The term, “sanguine,” is used to describe a lead of an earthy red color, iron oxide red, used by the artists since the Renaissance. It is a natural pigment that, while unsuitable for making paint because of its low inking power, is highly appreciated by artists for the warmth of its color in drawings in which it is used alone or in combination with other media. It is sold as pencils (pastel pencils with a sanguine lead), leads, sticks, and as a dust.
Antoine Coypel (1661-1722), Study of a girl’s head, The Louvre.
Every manufacturer uses slightly different pigments in its sanguine pencils. Some brands sell sanguine in three different tones.
Artists who like sanguine’s special warmth use pencils and sticks indiscriminately.
Sanguine’s reddish color and its slightly diffuse line always create harmonious works.
SHARPENING SANGUINE PENCILS
Pencils, leads, and sticks have a soft lead and, therefore, seem to necessitate drawing with thick lines. However, with care, a blade and a little patience, a sanguine pencil’s lead will sharpen very finely. It will be much easier to sharpen again if you leave a good amount of the lead exposed, since it wears down quickly. A metallic lead protector helps to conserve the supply of lead.
Most sanguine pencils are a variation on pastel pencils; they are composed of a pigmented lead, thickened with clay, and encased in cedar wood. However, today, various brands have introduced varieties of sanguine that include mixed leads, watercolor pencils, and oil pencils. The reddish tone of their line characterizes sanguine pencils and continues to be the alternative color of artistic drawing, aside from graphite’s gray and charcoal’s black.
Those who love to draw in sanguine know very well that every manufacturer makes sanguine in a slightly (and sometimes not so slightly) different color. Their color ranges from raspberry red to reddish orange. The same manufacturer may even sell sanguines of the same name that vary in color due to slight differences in the batch of pigment being used. Therefore, it is important to check the color of the stick or pencil before purchase.
Chalk is a white or gray limestone rock formed during the Cretaceous period. It has a very fine grain that leaves a mark when rubbed against a hard surface, and has been used for drawing since ancient times. In general, sticks of hard pastel with a square shape are referred to as chalks. However, more specifically, chalks also display a range of dark colors, traditionally seen in drawings that employ the technique of chiaroscuro.
The most common chalks are square, with a shape and size identical to that of a conventional hard pastel color. This is the most traditional form of chalk. For single-color drawing, artists usually use traditional hues: sanguine, sepia, white, or black.
A harmonious range of single-color chalk sticks.
Sanguines and chalks are the best color complement to charcoal drawings. Work by Joan Martí.
Charcoal and chalks are fully compatible and their mixtures and combinations always produce harmonious tones.
The color of sepia pencils comes from the bladder of the sepia mollusk, and, traditionally, its use was limited to ink drawing. By extension, the name also refers to the leads of pencils with a color similar to this original sepia, but which are, in reality, made with a natural pigment of the iron oxide family (in general a toasted or natural earth color). As with sanguine (with which it is usually appears in lightly colored drawings), sepia is available in pencils, leads and sticks.
In pencil, lead or stick, chalk functions exactly the same way as sanguine.
WHITE CHALK
This is, in effect, a white color stick that does not originate from chalk, but, instead is made from white pigment (usually titanium oxide), thickened with clay, and, depending on the variety, a small amount of powdered pumice stone. It is useful for highlighting charcoal or carbon drawings, and can work in combination with other chalks.
Chalk sticks offer tones in an array of traditional and commonly used tones, but also represent shades of gray between black and white, and ranges of sepia tones between sanguine and black. This range allows artists to fine tune the tonal range in their drawings, and provides them with more extensive options.
Artists who practice single-color drawing with chalk use sepia.
Sanguine is a very interesting, single-color drawing medium. It produces a broad range of tones, but its color makes it much softer and more luminous than charcoal. It usually yields the best results with subjects involving the human figure. Sanguine can work with many other drawing mediums. Normally, it appears in combination with charcoal or pastels.
As they are hard pastels, sanguine and chalks are generally better suited to works in which the subject itself is a priority over the color of the drawing. Even so, the color effects of chalks are in no way substandard. They can be blurred, blended into each other, applied on top of each other and can cover the paper almost as much as any other pastel. Classical drawings in this medium usually employed combinations of white chalk, sepia, sanguine and black chalk. These colors are more than sufficient for drafts, sketches, and works that do not require a thorough development of color.
Sanguines, sepia chalks, and white chalks were used in this drawing. The combination of the three hues is perfectly harmonious and it stands halfway between a single and multi-colored drawing.
The skillful combination of chalks and charcoal results in works with dimmed but very attractive coloring.
The drawing stump provides atmospheric results that accentuate the soft, warm tendency of sanguine.
Despite the thickness of its lead, sanguine is a very delicate drawing medium. Its tone will not produce shadows that are very dark. Rather, works done in sanguine feature medium tones, resulting in a very warm and attractive tonality. Those who employ sanguine pencils usually work from lines and strokes that hatching builds up to achieve convincing shading. Those who like to use sticks normally start with broad strokes and thicker lines, creating effects that characterize pastel painting.
All sanguine or chalk drawings are amenable to the use of a drawing stump.
Any surface that smooths the stick of the drawing medium and retains the pigment is a good support for sanguine. Medium and coarse grained papers are the most suitable. Finely textured paper is easy to cover rapidly, but does not hold multiple layers of sanguine because the grain is more easily covered. Therefore, coarse grain papers are harder to cover, but can more readily tolerate several layers of sanguine.
Ingres laid paper, white or color, is ideal for drawing with sanguine.
Canson paper provides pages in warm tones specially designed for working with sanguine and chalks.
The slightly rough texture that results from working with sanguine on laid papers highlights the drawing’s tonal values.
The fine texture of laid paper is an excellent support for sanguine drawings, especially when using pencils to create delicate lines and strokes. Laid papers are available in various hues. Grays and pale ochre colors are the most suitable for sanguine drawing.
The particular texture of Canson paper is clear in this staining with sanguine.
Pale colors are those that best respond to the earthy coloring of chalks. Work by Joan Raset.
COLORED PAPERS
Sanguines produce a more harmonious result when drawn on colored papers. Artists can either purchase or dye paper to their preferred color. A traditional method involves moistening the paper with an infusion of tea, which leaves a permanent coloring that is soft, agreeable, and harmonizes very well with the color of sanguines and chalk in general.
One of the most common painting papers is the Canson Mi-Teintes, a quality paper that is 65% cotton and has a different texture on each side. It is manufactured in a range of colors that includes soft grayish hues, solid reds, yellows, and blues. This paper is sold in two dimensions and also in sketchbooks in a harmonious range of colors (sienna, ochre, grays, etc.).
