Creating Neo Deco – 24-03-25

Website link: https://corneakkers.com/neo-deco-24-03-25/
Print: https://corneakkers.com/print-neo-deco-24-03-25/
Printable: https://corneakkers.com/product/printable-neo-deco-24-03-25/

Experiment in Red

This colored pencil drawing ‘Neo Deco – 24-03-25’ is an experiment in red. A bit of a cubist styling applied to a female form without applying red though. This time it’s the paper that is fiery red. first, let me tell you this: I just love it when a plan comes together. Last week I had a student draw a female nude using one of my old print-outs. It happened to be the artistic motif for a pastel I made, called ‘Nude 15 (2014) (Sold)’. More than 10 years ago and I remember it well. Drawing it at Brugman Art where I teach, one student bought it from me instantly after completion. Of course a big compliment.

Object for Studies

Since then I offered this photo to many students in order to study it thoroughly. The reason is it contains all the fun but also necessary elements to study subtle tonal shifts. Anatomy is not very difficult and throwing in these dramatic highlights in white easily gets you a pleasing result. So there it was again, brought to my attention once more. Lo and behold! Next thing I know in Brugman’s Art Supplies shop I came across some new paper I didn’t know yet. New in the store’s range I guess and I doesn’t take much to convince me to buy novelty art supplies. Sometimes I feel like being an Imelda Marcos of paper types. We are talking about Aurora 120g Coloured Drawing Paper, containing all sorts of colored sheets. Perhaps the universe lead me to the red paper section immediately.

Simultaneous Contrast

Another reason was the principle of simultaneous contrast I often explain to students. Only yesterday I showed one of them a picture of a Coca Cola can in green, white and black stripes. The human eye wants to see red in those black stripes even when it’s not there. This principle always takes me back to the National Theater here in The Hague. Attending a performance by my good fried Alexis de Roode in a poorly lighted corridor I walked behind a woman. She wore a shiny red China dress with a dragon on her back embroidered in black. The dragon popped into my eyes as pure dark green. An intense experience, also the performance itself.

Mostly Green

All in all sound reasons to try this out and use a dark green Faber-Castell Polychromos coloured pencil. Some Caran d’Ache Luminance white and a tadd of Polychromos yellowed orange. That’s all. O yeah, a bit of Pitt graphite matt 14B in the hair to top it off. Otherwise there would be too much tonal contrast. Even though not planned I styled her a bit cubistically. Such a drag sheer copying a picture wouldn’t you say? However, not to striking as well which fits into my plans to marry cubism to realism. One point of criticism. The paper shows these funny odd-looking stainy spots. As if I have dropped some tiny drops of spit. Was this a misfit in the badge Aurora put out?

Colored pencil drawing on Aurora Coloured Drawing paper (21 x 29.7 x 0.1 cm - A4 format)
Artist: Corné Akkers