square hand*book journal, watercolor, CP, graphite
Another entry from my travel journal of my art retreat trip to Virginia last month. This was drawn in full on location and the watercolor washes were added later and actually I started using my pitt pen on site too - as you can see with the boat on the left - but decided to wait and see if I wanted a more painterly look. Lately I've been going with watercolor or watercolor w/pen details for my sketchbooks. I find I can get quicker results this way and not get hung up on too many details - keeps things fresh. EDIT: I played around with this sketch in Photoshop using the pen tool, it's great for trying something out digitally before you commit to it. I think I do prefer it outlined, so I'm going to pen it in. That's what I enjoy the most about my sketchbooks, they're a place to *play* and try things out : )
Which do you prefer for sketching? Do you use pencil mostly? Colored pencils, pastels? Please share which sketching medium works best for you!
Anyhow, it was quite clear and cold that day but the trip was nearly over and I didn't want to miss capturing this plein air. I consider this my first official drawing in public because I had a friendly couple who took notice of me sketching this - they gave me an "ohh there's an artist" smile that was just priceless :) They were fairly close and almost tiptoed by, not wanting to bother me so I stopped sketching and smiled back, then assured them it was ok to pass in front of me. During the whole trip I felt like everything was so new to me, but what a great feeling to just "dive in" and experience it all!
8 comments:
Wow, this is lovely, Laura! The perspective is outstanding, and I love the soft colors. Very well done! The boats and bollards are so nicely drawn, too.
I find that I'm so new to watercolor that I do better with ink to define things. I think it's so much harder to communicate with only the watercolor, and plan to practice plain watercolor much more when I retire. Right now, I need instant gratification (Who am I kidding? I've always loved instant gratification!) of producing something with lines to guide my color.
Good for you, doing this challenge. I occasionally sketch in public, but have been unable to overcome that awkward feeling when people want to look. Your sketch has good perspective, and lots of detail.
Thanks for taking the time to visit Kathleen, Jeanette and Sherry! The perspective was a bit challenging and actually I let it fade out as there were more boats and buildings on the horizon that I didn't want to have to draw! I did decide to keep that sketchbook consistent in look and feel though, so I added pen detailing.
And yes Sherry it was a bit awkward at first but it opens things up so much with respect to what you can achieve - you should give it a go again too :)
This is a wonderful sketch, Laura!! Love the perspective and detail ~ :)
I'm an acrylic artist so I haven't tried watercolour before. I tend to work with charcoal or graphite for my sketches. Recently, I've started trying out ballpoint pens and also coloured pencils. I just received an order of Micron Pigma pens in the mail so hope to try them out soon too.
Nice to see you Serena and thank you! Thanks to for sharing what you use for sketching. I think it's great to try different mediums too - plus I find some subjects are better suited to a particular medium or paper so you can achieve the effect you're after. I've been using the Pitt pens but I like the Microns just and Zig milleniums too. Have fun experimenting!
Oops sent that too quickly - should have read as "Microns just as well" :D
This is such a lovely piece. The soft colors and loose washes. I usually use pencil, sometimes pastels, but never a brush as I cannot paint to save my life. This is so beautiful.
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