Plein Air

Compton's Gap #1, 12"x9", ink

I went hiking and plein air painting in the mountains this past weekend and loved it. The weather was perfect and the views were gorgeous! Working with a brush and ink and focusing so much on contour lines was very zen. I enjoyed painting the rock formations most of all. I can't wait to go on another trip.

I think my next several landscapes will be ink and watercolor.

Anyway, I had a blast, I have some great pictures that I might work from, and I'm debating whether to keep this one for myself. 

Travel Sketches - Part 1

I took a vacation to Western Massachusetts in November and got tons of sketching in. These two are from the train ride up--a quick portrait of my friend and a sketch of her hands as she passed the time with mobile gaming. More to come!

Banjo!!

I brought my sketchbook along to a banjo performance Wednesday night. I was a little hesitant, wondering what kind of view I would have--would I even be able to see well enough to draw? 

But I am so glad I brought my supplies!

My friend snagged great seats in the third row and I had a fantastic view throughout the performance. It was so much fun to sketch the banjoists as they played. It was a real challenge to get the musicians in proportion with their banjos.

It was pretty easy to draw the male banjoist from the start. Which is why I didn't draw him very much--I was obsessed with trying to get the female banjoist down perfectly. 

And after four or five attempts, I finally cracked the code (whatever it was!) and got it down. She was much more animated than her counterpart, so she presented a greater challenge... and greater reward: more animated, exuberant drawings...

... including gesture drawings of her dancing.

I had a blast! Might need to try to make it to more musical/theater performances.

The music was beautiful, too. Very peaceful and fulfilling to do what I love while listening to beautiful music being played by someone who is doing what they love.

Portrait from Life

This is one of several sketches I did a couple of weeks ago over pizza with one of my best friends, Michelle. The funny thing about drawing people is that some are easy to draw, and some are hard. I suppose it must have to do with their features--but I've never identified any one feature that makes one person harder to draw than another. Michelle has always been easy for me to draw, ever since the first day I drew her in art class eight years ago. 

Dusting Off the Ol' Graphite Pencils

My lovely parents bought me a full spread of solid graphite drawing pencils for Christmas and I finally packed them up and took them with me on an excursion. I've been neglecting my sketching lately--largely, I think, because I've been struggling to find a new place to do it. I used to sketch all the time in college classes, and take breaks at coffee houses for more sketching. Outside college, and in the working world, where do I go to draw?

I spent last Saturday afternoon at a brewery, sipping a beer and drawing anyone in my line of sight.

A cyclist who came in to cool down:

I'm planning on making this a regular thing--either drawing at a brewery, or a coffee house, or a park. The long, long hiatus I had from drawing people from life caused me to almost forget how much I enjoy it.