Category: drawing

Something Different

I really prefer landscapes to nearly anything when it comes to artwork. Part of it is pure laziness – no one will point out the inaccuracy of my rendering! I can make it anything I want. Portraits, of someone you know or is famous, are inherently more challenging. With this challenge in mind, I decided to enroll in an 8-week portrait class led by my painting instructor. Yesterday was the second class.

For a number of years now I have sporadically met up with a small group of artists in a nearby park. Originally the group was for a portrait class, in person, sans masks, during the Covid days. Eventually it evolved / devolved, but now it is once more on track as a portrait class. No problem – I think i will happily return. The reason is simple – I am beginning to enjoy portraiture – at least in pencil.

We did a graduation party for Dakota, new high school graduate and soon to be university student. I decided the photo Auntie Am took was perfect for subject matter in yesterday’s class. Tan paper, hard and soft pencil, white Prismacolor pencil for highlights.

I listened to my Portraits-in-the-Park teacher, Steve, whispering in my ear as I drew, recalling words of advice and hints. Barbara, too, refreshed the “rules” of portraiture last week. And so, a portrait of Dakota emerged with the help of my two wonderful instructors.

My own observations tell me my noses are improving but need work, my ears still suck, and the rest is not too bad. All done in about a 45 minute session once the class instructions were completed.

Now, let’s be honest here. Pencil is easy to use. Barbara’s class is to soon move into value studies on canvas and a painted portrait may emerge in the next several weeks. That is going to be pure experiential hell. I have never painted a person in my life. At least I am somewhat comfortable with oils and other media. I am considering oil paint or pastels. Oil is slow drying and can be modified. Pastels are like drawing with a pencil. Watercolor requires a bit more skill than I have and in a classroom I don’t think I would be comfortable, but may decide to do at home where I can wade through paper if need be. Colored pencils may or may not be on the agenda.

Onward!!

California Coastal Cypress

Stuck at home for the most part because of my ankle, I need to find things to do. It turns out that my ankle, while a mess of historical injuries, has no tears in the soft tissues. That is good. However, my heel bone has “microfractures” from the hard landing dodging the car last month. This is a bone bruise, and it is painful! I finally got into see the orthopedist, got a walking boot, and return in a month. The boot makes a big difference though it does take some getting used to wearing and using. I have to be careful not to pitch forward or backward. And you can hear me coming a mile away – squish, squeak, squish, squeak.

Of course, painting is the first choice! I am still tired intermittently from Covid, but I don’t have brain fog (at least I don’t think so), and look for things to enjoy but not be a source of frustration. Thus, ink and watercolor.

The Monterey Cypress is a tree that is common along the northern central coast of California. It is shaped by the environment as it moves with the wind and seems to grow away from the prevailing winds. To me, this quality is what makes it so beautiful and eye-catching. The coast is also subject to foggy days, damp and dreary, even in the height of summer.

Carbon ink, watercolor, Koi pan paints, about 8×10.

Memories of Spring, Thoughts of Summer

For me, lilies of the valley are spring flowers – late spring, for sure, but spring nonetheless. They are not native to California and certainly cannot survive the heat we get, but you can grow them in cool areas. Short-lived, they add a bit of beauty and mark the transition into summer.

Today is cool and grey – May Grey for California! – but it will warm up later on. The sun will come out inland – we live one valley in from the Pacific – but may not show itself along the coastline. Our spring has been wet and gloomy with bits of sunshine in between, but as we move toward summer, heat and watermelon and cold drinks come to mind. (Meanwhile, I am enjoying my hot morning coffee!)

Seasonal transitions – things to say goodbye to, things to welcome. I myself have been in a phase of transition, too. I am learning to play the ukulele, working on oil painting sewing, gardening. All of these take time away from blogging, which is rather nice, really. Still, the fact is that ink and watercolor, individually or together, always beckon, so before I even started the day, my sketchbook came out, colors and ink. It all makes for a good way to start the day, beating dishes and laundry and other housework by a good ten miles!

Mas Schmincke Pan Paints

I took some time to rummage around the studio and found my pad of paper I had set aside – an inexpensive, 100% cotton paper. This paper does not work well with really wet washes, but does well with lighter ones.

I always enjoy the combination of ink and watercolor. Drawing in ink without a pencil drawing beneath seems to me to be far easier to do, and more logical (if that makes sense) than working with a pencil for a value study and then inking over it, erasing the pencil, and then painting. I guess the amount of lines makes more sense to me than the pressure of the pencil? Anyway, I decided to see what I could do with ink and watercolor.

Nothing fantastic, but it does have a nice composition and sense of value to a point. I think the details – or lack – makes an ink drawing express itself. From there, I began to lay in some light washes, referring to the color sheet from my new set of 48 Schmincke Horadam half pan set I mentioned a couple of posts ago. Already I can see my heading toward specific colors, but looking at the painted color sampler, I tried different ones, like English Venetian Red. That color has never made it into my palette, so this was fun!

It took awhile to get comfortable using the pans as I usually paint with tubes. I am experimenting with things to decide what I want for plein air painting and drawing. Thus, pan paints make sense as does pen and ink. I like to travel light, and don’t like lugging this and that around. Having a lot of colors also allows for less need for water, I think, when sketching and painting, as mixing colors can be a bit of a job. At the same time, I do mix, such as blues and yellows to make greens, and having a lot of choices makes for some new and interesting result.

So, here is the finished ink and watercolor sketch. 9×12 on 100% cotton student grade watercolor paper. Light washes were used for most places, including the darker areas. For the darks, though, I did need to work on making my paint thicker and heavier. And I got to mix a lot of greens in addition to using the 4 or 5 available in the pans themselves. Altogether, I was pleased with the results and the experience.

Changing Seasons

It is really important that if you study art that you make studies! I’ve been following along in my haphazard manner a number of teachers I like, online, and am trying to implement what I am learning. Or what is being taught – and then working conscientiously to absorb some of it. Being a magpie doesn’t help as I am so easily distracted by this and that. Focusing on one thing really helps bring mastery, but I get bored with doing only one thing. I know a lot of single-minded people, and I rather envy them. However, we all have to follow our own drummer.

The focus here is to lead the eye to the orangish, autumny trees in the distance. The water does it primarily, but I hope the curves of the field do, too, as well as the lines along the horizon. I am not too thrilled with the trees on the right, but c’est la vie.

So many artists say a value sketch is important. I like to think I can create the values in my head as I become more sophisticated in my abilities. I have decided to create some kind of preliminary sketch before painting as a habit and that is not an easy task for me – even if it only takes a few minutes. Well, the one below is not really a value study, but it did help me work on some compositional elements. Hmmm.

Kilimanjaro rough 140# paper; watercolor.