The Lowly Pencil by Roger Greengo

Art Projects In Graphite

Wednesday, January 20, 2010


I finally finished this drawing of the covered bridge and not a minute to spare. They are now disassembling it for a long needed rebuild. Since they started, all of the lush vegetation and trees surrounding it were cut down. I'm happy that I took so many photos prior to the destruction.

10"x10" Groton Street Covered Bridge
In Pepperell, Massachusetts














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Jack is a cute little Bichon Frise. His owner is a Dentist who takes him to the office on a daily basis. Jack just eases the pain and has been known to sit on the lap of some patients. One of the Dentists patients thought it would be nice to have Jacks picture hanging on the wall, so commissioned me to draw him. A totally white hairy dog is quite a challenge but it turned out to be a very fun project none the less.
9"x12" Jack














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A friend of mine asked me to do a picture of his dog Mowgli. I eagerly accepted, but the photo he gave me looked a bit funny around the mouth area. I asked him for another photo, but he said he liked this one, and it was then I discovered that Mowgli actually had a ball in his mouth which he carries around at all times. However, the ball wasn't visible. I brought the ball forward so you could actually identify it. Mowgli has since died and I received a note saying that his picture will be cherished.

11"x14" Mowgli












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This drawing of SHANE was a Christmas gift for the owner who lives next door. The owners Mother brought the dog over one day for a photo session in the front yard. We liked this profile the best and I’m very happy to report that Shane now hangs in a most honored place in their living-room. This picture is too large for my scanner and is a bit clipped.

11"x14" Shane











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Last summer my Daughter and her family came to visit us from Swansea, South Wales. That was about the most fun a person can have in a short ten days. We took many photos so I couldn’t help but go to the drawing board after they left. When drawing pictures like these, you become very familiar with every small feature. No one will ever know how much I enjoyed drawing these pictures of my Grandchildren, who I very seldom get to see. The oldest is Megan who was 13 at the time, Bethan was 11, and Ellen was 8.

11"x14" Megan












11"x14" Bethan












11"x`4" Ellen













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I enjoyed drawing the girls so much that I just continued to draw my other two Grandchildren, who live on the south coast of England at Bournemouth. I used the most recent photos I had received from my son and Daughter-in-law. The first is Scott, who was five at the time and his little sister Darcy, just under a year. What a joy!

11“x14” Scott





















11"x`4" Darcy





















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I recently purchased a new kind of paper, Foray Bristol - 110 lb - Smooth Acid Free, which I’d never heard of before. To test it, I was going to draw one small animal and let it go at that. However, one thing led to another and another and . . . well you see what happened. The ground squirrel was to be the test, but as you can see, I got a bit carried away. For lack of a better name, and to justify it’s very weird existence, I call it “Without Perspective.” The nice rich blacks have been lost through the scanning and reproduction process. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not I even like this picture, although I’m quite happy with the paper. It lends itself very well to indenting and does accept very dark heavy work. However, forget repairs and erasing. Once the graphite is laid down it’s pretty much a done deal. Another plus for this picture is the attraction to children. While this was hanging in one show I witnessed children trying to count all the different animals and birds. Was nice to watch them enjoy a drawing.

11“x14” Without Perspective





















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Once again, with The Pond, I was testing a new brand of paper. Well, new to me anyway. It’s done on Canson Bristol 100 lb Smooth Acid Free paper. The picture is 10“x10” and I had a great time drawing it. This paper is very receptive to indenting with a harder pencil, in this case 4H and 6H, for the hair on the Coon. I also like the water reflections. I’ll certainly be using this paper again very soon.

10"x10" The Pond

















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I’m drawing larger pictures these days, so pictures like this squirrel are chopped because my scanner just can’t get it all. I suppose I could do magical things if I were to use Photo Shop. Well, for the purposes of this blog, the smaller pictures will suffice. This squirrel is using the lilacs as a pathway to my bird feeders. This drawing, by the way, received a blue ribbon at the Beaver Brook art show in New Hampshire, for Best In Theme - “Local Wildlife.” I liked that so much that I took it to another art show in Jaffrey, NH, and received second place through peoples choice. Wonders never cease.
(Note: For anyone interested, the hair on the squirrel was indented with 2H and 4H pencil creating more realism)

11"x14" Winter Foraging



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At Christmas this year, the daughter of an old friend of mine commissioned a portrait of her mother with her grandson. I really enjoyed working on this. One of these days I’ll get a scanner that will do justice to the delicate shading on faces. This seems to be a problem with all of my portrait art.