Sketch Book Series: Pruned Fig Tree (November 2011)
In this sketch, I used a gray watercolor wash to accentuate the pen and ink portrait of the fig tree. The issue was to create a homogeneous background
Tag Archives: watercolor wash
It Looked Better In My Mind
My watercolor wash (More: No Power) was the first stage in an experiment I performed in my mind’s eye (not exactly a Gedanken experiment ala Einstein). The idea was to float a neutral color on top of a colored field and set up a dissonance between foreground and background. Hans Hofmann’s paintings were chock full of […]
More: No Power
I tried to schedule my last ‘No Power’ post, but it went right out. I hope I can share with you this watercolor practice wash that I did today.
Watercolor Clouds from Photograph
Today I used a reference photograph from which to model my watercolor clouds. I also used watercolor paint straight from the tube; yesterday’s watercolor was made from paint left over from previous sessions. I used Neutral Tint for all the clouds, and some cerulean for the blue. I began by defining the shapes of the […]
Landscape Sketch, With and Without Water
Nice walk to the lake today. Half hour to the lake, half hour to sketch and half hour back. That was the plan. I brought different pencils with me: a very soft 8B, a soft 4B, another soft 2B and a harder HB. After 30 minutes sitting on a bench, I finished the sketch you […]
Cozy Man, Reading
Some people just look cozy.
Two Women Waiting, One for Reading Glasses
Waiting rooms are places where one can let the imagination loose.
Man at Bar
In a departure from my usual practice, the sketch below was done from a photograph. This allowed me more time to work on the likeness. I used water soluble pencils for shading.
Two Spaces
I was struck by the difference between waiting room space and the promise of a capacious inner office, in the waiting area. The sanctum was partially visible through an open half-window, only revealing hints of what lie behind the door. If I were a child, I would have been terrified. From a lower vantage point, […]
Man at the Counter
I didn’t have enough time to complete this sketch on site. I worked on it at home, using the image of the man’s stance in my mind’s eye, taking liberties when my memory failed.
Brotherly Love 