Sketching an Autumn Scene

A crisp Autumn day dawned clear and lovely, and I set out to capture a bit of the season's color with my paintbrush.  

I started with a pencil sketch and then painted a wet-in-wet sky using Phthalo blue and French Ultramarine Blue.

After the sky dried, I mixed pyrrol red and Azo yellow to create the orange hues of the sassafras foliage.  I laid in a wash of sap green muted with a touch of alizarin crimson.

I got lost in laying in the greenery along the fenceline (foreground) and in the midground hill.  I used Hooker's green muted with alizarin crimson for the field beyond the fenceline trees.

Finally, I mixed French Ultramarine blue with burnt umber to create a dark gray for the tree trunks and limbs. Yellow ochre muted with burnt umber created the dried grasses.  After the wash was dry, I added in grass stalks in burnt Sienna.

I used the same tree branch gray, lightened for the shadows.  Here's a look at my palette at the end of painting this scene.

This is a great time of year for color!  Even finding a single, vivid leaf or other nature treasure invites sketching, painting and nature journaling time. 

I hope you get a chance soon to record the vibrancy of Autumn in your sketchbook or nature journal.

Happy Creating!

Low-Key Practice to Improve Your Paintings

One of the most important things I've learned about making art is that we all need time to play with our art supplies without any expectations or pressure.  Athletes and musicians spend endless hours practicing.  We artists would do well to take the same approach.

I sat outside recently and painted the light and shadow on this summery scene.  It was a simple sketch -- no pencil drawing underneath, no plan.  I just sketched what I saw, playing with light and shadow, mixing a variety of greens.

The puffy clouds cast strong shadows that moved through the landscape.

Here's a more zoomed-in version of what my eye saw. 

I focused on the shapes, the values and the textures of the scene before me, curious to try mark-making -- from the soft merging of wet-in-wet marks to the wobbly shapes of tree leaves, and the loose, scratchy marks of the weeds & grasses.

I mixed these different greens:

Foreground yellow-green & medium greens =Winsor Lemon + Ultramarine Blue

Background deep, dark greens = Phthalo Blue + Burnt Sienna

midtone greens = Sap Green + a touch of Alizarin Crimson

This little sketch is not a stunning work of art, but I post it here to share the everyday sort of projects that can make your art -- and your enjoyment of your art-making -- better.  

When I stepped back from painting to regard the sketch, I enjoyed the high contrast shadow of the tree snaking across the grass and up the hill.  I delighted in the rough texture of the weeds in the foreground on the right.  I enjoyed the looseness of the tree on the right, with dark limbs showing through.  

And it was relaxing to sit with my paints outdoors and explore.

I hope you find time to create and explore -- to simply practice!

Happy Creating!

Summer Morning Painting

In an earlier post, I mentioned the trick of taking a walk and finding views to paint. The scene above is one of those spots found on a morning walk.

Planning ahead saves time, and you know just what to carry with you. I brought my pochade box, my Strathmore Visual Journal nature journal, paints, water and brushes. The pochade box allows me to work flat, an important trait for watercolor painting.

I took the photo above to use as a reference in case I didn't finish outdoors.

I also used the photo to help me to see the shadows in the scene more clearly.  Shadows can have nuanced lighter and darker areas.  They can vary from light shadows with dappled spots of light to deep, dark holes. Our eyes are naturally drawn to areas of high contrast, so these are good to incorporate into your paintings to draw the viewer's eye in.

It always amazes me how much I can see in a photo that I didn't see in person.  I encourage you to use a photo to help you see the values in your scene, but paint in person so you get the freshness of the landscape.

Happy Creating!

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again!

It's the season of Plein Air painting, or painting outdoors in the fresh air.

Inspired by this scene on my farm, I set up my watercolor paints & pochade box.

I started with a sketch in pencil, added India ink, and then layered in washes.  

But when the painting was done, I didn't like it! Too many details competed with each other to attract your eye!  The background trees were so detailed, the whole thing looked like camouflage.  I tried to simplify the background by laying in a darker wash, but the result was cartoonish.

Of course, there are parts I love, like the little greenhouse and the dead tree, but as a composition, it just doesn't work.

As hard as that is to accept, there is power in looking critically at your own artwork.  When you see precisely what you don't like -- too many details -- you can create another painting and fix that problem.

Here's the second version of this scene.

I worked quickly, sketching in only the greenhouse angles lightly with pencil.  I abstracted the background trees into light and dark patches, and took out the dead tree because it competed with the greenhouse. 

When you're painting with watercolor, having a plan going in helps tremendously!  And when painting landscapes, the first step is to abstract all of those details, and pick what is most important to you -- what draws your artist's eye?

Allowing yourself several paintings to develop your ideas is freeing.  

Harsh self judgement is a lead weight on our creativity, but looking at our artwork with a discerning eye for what we love and what isn't successful gives us the power to improve.

Remember: Every painting teaches you something.

Do you have a painting that didn't work?  Why not make a plan for how you'd like to fix it? Hard won success feels uplifting and leads to more discoveries.

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Sketching in the Flower Garden

The season has begun when we can sit outside by a flower garden and make watercolor sketches. 

The pages above were in my garden at home, and below were from Highland Park in Pittsburgh.

Pick your favorite medium, whatever feels best in your hand, and get outside to explore what nature is doing in the garden!

Remember, you can do anything in a sketchbook.  Have no expectations of making "perfect pictures." You're an explorer, and your pencil, pen or brush is your tool for making discoveries.  

If you decide that a sketch didn't work out, turn the page!  

