Sharpies are one of my favorite brand of pens to play around with. With a variety of colors, and permanence if makes the best tool to draw on a variety of surfaces. I actually have at least one Sharpie of every color, and most last me at least 2-3 years before going bad. The black Sharpies usually do not last that long, only because they are used more frequently.
Every year I try to do some sort of self portrait sketch using solely Sharpies on paper. This may seem odd to some of you, Sharpies do not blend well, they bleed (slightly, depends upon surface), and are not the finest tipped pens within existence. None the less, I love them.
Here are some of my self portraits, keep in mind these are not professional art pieces at all, merely an exercise in material and an effort to keep my creative abilities up.
You can see from these images, I tried various moods and lighting. The middle piece is an attempt to fade out to white in a not so "fade-able" marker. You can see where I really try for the third dimensional perspective in the last one, using grey to shadow areas that may have been blocks of color. This last one is my favorite, but not because of my facial expression, and the ties it has to my life at that point in time, but the way my sweatshirt is done. It turned out great, way better than the face.
As you can probably realize, once Sharpie is put down, it can not be erased. At least not easily. This is why it is a favorite among graffiti artists. Easy to walk up do a little doodle, stick the marker back in your pocket and walk away. Not only is this easy, but Sharpies are usually more accessible than actual paint markers, and other specialized markers specifically for graffiti style art. Many years ago I used to go to a local park and hang out with my friends during the summer. We would meet there, swim there, even got into trouble there, ahh those were the good ol' days. Anyway the summer of 2006 I noticed all these benches just filled with graffiti, all of them. Started with one or two little sketches in sharpie, mostly of naked women or pot leafs or "420" in graffiti style letters. Still at that young age it was so interesting to me and my friends. We could literally "follow" the graffiti artist as new pictures were left everyday. We even occasionally added to them. Later that summer the parks department ended up resurfacing all the tables in order to deal with the graffiti. Being 16 at the time and having just got a camera phone I had taken a picture of one of my favorite pieces and posted it on my online social site. Years later I was able to find it. Here it is, you will have to excuse the color, I used to think saturation was so cool.
Just another one of the great surfaces Sharpies can do anything on. Wood, plastic, metal, even clothe. I decorated my whole back pack in high school. Sharpies are a great way to stay creative. Another way to use Sharpies is through decoration. Check out the candle holder I made back in high school with a terra cotta pot, some hot glue, and Sharpies. I still use it today!
I am not saying Sharpies are the way to create a master piece. None of the photos listed here are anywhere close to master pieces. Sharpies are just simply a way to exercise creativity. I would encourage everyone to get a pack and try them out!
No comments:
Post a Comment