Chantell Van Erbe - Fantasized Realism in Fine Art

 
 

We all have favorite brands of painting medium that we pretty much stick with for our artistic pursuits. Like a faithful spouse, they're tried and true. We couldn't think of life without them. Then again, there are certain items from said brand which fall short, leaving us no other alternative but to turn astray. Running straight for those backdoor brands. You know the ones..that fill certain needs not met by old faithful.

For the majority of my professional creative life, I've been searching for that special product line that could suit my CP desires - while addressing my serious concerns with archival longevity. Only after exchanging ideas with other CP artists on this very subject have I realized that this holy grail of a colored pencil product line doesn't exist. I've also learned that when it comes to art goods, I am about as disloyal and capricious as they come. I'm willing to try anything new that could possibly improve my painting experience. And I'm not ashamed to say so. Why? Because I have yet to encounter one brand that can do it all. Finding a complete line of materials is like finding a Yeti. Blame it on inconsistencies in formulas... blame it on the rain. Regardless, I know that I am not alone in my thinking.

I've decided that I'm going to move beyond my quest in looking for Mr. GoodBrand and brazenly delve into a variety of many different art materials. Those exceptional tools that get the job done. Hey, you know the ol' saying about eggs and baskets. The bonus is that I'll share what I've learned; all of my preferred individual colors and art supply experiences, with you on this blog.

So...feel free to absorb, inquire and bounce back some of your favorite things as well. Brain-picking is fun.




 


Comments

Scott D. Tillett

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:33:00

Hi Chantell,
I enjoyed reading your latest blog entry. That would be great if you shared your findings with your experimentations with different mediums and products. I try and do that as well on my blog. As far as colored pencils go, I've always just used Prismacolor. I'm not saying that they are the best in the market. They are really the only pencils I've ever used. They stand up to what I'm trying to achieve with my work and they are as much a part of my work as my creativity is. I have tried briefly other brands but always go back to the prismas. Over the years though I have experimented with different supports with papers and boards. The boards are great but tend to eat the pencils very rapidly. I prefer a thick illustration board as opposed to thinner papers like Stonehenge because of my style of working. The thicker boards tend to hold up much better to my painterly style mostly because of the "burnishing" that I do.
Good luck with your experiments and I'll be checking back to see what you've discovered.
All the best to you Chantell,
Scott

 

deborah Ross

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:27:06

Hi Chantell, I, too, like Scott, started with Prismacolors. But now I have Derwent Coloursofts, which are so buttery, and Faber Castell Polychromos, which are oil based and I think are better for very small, detailed work. And I have used Stonehenge, but now I prefer Ampersand Pastelbord because it doesn't take as many layers of pencil. So, I guess it's just a matter of personal preference, but I always like to hear what other artists say.

 

Chantell

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:53:01

Scott,

Prismas were once my sole weapon of choice. I liked using them. They are so smooth. But the issues of major bloom made me search elsewhere. I still use them intermittently (I have 9 drawers loaded with Prismacolor pencils). The lightfast issues are a concern as well. So now I couple them with other brands of CP that have higher LF ratings.

When I first started experimenting with CP in '95 it was usually on Strathmore vellum bristol paper -it's actually very durable paper. Then I moved on to Strathmore 4-ply illustration board (which is ok) and then discovered pastel board in '03. I'm thinking ahead..and panels seem to outlast other drawing mediums in terms of archival quality.

Thanks for posting your thoughts. Hope you are well and creating.

 

Chantell

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:58:06

Deborah,

Yes, art supplies are definitely a matter of preference. My main goal is making sure the art will last years down the road. So experimenting with different mediums is key.
The brands that you mentioned are top notch -and working on pastel board is a sound choice. Thank you for posting!

 

Scott D.Tillett

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:00:30

Hi Chantell,
I think your artwork would turn out beautifully no matter what medium you use. I here others mention the bloom using prismacolors. It really only takes a couple of wipes with a soft cloth and the bloom will not return. Prismacolor also have lightfast pencils, as I sure your already aware of, that has a rating, as far as I know, just as high as any other lightfast brand on the market.
Keep up the great work and I hope you post more often. I enjoy keeping up with your art world.
Scott

 

Chantell

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:25:44

Hi Scott,

Yes, I have some of the new Prismacolor lightfast pencils. They're fine. Although, it bums me out that they couldn't create a LF version of tuscan red and indigo blue :(
Maybe if we bug the company they will, hmm?
And the bloom issue...I have some older CP drawings that were done on 4-ply illustration board and the bloom keeps coming back no matter how much I spray them with fixative. Maybe they're possessed..who knows.

Thank you Scott. I'm about to pop over to your blog and see what's up in your neck of the woods.

 

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