28 June, 2023.

A fascinating aspect of sketching nature on location is that the world, when studied for lights and darks and shapes, is suddenly revealed to be a complex tapestry of abstract designs. I try to narrow my field of view down to four or five shades of gray, plus the clean white of the page. When values are simplified, it’s easier to do the same with shapes. I often leave out detail to avoid an image or design getting lost in the weeds (pun intended.) I’m often taken aback to realize there’s implied motion – even tension – taking place. That’s something I like about the bottom sketch: the tree in the center seems to be twisting upon itself, almost like dance.

It’s not a thing I set out to do: it just happened. I appreciate that sort of serendipity.

It helps to get away sometimes. We rented a remote cabin for a couple days in a state park. It’s the middle of the week and the park is nearly empty. The cabins are rustic, but comfortable. There is a river nearby, and lots of hiking trails. It’s quiet, and there’s no cell reception. Other than looking myself out of the cabin one afternoon, this is relaxing and ridiculously leisurely. Opportunities to sketch are abundant, but I’ve been painting and drawing a lot the past few weeks and don’t feel guilty about having made only a few quickly drawn studies with Lyra sticks.

25 June, 2023.

The very nature of this blog is about making sketches. From time to time I’ll share larger, more finished work, but that’s really not the point: play and experimentation, testing and trying new things – those are what interest me most. And though it may not be immediately apparent, most of the stuff I share on this blog is, generally speaking, fairly small.

What is “small?” It’s a relative term, but to provide a bit of context I make a lot of sketches and studies that are 6 x 6 inches, 5 x 5 inches, 4 x 4 inches – even smaller. I like the immediacy of a sketch. A thing either works or it doesn’t. If it does, I get immediate satisfaction. If it doesn’t – well, less time wasted on a fruitless effort, I suppose.

During this summer break from teaching I’ve gotten up early most mornings. Some days, I’ll go for a long walk; many days I’ll head out with my fly rod. Both are relaxing, and most of the sketching I’ve done this summer has been birthed during these early morning outings.

Oddly enough, I haven’t ventured out on my bike much this year. Until now, it’s been a mainstay for me to carry a small sketch kit in my bike bag, to stop at places that catch my attention, and to use those stops to record my impressions of a place or to attempt to tell whatever story seemed to be present. In fact, the small moments I’ve encountered and sketched this year tend to be less about storytelling and influenced more by shapes and colors and dramatic contrast. Giving myself permission to simply play is liberating and unforced; when I have found myself attempting to force the work I put it away and grab my fly rod.

Seems to be working for the moment.

21 June, 2023.

Last week was a particularly productive five or six days, with lots and lots of quick thumbnails, a fair bit of experimentation, and several moderately successful gouache studies.

Going into summer break I promised myself to dedicate quality time to (a) experimentation, (b) more development of technique using Lyra crayons, and (c) more development of technique using gouache. As it happens, a very successful weekend plein air outing with Lyra has been the full extent of that development. Most drawing and painting time has led back to gouache – even through the stages of experimentation – and that has not been a bad thing at all. For the first time the studies are feeling fresh and unlabored, and the process is starting to feel fluid.

There’ve been continued moments of clarity in the exploration of colors, shapes, values, designs, and combinations of medias, especially with regard to opacity vs transparency of color.

From a composition standpoint, I played around with space a lot. Using roads and paths (human constructs) to separate foliage and trees and grass (natural) into shapes has been satisfying and interesting to me. Perhaps mostly an academic pursuit, but interesting all the same.

The most exciting “lightbulb moment” came during the painting of this small gouache sketch. Shape and value began to work together mostly because painting process was handled primarily in alla prima fashion. Although not apparent here, I began to realize that my process has been gradually leaning toward tonality. That surprises me a little, but I guess it shouldn’t. And having returned from a short road trip I will at the very least lean into Tonalism a bit more purposefully these next few days.

14 June, 2023.

Parts of this are bordering on precious, a characteristic I want to avoid. Technically, there are also parts that make me happy: the color combinations, the cutting in of sky in and around the trees.

This sketch has grown on me. At first I rather hated it, but with a couple days to ponder the image I think I’m happier than I am dissatisfied. I think that counts for something.

