Autumn Leaves November 2021

Daniel Smith watercolor 

and Faber Castell's Polychromos pencils on Cartiera Magnani Velata paper.

February 14, 2021

During the past year of the Covid 19 pandemic, my drawing in studios and in urban spaces was curtailed. Subsequently I sought out drawing opportunities on Zoom and Youtube. My favorite web sites were Danny Gregory's  "Draw with Me", Meetup.com's SF Sketchers Monday Morning Zoom group, and John Muir Laws Nature journaling sessions. Overall I completed over 200 drawings/sketches in 10 months. I used variety of media: watercolor paints, watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, graphite, gel pens and ink. I will be posting some of my favorite sketches/drawings here for awhile, but many will remain hidden in my sketchbooks. 

30x30 DIRECT WATERCOLOR 2018

I've decided to try my hand at meeting Marc T Holmes' 30x30 Direct Watercolor challenge.
https://citizensketcher.com/2018/05/15/announcing-30x30directwatercolor2018-lets-do-30-paintings-in-30-days/
https://www.lizsteel.com/new-watercolour-challenge-for-june/

To help me get started I set out watercolor palette with DS Smith paints, Kolinsky sable and synthetic squirrel brushes, a 6 x 8 in. sketchbook (Stillman & Birn Beta series) etc. So no excuse not to sketch. I started practicing to get a feel for the paints on this paper which I have not used before. Other artists sponsoring the challenge are listed in Marc's Citizensketcher blog and have been offering tips to help others meet this sketching challenge.

I'll be posting selected paintings here. Photo of my set below.

30 x 30 setup

More People in Motion 2015

I am continuing to focus on applying the techniques taught in the first 3 lessons of Marc Taro Holmes's online Craftsy course. My drawn line is becoming more fluid and I am becoming more comfortable sketching in a smaller format. Marc's process for capturing a moving figure is very helpful. Now more practice! 

At an uninstructed drawing session, we had the challenges of trying to capture a juggler turned musician/singer. Here are my efforts...

Contact juggling ball moving along the arm's surface
Pen on newsprint

Juggler with 3 balls
Graphite, ink pen, ink wash on newsprint

Juggler turned musician/singer
Graphite, ink pen, ink wash on newsprint

Juggler setting up dominoes: ink pen over graphite in
Fabriano’s EcoQua sketchbook (5.75 x 8 in.)

Sketching People in Motion Assignments 1, 2, 3

During this past week I’ve been gearing up to start the People in Motion assignments. I bought some new sketching tools—notably the Pentel Calligraphy brush and hauled out my dip pens and inks. I even splurged for several ‘scribblers’—Fabriano’s EcoQua sketchbooks (5.75 x 8 in.), which have a very nice paper, with a smooth surface and a weight of 60lb/85gsm. They have colorful and sturdy covers. Luckily these were 40% off at the local art store.

Next I tackled the assignments which are part of the course:

1. Traced figures in magazines, first in pencil, then drew over them in ink.  Learned to watch for folds in clothing to hint at the figure within.

2. Sketched figures ‘in action’ from a video. Focused on trying to pick up the action in multiple steps an an actor moved through a scene. Looked for anchor points.

3. Went to the food court at a local corner mall and sketched people sitting outside and one person walking. My focus was on capturing the poses, and looking for anchor points. Tables and chairs complicated this, but I attempted to add parts of them. 

What I learned:

1. Tracing figures took the pressure off trying to capture a pose and allowed me to focus on how clothes draped on the body and how folds emerged from the compression points of the fabric. 

2. Sketching from a video was good practice for sketching the reality of moving figures. Knowing that the actor would reappear and not ‘take off’ reduced the anxiety of capturing a pose. I could focus on quick sketching and revise as needed.

3. Sketching outdoors at the food court was easier than attempts that I have made in the past and the figures looked less cartoon-like. Fortunately it was a balmy 68 degrees out side.

Thanks Marc for these suggestions—they were very helpful! 

Sketching People in Motion--a beginning

Recently I enrolled in the online course, Sketching People in Motion with Marc Taro Holmes, on the Craftsy web site. I was looking for some ways to improve my drawing of people on location. My previous experience had been drawing a posed model. Usually the same pose was held for the entire drawing session. After completing Liz Steel's course, I thought that I was ready for the challenge of drawing people in action.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to sketch a partially clothed model who moved in slow motion as part of an uninstructed drawing session at a local art center. The room was darkened, the spotlight used a red filter. I had watched the first 3 videos of Marc's course and learned some excellent techniques to try out. Needless to say, it was a very challenging afternoon.

