SketchBook - Cupcake Binge

Cupcake Sketch. 2013. Rembrandt Polycolor Pencils on black paper. 

There's a cupcake shop in NYC called Baked by Melissa. The cupcakes are literally the size of a small stack of quarters. Despite this, they're ridiculously delicious. I even went on a cupcake binge at some point, eating and drawing cupcakes a few times a week. My favorite flavors at their shop are Cinnamon, Tie-Dye, and Peanut Butter & Jelly. It's the perfect pick me up when I want a small bite of something sweet, especially on gray days.  

I think cupcakes are great practice subjects for color pencil drawings. They have lovely textures and color variations. I haven't used black paper (Artagain paper by Strathmore) in awhile, and decided to play around with it. This paper is versatile for dry media, albeit, the colors come out a tad bit dull, so I layer constantly to get vivid colors with smooth textures. This process works for me because I'm a fan of layering. I've also gotten away with incorporating dabs of acrylic paint, which works well only as decorative touches. Any heavy handling of paint on this paper will result in warping and curling, so be careful!