Why I love using Strathmore toned paper

 “A beautiful body perishes, but a work of art does not.” Leonardo Da Vinci

Today apart from posting my two more drawings in the “Sparrow series”, I decided to dedicate this post to “How and when I started using Strathmore toned paper” and “what I love most about it”. To be frank, it’s been years and it is difficult to keep a track of lots of things that have happened while I have been moving ahead in my art journey. Therefore my BLOG and INSTAGRAM help me go down the memory lane to browse through the recorded facts and I feel so grateful that I started sharing my artworks with the art community from around the world.

After checking the data I realised that my earliest drawing of “Eye Study” was posted on April 17th, 2017. So it was definitely around that time when I visited Art Lounge, which during those days was situated at Churchgate. I along with a friend of mine had traveled by local train to do our yearly “Art Stationery Shopping”. It see to be fun. I had seen some lovely charcoal and graphite drawings on Strathmore paper and that inspired me to one for myself and check it out. My first pad that I purchased, as shown below, continues to be used even today as there are still some papers left in it.

Strathmore gray toned paper pad

( 50 sheets )

My fascination for the subject “Sparrow” started after I started having plenty of sparrows all of a sudden in my balcony. It has been a pleasant change and I wake up to chirping of this beautiful species and it’s such a great way of starting the day. Sometimes I just quietly stand at one corner and watch their playful activities. 

For both the “Sparrow sketches” as given below, I have used Camlin graphite pencils namely 3B, 6B and 9B. For white pastel shading I have used Conte A Paris and General white pastel pencil. For my earlier sketching I experimented with combining graphite with Staedtler charcoal pencil, however I realised the blending does not go well. So I decided to keep my artwork limited to plain graphite strokes.

Holding on

A graphite drawing on Strathmore drawing paper

Size 4” X 5.5”

Balancing Act

A graphite drawing on Strathmore drawing paper

Size 4” X 5.5”

My personal review about STRATHMORE GRAY TONED DRAWING PAPER and why I love using it for my graphite and charcoal drawings 

1. It is 100% recycled, contains 30% post consumer fibre and is acid free.

2. The paper works great with graphite, charcoal, color pencils, ink etc and is very versatile.

3. It has a smooth surface and very fine texture which helps in holding the graphite and charcoal medium 

    pretty well.

4. Strathmore toned paper is available in two shades, gray and tan, which work as mid tone values. This

    makes it easier to judge the dark and light values and saves a lot of time as we need to apply only the 

    lighter and darker tones.

5. The paper is 118 gsm and this thickness is perfect to create some great artworks.

If you wish to see my recent artworks visit my INSTAGRAM site and if you like my works and they inspire you, please share with friends. Thanks for visiting my blog and browsing through my artworks. 

Sparrow - A Graphite drawing on Strathmore gray toned paper

 “A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but on its wings”

If you are following me on INSTAGRAM , you probably must have already gone through my recent graphite drawings on “Sparrow series”. ( I have to admit that I have been more regular on my Instagram as compared to my blogging. I wish I could dedicate more time to writing in my blog. )

After having done watercolor medium for months, I suddenly felt the need to take a break and so decided to get back to my toned paper drawing and sketching. As far as stationery is concerned, I have enough of art materials for every possible medium. ( Over a period of time I have accumulated a whole lot of pencils, papers, paints and brushes and it helps because in COVID situations it is not easy to procure the desired materials easily. )

When it comes to toned paper, the two papers that I absolutely love and recommend to everyone are

1. Strathmore toned paper ( Gray and Tan shade )

2. Canson Mi Teintes paper ( Beige and Gray shade )

For my “Sparrow series” I decided to go with Strathmore gray toned paper as I wanted to create soft strokes of graphite and white pastel pencil. The smooth textured surface of the paper, I felt was ideal for these drawings.

“Just Relaxing”

Graphite/ Charcoal drawing on Strathmore Gray toned paper

Size 4” X 5.5”

“Sparrow on the tree”

Graphite drawing on Strathmore Gray Toned paper

Size 4” X 5.5”

pencil

The Strathmore pad with

Gray toned papers

Purchased from Art Lounge

These days I try to limit myself to using minimum art stationery in order to keep my working process simple. In both the above drawings I have used 3B, 6B and 9B graphite pencils and Creatacolor and General white pastel pencil. 

Pencils used 1. General white pastel pencil

2. Cretacolour white pastel pencil

3. Camlin 3B graphite pencil

4. Camlin 6B graphite pencil

5. Camlin 10 B graphite

In addition to the above, I also keep a simple pen pencil which I normally use in the beginning to create a very faint outline of the subject. If you are a beginner, my suggestion is to practise using simple materials available at home and once you feel you enjoy working on toned paper then go ahead and add a few products. When I first got into toned paper artworks, I remember using simple handmade coloured papers with rough surface and it cost me just about 20 to 30 Indian Rupees a sheet. CLICK HERE  to browse through my initial experimental works on handmade paper.

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you wish to purchase any of my original artworks, you can mail me at manjupanchal5@gmail.com and I shall get back to you as soon as possible.

A sparrow - Charcoal sketching on toned paper

Portrait of a sparrow.

Early morning I hear the incessant chirping by a host of sparrows in my balcony. It is fun to watch these beautiful elegant birds actively engaged in their furry movements. They are so full of life. My charcoal sketching as below is inspired by one such morning scene.

Hanging on

Charcoal and white pastel sketching on toned paper

Size 6"X 8"

Before starting the bird sketch I used my i pad to take a few photographs of the sparrows as they came and perched on my balcony grill. I also browsed through several other photographs on the net to get a little understanding of the bird anatomy. The outer form and structure is all carved according to the bones lying underneath. 

I titled this sketch as "Hanging on" to convey the feeling of perseverance and being here for a long time enduring all obstacles. The population of house sparrows is fast dwindling in cities as green space is giving way to high rise buildings. It is a pleasant change to see and hear them every day now.

I will be submitting this work in DPW " The bird challenge ".

Sparrows in my balcony

In December 2014, I created a bird sketch on toned paper from my Coorg reference photograph. In 2014 I was probably beginning to get into these kind of works. It is good to have a blog which is like a "Digital Diary"and it maintains a record of all your past work. Every time I create a work, it reminds me of something done in the past and I browse through my own blog revisiting my older works. It also helps me to analyse and evaluate my past works and then compare it with the present.

A Quote

"The object of art is not to reproduce reality but to create a reality of the same intensity." 
Alberto Giacometti