13 June, 2023.

The long shadows of early morning and late afternoon are familiar and comforting and somehow relaxing. Blues and violets tint the darkest shapes, and the atmosphere, the presence of waning light or darkness has an aura of mystery. This sketch feels mostly successful, and the process felt right.

The struggle to bend gouache to my needs has been real. Here’s the technical corner that’s been turned, though: Working on cold press illustration board, the surface is wetted and quickly toned with burnt sienna. Just as quickly, the subject is sketched in with rough strokes that are a little darker version of the same color.

And as easy as that, the pieces of the process are nearly in alignment for me – I feel such a relief to be finally finding my way around this world of gouache! (Lest I get too cocky, I should point out that an equally promising sketch was struggled over earlier this afternoon. Unfortunately, gouache has won that battle.)

The battle continues, but there is hope.

8 June, 2023.

They’re just a little larger than 5 x 5 inches, these gouache sketches. I feel like both color and shape are starting to come together, and there’s a growing comfort with applying the media that I didn’t have only a couple days earlier. I’m really interested in the geometry that begins to appear in the study in the upper right corner rather than more realistic styles of rendering: that sort of thing needs to birthed in the preliminary sketch, I think. Gouache is still pissing me off – I want it to come more naturally than it has been so far. But it’s coming along. What the hell! I’ve only been jumping back into the media for a week or so.

5 June, 2023.

Baby steps. That’s what I’m taking as I figure out a path that works for me with gouache.

Two goals here: (1) simplify the landscape into geometric shapes, and (2) execute it in gouache. (Later today, I think I’ll give this same composition a go in watercolor and acrylic just to get a feel for the differences.) I began the experiment using a cell phone photo I shot a few days ago, and making a quick color study in Procreate. Procreate provides an interesting path for artistic color play before making a commitment to paper.

I intentionally kept the sketch as basic as possible.

After fumbling around for an hour or so, this is the end result. Some of the geometry pleases me, and some feels like I should have gone further. This is true of color selections as well, and there are places where the brush strokes please me. Overall, these studies are becoming less heavy handed.

4 June, 2023.

Urban Sketchers Kansas City was invited to sketch at the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri yesterday in celebration of their 100th anniversary.

The sun was hot. The breeze was hot. The pavement was hot. And instead of a morning sketch out like we usually do, on this day we met in the middle of the afternoon. Despite my sun-blocking shirt and a huge floppy hat I still found it much more comfortable to squeeze into a tiny plot of shade cast by one of the restaurants.

I’ve promised myself this summer break as a time for play and experimentation. The challenge I set for myself yesterday was to draw directly with a big, fat fude-nib fountain pen without relying on any sort of pencil sketch at all. From there, I added washes of watercolor. The result is a little cartoony, but feels fresh to me.

3 June, 2023.

This past twelve months or so have been all about pencil sketches, with only occasional forays into color. Whereas most of my black and white work has been dedicated to exploring line and shape, this past year has been largely about shape and value. This summer I promised myself two things: (1) I’m going to use my Lyra water-soluble graphite sticks in ways and places I have no business using them, and (2) I’m giving myself permission to play more with color.

My muscle memory is stuck in drawing mode for the moment, which is why I initially began to play around with Posca markers in combination with my kit of Neocolor II water-soluble crayons. It’s a fun and interesting combination of tools, yet I once again found myself drawn back toward gouache. It’s a medium I absolutely hate to love.

Gouache does not come naturally to me, especially when I consider the ease with which I use pens and other mark-making tools. I struggle with it, especially after looking at examples other artists have made. I want it to be easy: in fact, I can almost feel how fluidly and spontaneously my painted marks could be. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it’s that same spontaneity of mark I achieve with pens that proves elusive to me in gouache. That ease eludes me. Everything I do comes off either “too precious” or sort of sloppy. Trite.

I think maybe I’m too chicken to put down the paint. It’s expensive, and I fear to waste the stuff.

So I’ve given myself permission to play this summer. I’ll either improve, or I won’t. But I’ll definitely go through some paint, and maybe get used to using it up on the series of 5 x 5 inch studies I’m slogging out.

1 June, 2023.

I’ve been overlooking my bike rides in the extreme the past few months. Whereas in past years I might already have logged a few thousand miles by this point in the year, I bet I haven’t ridden ten miles this month.

Well, summer has arrived and it’s high time I fix that neglect.

These are a couple of the things I saw while out riding around Clay County, Missouri the past day or so.