The past couple of years have enveloped me in a strange web: loss of a loved one; COVID isolation; loss of place, having relocated twice; and change in self identity as I am about to enter my 7th decade. I show the image below as one of a series of abstract portraits of Mike, who, […]
Ideally, one should create a tonal-value strip before each sketch. The range of darkest darks to lightest light tones would thereby be established. This should be done for pencil as well as pen and ink drawings. Pen and ink values are achieved by different cross hatching strokes, whereas pencil tonal values are achieved by strokes […]
I got the trunk of this tree (especially on the dark side) just right. I don’t know what kind of tree this is, but the bark reminds me of cherry-tree bark.
Just found this sketchbook. I like the drawing of the hand. It looks like I was at low ebb that day.
It is complicated drawing the myriad reflections of light through a clear glass of water. To be precise, one has to take the time to figure out the tonal values of overlapping reflections, refractions and shadows. If drawing outside, one can’t take too long, or the sun will move and tonal variations will change.
My notes tell what I was trying to portray in the sketch on the opposite page. I didn’t quite achieve the ‘pop’-i-ness that I saw in real life. I’m not sure that I could have accomplished this with the tools I had at the time. Perhaps if I separated the trees with a white value […]
I was trying to find the key to getting the highest contrast between leaf surfaces and the space between them. Complimentary colors are supposed to provide maximal contrast at their interface, so I tried it (see below). I wasn’t too happy with it although, in fairness, I should have done a whole hedge to see […]
I used this particular parking lot quite a bit (both for parking and sketching). I spent what seemed like hours on the leafy hedge, at first trying to render each leaf, later settling for overall texture. The trees, far and near, were also a challenge. My cars come out cartoony, but I like them. I […]
The negative space between the pine cone seeds (at the base of the top pine cone) helped to give it a realistic rendering. The lower, (incomplete) sketch shows the pine cone’s hexagonal structure.
It looks like I didn’t like this pen. The lines came out really wide. I like the look, but it must have been a bit difficult to work with. It is a matter of scale, I think. A nib like the one used below would be good for large format sketches.
