Pen and Ink Ability is here to be your source
of knowledge to help you to improve your
abilities with writing, drawing, painting and even gilding
Zest-it Ability
Zest-it Brush Cleaner |
Zest-it Parchment Blend
| Zest-it Pencil Blend
Zest-it Clear Painting Medium |
Zest-it Damar Varnish | Zest-it Hand
Cleaner
Pencil Blend
The
Zest-it Pencil blend can be used to blend the coloured pencil; to give a
‘wash’ of colour to the background and to give a smooth finish to the
work.
Pencils
with a ‘waxy’ feel to the stripe work exceptionally well with the Pencil
blend.
To have control over the amount of Zest-it used, ‘wet’ a piece of
kitchen towel, which has first been placed in a pot with a screw lid,
touch the brush on the towel to pick-up the required amount of Zest-it
on the brush.
A fairly stiff brush but with soft filaments seems to work best, but
it’s pays to experiment to find what suites you. Further blending can be
achieved with a colour shaper tool, a paper stump or cotton wool buds.
The example on the right is Derwent Drawing pencils as they look applied
to the Whatman paper and then blended with a brush using Zest-it Pencil
Blend.
You can click the image on the right to be taken to the gallery to see a
larger view.
The
whole of this mushroom was under-painted using Zest-it Pencil Blend with
"Wheat", for the main body and "Warm Grey" for the shadows under the
cap.
If you apply further pencil before the Zest-it is dry, it will tend to
'drag' across the surface and look darker in colour, the colour will
return to normal as the Zest-it dries. Using under-painting allows you
to have 'colour' without 'using up' the tooth of the paper.
The Mallard picture is a work in progress, showing the under-painting
and the building of layers as the painting progresses.
Please note: The 125 and 250 ml Pencil Blend come with the 'vinegar
spout', if you don't like 'the spout' you can remove it, just be sure
you close the bottle cap tightly afterwards to ensure a good seal. If
you want to be sure not to waste any Zest-it, empty the bottle into a
clean glass container before removing the spout, then refill the bottle,
close tightly and wash the glass container in warm soapy water after
use.
Emptying the bottle first saves any accidents as you remove the spout.
One of the easiest ways to remove it is to use a single prong/tine of an
old dinner fork, push it in the hole for about 1/8" to 1/4", then
carefully prize/lever the spout from the bottle using a downwards action
on the fork handle.
A couple of points to note if you remove the spout - hold the neck of
the bottle, not the squeezable part, use a cloth to hold the bottle so
it doesn’t slip and make sure the top is closed tightly.
This is only a suggested method of removing the spout and it is your
responsibility to make sure you do it with your safety in mind as we
take no responsibly for any accident you may have when removing the
spout.
Artwork Copyright© T. Blackman
Jacqui 2006