PaintingsDIRECT.com - Exhibition

If you ever took an art class (or ever do), you likely began your studies by drawing objects at hand - a model, a still life - with pencil on paper. For many, that proved to be the first and last effort at attempting to acquire the basic skills of an artist. The artists in this exhibition have gained those skills and more, and are still working at creating fine art with pencil and ink.

This exhibition includes artists who work with pencil and ink. It includes works by Biagio Civale, Ron Kellen, Gaetano LaRoche, Carole Orr and Ryan Seng.

First Impressions

As so many before them, our contributing artists began their art education learning to draw. But for them, artistic expression through pencil and ink did not end there. Ron Kellen tells us "My first experience with art was through the pencil and pen and ink. And they've always stayed with me. I suppose there is a certain amount of accuracy that I like with the pencil." Ryan Seng adds "When I was in school we drew in charcoal and pencil a lot. We had to erase over and over again trying to get it just right. When I got to ink I liked how what I did was what I did, 'like it or not'." For the proverbial 'young, starving artist' starting out, Biagio Civale says "It was the most economical way to produce some work. Later, in art schools, I realized the existence of the variety of means available also with charcoal and color pencils."

Charles Blanc's Testament
(1993)
Ron Kellen

Satyr
(2002)
Ryan Seng

Challenges

One might think that art education often begins with drawing because it is the easiest skill to learn, but it just may be because it takes years to master. Biagio Civale thinks so. "In my opinion, the skills required are more demanding and exacting than oil or watercolor. Ink and pencil are also less forgiving than oil. With oil one can just go over the first sketch and generally cover it (unless there is a conflict between the pigments). With ink or pencil one needs greater technical skills. The abilities to be precise and to control the gesture contribute to the trueness of the subject being depicted. The shades and nuances available with ink or pencil do not allow for a lot of latitude; on the contrary become quite an important key to convey an image." For Carole Orr, "One of the challenges in working with pencil is expressing the movement of light" as in her works "Two Figures among the Water Lilies" and "Study for Spirit of the Hills".

Forest
(1991)
Biagio Civale

Study for 'A World of Her Own'
(2000)
Carole Orr

Artistic Options

There are a myriad of options for the artist to consider when deciding what tools to use to create works in pencil or ink on paper. Each dramatically affects the final artwork in different ways, and becomes a unique means of expression in its own right. Ron Kellen describes the possibilities. "There are so many variables with graphite. I can use the pencil, graphite stick, graphite powder, combine graphite stick with thinner or turpentine and get a soupy wash and then erase it back out. Inks, too, have a lot of variables to them; whether it is a sumi-e like wash, a crisp brush, or the quill pen." Gaetano LaRoche employs both pencil and ink for different purposes. "The drawings that I do in ink and pencil are very different from each other. With the ink, I am trying to capture movement and animation. The ink flows down the paper like rain on against a window pane. With pencil and charcoal, I am trying to capture light and subtlety and softness. I want to define figures and spaces slowly." So, too, the artist's selection of paper isn't casual. Ryan Seng says "Sometimes I like the way a 90 lb. paper takes the ink. It doesn't bleed that much and the mark seems to sit well. I also have done work on 300 lb. paper and it seems much more tangible, and the heavier paper seems to make the mark 'louder'."

Vicki
(1993)
Ron Kellen

From Up High
(1998)
Gaetano LaRoche

Masterpiece

With these tools at hand, the drawing is commenced, sometimes as a preparation or study for a painting or larger work. Carole Orr says that drawing a study "...allows me to experience the internal and external of the subject, thereby showing a gesture of feelings and form. An example of this is the study for the series A Different View, as well as my study for Collective Effusion". Ryan Seng adds ">Ryan Seng adds "I treat drawing as a time to get my ideas on paper. The process involves anything from cutting things off and moving them around like collage to sometimes using color copies." But Ron Kellen reminds us of the value of the drawings as 'objets completes'. "The original essence of the drawing was to be a test run of ideas, to plan for the final work, to create reference points to refer to later if the model or landscape was not there. Today, the drawing is a work of art in itself and can be as valuable as a painting. We are finding galleries today dedicated specifically to the drawing. If anything, the modernist point of view has raised the value of drawings over what they used to be". Biagio Civale concludes "Aficionados of the fine arts know that a good ink or pencil artwork can be a masterpiece. Even in contemporary art you have drawings by Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso that are true masterpieces."

Small Study - Mother and Child
(1999)
Carole Orr

Sita Pregnant with Sophia
(1998)
Ryan Seng

Forest
(1991)
Biagio Civale