|Studio Dalwood | Print Australia |

Drawing with Clay

Earth pigments and charcoal are the oldest of art materials. They feature in artworks from prehistoric cave paintings to contemporary works by european and indigenous artists.

The images here represent samples of recent experimentations with locally collected clays on paper. The paper needs to be quite robust and have a good tooth to hold the pigment. The degree of wetness of the clay influences how it attaches itself to the support. Simply take a ball of moist clay in your hand and smear it onto the paper. The paper absorbs moisture so that as you continue to apply the clay it becomes drier and the application more textured. Its almost impossible to draw into whilst still wet and is remarkably silky smooth in texture when dry. Once it has dried you can draw over it with other media. If you apply a second layer of wet over dry the wetness of the clay can lift the lower dry layers off the paper. It takes quite a lot of technique to control the application of the second layer. The images here are all actual size details of larger drawings.

Single layer of terra cotta clay

Single layer of yellow ochre, overlaid with yellow ochre on the left and terra cotta on the right

Several layers showing the redistribution of the lower clay

thick and thin layers contrasted

Single layer of yellow ochre clay, overdrawn with commercial charcoal

© Josephine Severn 2003