Window painting

I wanted to do a goauche painting and found a nice window view to sketch from. I’m really loose in my use of the materials and I hate wasting paint so I try to use my various tiny mixtures through the painting in order to minimize waste. This has the beneficial effect of creating unity. I haven’t been able to find any really excellent books that deal with this medium alone. I’m in awe when I see smoothly and realistically modeled gouache paintings. However, I enjoy flat illustration usage as well.

If anyone knows of any helpful print or web resources drop a comment, per favoré

Lake Sketches

On Memorial Day I went to a nearby lake. There were a couple of hundred people who had the same idea and their various activities provided ample opportunity to sketch lots of quick poses.

Not One Falls to the Ground…

I had the fantastic opportunity of having a dead adolescent (Stellars Jay, I think) bird end up in front of my house. It must have been a recent mishap since the body wasn’t decayed and was relatively whole. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity for some up-close study of avian anatomy, I did these quick pencil and watercolor studies.

Probably the greatest discovery for me was to find that the birds rear-projecting claw is in the same position relative to the human thumb. I guess cartoon drawings of birds leave the impression that 3 claws project forward and one projects backward, diametrically opposite the middle front-facing digit. Actually, the back claw is what your thumb would be if you sliced the tissue separating your thumb and index finger all the way to were your thumb connects to the wrist bone, then bend the whole thing back. Amazing!

Zoo Tripping and Tips

I visited the Oakland Zoo last week. I took some video which will hopefully give me some good sketch fodder. I also did some quick sketching of the animals and humans, including my favorite: the Crowned Crane.

I recently skimmed through a book on quick sketching. One of the tips was to have an inverse ratio between the size of the subject and the size of the sketch. Another was to have in mind the purpose of each particular sketch. It’s a good read, though I didn’t go through each exercise as the book suggests.

The mysterious Blue-Plumed Figment

I’ve been itching to experiment with Gouache and I recently got the chance during a brief visit to the park. The subject didn’t move the entire time. I think I’ll try a scene next time…

Burlington, Vermont sketchcrawl

Some new friends and I had a good time in merry New England. Fantastic buildings and trees. We discovered that on a cold, damp, slightly-drizzly day by a lake, love will keep you warm.

I used a uni-ball pen, 2B pencil, watercolor, and a water-soluble black pencil of some kind which I discovered was soluble after painting with watercolor on top of it. I was able to intentionally harness the effect for the chapel steeple.

Sketchcrawl 20: Pleasanton

I may have been the only sketchcrawler in Pleasanton. I couldn’t make it to the city but was determined to get some quick figure studies in. Since I was in Pleasanton anyway, I swung by the farmer’s market to see the river of humanity. The river flows pretty quickly.

By a happy coincidence, there was a high school band competition that day and folks stopped to watch the bands as they paraded down Main Street. It’s amazing how still people can be when their minds are occupied elsewhere. Free Models! I still had to draw fast, but was able to get more poses on the second, non-market, page!

I also attempted a watercolor of a restaurant. It isn’t blog-worthy but I did establish a new rule: When painting a full-blown watercolor on a Sketchcrawl, limit the size of the composition to 8.5×5.5″ or less. I spent to much time trying to flood the page with color and ran out of time for the details. Lesson Learned.

Any other Sketchcrawlers in Pleasanton/Dublin/Livermore who want to start an official branch out here?

Lawn Sketches

It’s amazing how much activity can happen on a bean-shaped front lawn that’s no bigger than 150 square feet.

Brush pen, pencil, Litho crayon and digital color.

Sketchcrawl across the street

I took my 2 oldest progeny on a mini sketchcrawl literally across the street. There are some lovely and fragrant vine-growing flowers on our neighbors fence.

Good ol’ watercolors and brushpen with brushed uniball accents.

Park Sketches 1

It was a beautiful day so my wife and I walked with the kids to a nearby park.  I took my watercolors and micron brush pen with me and did a few quick studies.

I find that trying to sketch people (especially children) is often difficult for me when I’m using pencil or pen. Swashes of color however allow me to capture the shapes and motion more quickly.