Ho! Ho! Ho!... Oh dear!

Happy Christmas!
Graphite sketch by Estelle Rocca-Serra

Oops… I think I might have got slightly confused with the sizing system when I ordered this outfit! Oh well.

I just wanted, on behalf of Estelle and I, to wish you a wonderful and very merry Christmas!

Love
Basil xx

Did you know?... Sepia

Angry sea bird spotting a cuttlefish
Graphite sketch by Estelle Rocca-Serra

We’re all familiar with the romantic sepia tone of old photographs, but the name actually comes from “Sepia Officinalis”, the latin name of the common cuttlefish.

Sepia is a natural dye found in the ink bags of the cuttlefish, who, when under threat, releases the dark brown ink to take cover.

To be honest if I was feeling threatened by this kind of angry looking predator, I’d release some ink too!

In the late 18th century a technique was developed where those bags were dried and the ink extracted in concentration high enough to use in paint, particularly in watercolour.

The colour is a very dark brown, almost black. Each species of cephalopod produces slightly differently coloured inks; for example the octopus produces black ink and squid ink is blue-black. Only the cuttlefish ink is used as art material.

Sepia drawings were much celebrated towards the end  the 18th century, but Sepia being a dye, not a pigment, fades over time when in contact with light, so most of those drawings are now a subtle bleached yellow-brown memory.

We now have modern pigments which are permanent and come in the same range of colour, to replace this natural ink.

Stay tuned...

Sources: The materials and Techniques of paintings, Kurt Wehlte; Wikipedia

The Geek: Sanguine

Basil's playmate
Sanguine and graphite sketch by Estelle Rocca-Serra

Now...I am not sure about the choice of the illustration here! Personally I find it totally inappropriate; I suspect that it comes in retaliation for the paw marks that were, allegedly, found on some drawings last week… tsk, tsk!

Anyway... let's talk about Sanguine.

Sanguine is a drawing medium, a coloured crayon with a sensual reddish colour, taking its name from the French word “sanguin” meaning “bloody”.

Encased in wood like a pencil, it is made of a fine clay which contains naturally occurring iron-oxide - geeky name for rust - which gives it a wide range of shades from delicately yellowish to deep red and even violet. It has a texture close to chalk, it’s very flexible and can make quite sharp lines, but also blends beautifully smooth.

The sanguine line, compared to the black charcoal, has a softer and almost sensual feel that lends itself naturally to figure drawing with a colour similar to skin tone, it also works wonderfully on coloured paper.

It is said that towards the end of the 1400’s, Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first to see the potential of these red earths for drawing and Michelangello used them for some of his studies for the Sistine Chapel in the early 1500’s.

Source: The material and techniques of painting, Kurt Wehlte.

"We're gonna need a bigger boat..."

Usual Suspects: Batida Maracuja
Oil painting by Estelle Rocca-Serra

Well, actually we're gonna need a bigger studio! Estelle is currently working on a commission, for a collector in Milan, of 6 paintings of her shoe series: 'Usual Suspects'.

There are drawings of shoes all over the studio, floor, walls, everywhere!

I've managed to keep my desk safe, for now, but I have been asked nicely, but rather firmly, to get out of the way. Something about paw marks on the drawings.

Anyway normal service will resume very soon. In the meantime, ladies, I'm available for brunch, lunch, dinner...

Stay tuned