I’m continuing on with my new approach to sketching with a flat brush, just to change things up a bit.
I also finally found the time to sketch from the upstairs gallery of one of our local shopping malls looking out to the view outside.
Getting set up with obligatory coffee and pistachio biscuit
I didn’t manage to snaffle one of the window tables, but sitting back from the window probably gave me a more expansive view of the structures outside the window.
First strokes, I could have stopped hereFinished sketch including background buildings
That’s all I could fit in before I had to go. Now I want to come back and do more sketching from here.
I’ve mentioned the Zoom get together I have most weeks with art friends. This time I sketched the meeting itself.
I’m testing out some materials I don’t usually work with. I’m using hot press paper – I generally use cold press – and a flat brush, not my regular round brushes.
The Zoom meeting, that’s my partner at the other end of the table. He also works with the same group.
If it’s a less than satisfying result it’s because I’m forgetting that I’m doing this precisely because I need to get some ‘brush miles’ up. Without practice and learning how to use these different techniques, I can’t expect to get consistent results.
Last week we had a lovely, if not long enough break at the seaside. What is particularly special about this place is that there is virtually no internet signal.
A cast off crab moult
We always pack our sketchbooks and spend out time roaming around the tide line, checking out whatever we can find and making lots of art.
This Rose-petal Bubble shell was a first for me. It’s about 6cms long. The remnant shell is underneath this fleshy part.
I enjoyed sitting on the verandah of our cabin making quick sketches of my fellow campers as they moved around the campground.
Kangaroos lounging on the grass
Even better was sketching the ‘roos! They spent a long time most days, literally lounging around on the campground lawns. Contrary to what you might think I found them to be very ‘angular’ animals to draw. Not at all the soft curvilinear shapes we’ve come to expect from the stylised versions we see on logos around us.
Today we met up with friends to explore the site of the former Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station where the first pictures of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walking on the Moon were transmitted to the rest of the world. (Yeah-nah, not ‘the Dish’ at Parkes).
The infrastructure is largely gone, but there is now a set of information panels and a series of sculptural elements by Canberra sculptor Michael Harding.
The site of the former Honeysuckle Creek tracking station.Other locals out enjoying the day!
Our intention had been to sketch on site, but it didn’t happen. We went prepared to BBQ our lunch only to discover that the gas in the BBQs had run out.
In the end we drove back to the Ranger Station and cooked our meal there. While not quite the view I was planning I did complete a sketch of the nearby rural landscape.
Tharwa Landscape
This is the first sketch in my new sketchbook. So you could say “one small sketch” (sorry that’s so lame).
The one thing I’ve noticed with the new sketching technique I’ve been trying out is that it takes a long, long time fir my paint to dry. In turn, this means it takes me way longer than normal to complete a painting. Indeed, it takes me longer than I usually spend having a coffee.
Last weekend, I got this far with my sketch, probably 15-20 minutes longer than my coffee lasted.
As I finished sketching, I realised that there were several sections that really annoyed me. However, I couldn’t be bothered to spend even more time at the cafe than I had already.
The updated version
So last night I fixed the bits I wasn’t happy with. Extending the umbrella canopy to make more sense of the top left corner and adding the darker section along the bottom. “Don’t be afraid of the darks, [colours that is]”, as a sketching friend often says.
I’m happier with it, but is any artists ever truly happy with what they do?😀
On a more practical note, I also realised that one time saver I could do was to paint a base layer of high-tone colour onto my pages before I went sketching. This should save me 10 to 15 minutes of drying time at least.
leonieandrews 