If you don't have a few pages that look like a total mess, you're not trying hard enough.

Here are a few of my recent messy pages that I chalk up to experience.

Each of these were practice and taught me something. The one above taught me that rainy days can make for low-contrast, dull paintings.

The sketch below reminded me that when I'm in a rush and very excited to see a wild turkey in my yard, I'm not at my best as a sketch artist.

The rest of these are just warm-up practice.

It's a normal part of sketching to make some inelegant drawings.

I find it freeing to accept these messy pages as part of the process and move on.

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Sketching in the Garden

This morning, the sunlight spilled lavishly over colorful zinnias and purple coneflowers in the garden.  I couldn't resist taking my paints out to sketch the beauty before me (along with two of my cats).  

I gave myself the rule that I could do anything, try any technique, and reminded myself, It's just a sketchbook.

Those are freeing "rules" for me.

I warmed up by painting zinnias.

I discovered that I liked the sketches best that were laid in quickly and without too much fuss.  They weren't exact or perfect, yet they seemed more alive.

 I can see improvement between painting the zinnias and the coneflowers, which have more complexity and interest.

But, I'm happy with both pages of colorful sketches.

A friend shared the wisdom of Maya Angelou with me this week:

"You can't use up creativity.  The more you use, the more you have."

I find truth in that -- the more we play with our art supplies, whether they be paints, pencils or collage bits, the more ideas we generate, and the more skills we build.

I invite you to make sketches or paintings from these photos.

Or better yet, step outside with your art supplies and find something that catches your eye. Sketch.  Repeat.

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Sketching

 

A simple wash or two can tell a story if you express the values you see.  This was a quick demonstration for a plein air watercolor class I held recently.

I splashed in cool and warm greens, added shadows, and incorporated the wild grasses in the field.  Finishing with Derwent Inktense pencils to express some of the weeds in the foreground, and the hickory tree gave a sense of the place. 

I may add more detail to this sketch, or I may leave it as it is, a reminder of a lovely, sunny summer day spent with other artists creating in nature.

I hope you take 15 minutes this week to sketch a scene that catches your eye!

October Color!

Autumn color never lasts as long as I wish.  I'm always trying to gather up the colors in artworks while they last.

The campground at my state park closed last week.  I took advantage of the quiet space to spend an afternoon there, painting from the comfort of a picnic table.  The brilliant foliage against the dark trunks and limbs drew my eye, and I raced to capture as much of the scene as I could before the light left and the washes dried.

Happy Autumn!

Painting at Sunset

 

The most dramatic lighting for painting is early in the morning, and at sunset.  One recent evening, these leaves -- backlit in the long, low angles of the setting sun -- caught my eye.  The contrast between the shadowy woods behind, and this brilliant cluster of cherry leaves drew me in.

I worked quickly with my Winsor & Newton Watercolor paints to capture the scene on Fabriano cold press paper, skipping the usual pencil sketch, and simply sketching with the brush.  I found I liked the effect of mixing the colors right on the page, especially for the dark shadow colors.

You don't have to select a large area for a landscape.  Just a simple cluster of leaves will do if they inspire you!

A Watercolor Sketch Expedition on Independence Day Weekend

Saturday morning over the holiday weekend, I stuffed a knapsack full of watercolor supplies, and trekked down a favorite path.

I found a cluster of Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) blooming along the trail, and set up my folding chair & opened my watercolor notebook to start a watercolor sketch.  

Realizing that I had forgotten to bring a cup to wash my brushes out in, I picked up a fallen leaf from a Cucumber Tree (Magnolia acuminata), and used that instead. 

It worked!  I set to work simply sketching the gorgeous crimson blooms and plants, & playing with the variations of color I noticed on the sun-splashed leaves.

It felt so relaxing to sit & paint, immersed in the sounds of nature. Chipmunks chirped & skittered across the path nearby. Wood Thrushes and Black-Capped Chickadees sang from deep in the woods. And the breeze tousled the treetops.  

I was surprised when suddenly I heard a whirring sound and looked up to see a female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird dodging rapidly among the Bee Balm blossoms.  

I watched, knowing that the view would last only a moment & tried to absorb as many details about the little bird that I could.  I painted her quickly.

I hiked back to my truck and returned home for lunch.  

Later that day, I took my art backpack out to the fence along my neighbor's cow pasture to paint.

And I created the watercolor sketch below.  I used a white Prismacolor colored pencil to add highlights to the trees along the horizon, and used Inktense watercolor pencils to create the details of the fence and grasses.

And I finished up my Watercolor Sketch Expedition with the view below of a hilltop field below our home.

I hope this summer affords you the freedom to get outdoors with your art supplies and create in nature!

Painting Grandmother Oak

At the foot of my country driveway I can see a massive oak tree I've long admired and wanted to draw.  I call her Grandmother Oak.  One recent summer morning, I toted my paints and pens down to the spot, sketching her first in my nature journal, and then trying to capture her with watercolors.  The gift of a painting done on a summer morning, aside from the experience of painting, is that you get to carry the memory of that time and place with you through the winter every time you look at your artwork.

Nature Journal Update: Day Lilies

I recently watched a YouTube video about adding a simple background to nature journal sketches of plants and animals to help capture the place and moment.  I thought I'd give it a try, and I love the added depth of the page.

Click here to see John Muir Laws' YouTube video that inspired me.

Nature Journal Update: A Stormy Afternoon

A stormy afternoon made me reach for my watercolors and gouache. I love how white gouache sits on top of the watercolor painting, allowing me to lift out highlights in the turbulent sky.