, who wrote:
“I’m glad report that even now, at this late day, a blank sheet of paper holds the greatest excitement there is for me—more promising than a silver cloud, prettier than a little red wagon. It holds all the hope there is, all the fears.”
After trying many artistic mediums over the years, somewhere in my 40s I discovered, much to my surprise, that I was pretty good with a pencil and a blank sheet of Arches hot press paper. And this started me along the delightful path of realistic pencil drawing (using all varieties: graphite, charcoal, carbon). These are complex, painstaking drawings that can take 50 hours or more to complete—time well spent!
Engaged!
I made this drawing as a first-anniversary gift for my son, Jeremiah, and his wife, Jen. We are so proud of them, and super happy about our two granddaughters! (I also really like the way my son’s thumb turned out…that was four hours well spent!
Barn Boots
Portrait of my daughter and me, in front of our ancient barn after mucking out the horse stalls (I’m the one on the left). Graphite and charcoal. Use for the cover of my third book of fathering essays, “Can You be with Me.”
The Secret Place
I made this simple drawing to accompany an essay I wrote about a very special place where my dad and I would spend time when I was a little boy. This was an early drawing, and it’s way too small, so I was unable to capture any real detail. This adventure with paper and pencil has been, and continues to be, a learning process.
My Friend’s Hands
These are the hard-working hands of my friend Bryce, a Jamaican who came to Maine for over 20 years to work the apple harvest. I miss him terribly. This is my best drawing to date. From across the room it looks like a photograph.
A Climber’s Hands
I made this drawing for my best friend, Sara, from a quick snapshot I took of her in a parking lot, holding a piece of climbing gear called a “cam.” I am very pleased that I was able to use a combination of charcoal, carbon, and graphite, to make the metal look realistic.
Jute
Jute is a kind of natural-fiber twine that I use to tie up my tomato plants. I drew this to illustrate an essay I wrote for a magazine. This is the raw image; I’m not sure where the cleaned-up version is. This drawing suffers form being too small, so I had trouble with the details.
Old Climbing Shoes
I made this drawing for my beloved friend, Dave, to celebrate many years of rock climbing adventures together. These were the best shoes you get buy…in the 1980s, so yeah, Dave and I have been climbing pals for a while!
The Kite
This was my earliest serious attempt at photorealism with a pencil, and I did most everything wrong. Looking at it now, I’m a bit embarrassed, yet still, it conveys something sweet about childhood, so I still have a sweet spot for it. It was used several times to accompany an essay I wrote about my son, called, The Tug of the String.
This was just an exercise that turned into art. Based on some boards on my barn, I just wanted to see how realistic I could get it. It was drawn on a piece of copy paper, but I was so delighted with the result that I decided to frame it on some old boards (from the same barn). My wife finds it quite odd, so now It now hangs behind the door in my office where it’s pretty much out of site. I think it’s cool.
S. Peter Lewis
speterlewis@gmail.com
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© 2019 S. Peter Lewis | All rights reserved | My gracious thanks to SOLO Schools, for graciously allowing me to use some of the work I have done for them on this site.
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S. Peter Lewis
368 Sweden Rd. Bridgton, ME 04009
speterlewis@gmail.com | 207-239-4154