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 […]
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.
I really like the look of sepia ink. I had some really interesting calligraphy pens. In this sketch I experimented with different nibs, speed of drawing and shading.
Back in 2010, I used to practice my pen technique every several pages. Here I tried different ink shading techniques to get uniform tonal values. I think the dark patch I scribbled in atop the face’s left eye was intended to hide it. I recall not being too thrilled with that eye as it was. […]
I remember the day I went to the library. I didn’t go to make this sketch, but at the time, I was trying to maintain my goal of making at least one sketch a day. I like this sketch because it reminds me of that day. However, this sketch doesn’t portray much of a sense […]
This sketch began with pencil and finished with ink. The result is more of a postcard than a creative piece. I enjoy taking pictures. In approximately one-sixtieth of a second, they capture a moment that I can identify later when I look at it. Perhaps I get a connect more deeply to a place that […]
