Chantell Van Erbe - Fantasized Realism in Fine Art

 
 

I'm currently working on a piece that has been giving me grief - big time. I would liken this painting experience to a parent dealing with their temperamental tween child. Yes - that much grief.

I wanted to experiment on a sanded support (gessoed hardboard) that had more texture than pastel board - my surface of choice, so I purchased three Ampersand Textured Claybord panels in two different sizes. Can you guess which size I worked on first? Largest wins the prize. I know...I know...a wise choice.

For starters, five different types of colored pencil went into this drawing, with each brand laying down either too waxy or too powdery. The textured claybord EATS up pencils due to excessive grittiness. It's difficult to get into all those nooks and crannies with even the sharpest of pencils. Don't get me wrong - I'm sure this surface would be a terrific base for pastels or impasto painting. But colored pencils? Fail.

I resorted to numerous washes of Zest-it which I don't use very often. The solvent helped to balance and fill out the roughness to a certain degree. FYI: Derwent Coloursoft pencils responded best. Still, something was missing (a chiminea and lighter fluid, perhaps?) - the ability to blend in my usual manner. And Prismacolor Colorless Blenders were unable to properly perform on such coarse texture combined with numerous CP layers and heavy solvent applications. The color broke up immediately.

So there I was staring blankly in front of my drawing board, visions of bonfires dancing in my head when divine intervention/dumb luck led me to a drawer full of unused Lyra Rembrandt Splender Colorless Blenders. I bought them years ago. In just a few pencil strokes I could see and feel a major difference in the overall drawing process. Like buttah, the blender seamlessly- almost magically worked over all of the previous instabilities of mismatched mediums. Knock on wood - I'm near completion and things are going along quite smoothly (photos to follow soon). This tween of a painting is finally behaving! Can't wait to varnish and be done with it already. I love Lyra Splender and intend on using it a lot more in the future.

Almost makes we want to try my hand at the two smaller textured panels - almost. I foresee an exchange in the near future.

P.S. I Googled Lyra Rembrandt Splender Colorless Blender. Here are four quick facts on this product:
1) They're made in Germany - Ich liebe Deutschland!
2) Dick Blick sells them in open stock, which I find highly appealing.
3) They're similar to oil based pencils but are drier and not chalky (so true).
4) Artist and CPSA member Liesl Huddleston has a write-up filled with more info on Splender. Check it out here.


 


Comments

Holly Bedrosian

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 06:26:20

Chantell,

Thanks for the info on the Lyra Rembrandt Colorless Blender. I've tried the Prismacolor blender many times, and I haven't been able to achieve the results I wanted. I'll add the Lyra one to my list.

Can't wait to see the piece you're working on!

 

Kendra Ferreira

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:11:51

Chantell, I have the most difficult time working on the clayboard surface so I've stopped using it. For some reason, the pencil seems to just brush right off the surface more than any other textured surface that I've tried. I have never been so frustrated in my life (short of throwing it out the window) so I stopped working on clayboard. Have you thought about trying the Rtistx board? It only comes in white but it has a wonderful texture and you can purchase it in different grades for colored pencil or pastel. But you have to purchase it from the company www.rtistx.com. You might call them and ask for some samples to try. They sent me some for our chapter in the beginning of the year. Thanks for the tip on the Lyra colorless blender. I have one that I should start using.

 

Scott D. Tillett

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:03:53

Hi Chantell,
I recently also have been experimenting with ampersand textured pastel board using colored pencils (prismacolor) and at first didn't like the graininess of it because it was hard to fill in the tooth and get any real detail. But the more I use it the better I like it. I always lay a ton of pigment down no matter what surface I'm using. When I do this with the pastel clay board the detail seems to get easier to manage over top the layers of pigment. Blending stumps also work well on this surface. I have a falcon that I'm working on that is posted on my blog if you'd like to see my progress thus far.
Love your work,
Scott
http://scottdtillettnatureart.blogspot.com/

 

Chantell

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:43:34

Hi Holly, definitely try to experiment with the Lyra Splenders. They're terrific and Kendra...now you tell me! Lol..I'm going to purchase some Rtisx boards. Holly has given me a thorough breakdown on each type of Rtistx board and I'm going to use the oil panel first (per Holly's suggestion). Thanks for the advice.

 

Chantell

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:17:30

Hello Scott,
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I agree with you on the fact that pastel board is terrific to work on. I've used it many times over the years with no problems. What I was commenting about on my bog was textured clay board- not pastel board. CP just doesn't sit right on clay board and I'm thinking it's the formula of the surface.

 

nicolecaulfield

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:08:11

Thanks! I'll have too get me a couple!! Where did you get them?

DID you try them on pastelbord?

 

Chantell

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:09:20

Nicole,

Dick Blick sells them in open stock and yes, they work terrific on pastel board too!

 

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