My main focus was just trying to capture a pose that lasted only about 5 seconds--it forced me to keep my drawn line loose and fluid. I really did not have time to think about applying any new knowledge, so what emerged was an almost instinctual line. The last pose was held for about 5 minutes, so I was able to capture more detail and use some color. I tried to preserve some whites.

Materials: A bamboo pen with a large nib, Noodler's brown ink that I am trying to use up, Sumi-e black ink and a wash of both inks on newsprint paper were used in the early sketches. Lyra watercolor crayons on Cartieri-Magnani Velata paper were used in the final sketch. The Velata paper is meant for dry media, so I was pushing its limits, and mine!

I'm including only a few of the sketches that I made. My photography skills are minimal, but I did do some editing in iPhoto. Click on image to enlarge it.

Image #1 Ink on newsprint paper

Image #2 Ink on newsprint paper

Image #3 Ink on newsprint paper

Image #4 Lyra Watercolor crayons

Image #5 (detail) Lyra Watercolor crayons

Weeks 10, & 11 Assignments: Creating a Focus, Working from a Focus

SketchingNow-Foundations Course
Week 11 Assignment: Working from a Focus-Cafe Sketching
This final assignment took me to the local Le Boulanger Cafe and Bakery. This is an actual working bakery where thousands of loaves of bread are made for the bakeries and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area.  I've been wanting to sketch this for a long time. I did have breakfast here, but did not sketch it--a  good reason to return and complete the page spread. The image is of one of the bakery assistants standing on a ladder and adjusting the dough in a feeder that automatically cuts down and shapes the dough and sends out the loaves to rise before baking.


This was a challenging drawing because the worker was only up on the ladder for a few seconds. So I had to wait for him to toss in another 20 pounds of dough and then use the oil in the bucket to adjust and coat the dough to help it glide smoothly through the feeder. It took multiple episodes for me to capture the pose.

Week 11 Assignment: Image #1 Working from a Focus 
Bakery worker @ Le Boulanger, Sunnyvale California, USA

Media: Watercolor and pen in Strathmore series 500 sketchbook

Week 10 Assignment: Creating a Focus
Image #1: Facade of the Triton Museum of Art

Week 10 Assignment: Image #1 
Triton Museum of Art
Media: Ink drawing and Sennelier watercolors
on Strathmore 500 Series sketchbook paper

Week 10 Assignment: Image #2 
Morgan Horse by S.S. Schnittmann, 1966
Ink drawing with Inktense colored pencil wash

The Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California, is a favorite local art museum. I participate in the museum’s uninstructed figure drawing sessions on an almost weekly basis, so it almost feels like home to me. The building's sprawling modernistic shape is full of angles. Numerous redwood trees on the grounds soften its shapes. It has several iconic features, and outdoor sculptures. Unfortunately, I did not have time to capture them all. Since my time was limited, I opted not to draw any thumbnail sketches. Instead I made two quick sketches in which I tried to apply some of the principles of creating a focus.

Image #1:  I was sketching from across the street on a sunny winter day. The sun is a bit low in the sky washing out the pale ochre of the building, but the light-dark contrast and the sculpture help create the focus on the entryway. I also used the rule of thirds to organize the composition.

Image #2: Morgan Horse Sculpture

Since my time was running out I decided to just do an ink drawing. I added a grey wash at home to emphasize the sculpture. The actual sculpture is finished in a rich, copper green patina. The central placement of the object on the page, and the building's angles help create the focus on the sculpture. I plan to return and do justice to this masterful sculpture.

This lesson really gave me some tools to improve my composition--thanks, Liz!

Week 9 Assignment: Framing the view

Image #1: Using the Viewfinder

Using a viewfinder is not new to me, but using one divided in thirds is. I was satisfied with the first assignment which was to draw to draw some desk items. Using a reference point really helped to maintain the same viewpoint.

Week 9 Assignment: Using the viewfinder

Image #2: Framing the View--Edges and Shapes

I traveled to a local shopping center for this part of the assignment. The colorful buildings seemed ready-made for learning to use the viewfinder on location. However, it was more difficult than I expected--there is a lot of complexity in the view. Getting the angles of the receding buildings correct was crucial as Liz had mentioned. You can see the correction of the blue roof in Image #3.

I used the horizontal and vertical formats, focusing on edges first and then shapes. I intend to try again because drawing buildings is not my forte (or my main interest.) I included some figures in Image #3 to provide scale to the buildings. I used ink and colored pencils on Aquabee Super Deluxe sketch paper in all the sketches.

Week 9 Assignment: Image #2
Composing the view--edges

Week 9 Assignment: Image #3
Composing the view--shapes