Tag: sketchbook

Sketch 12 & 13

So I have been a little lax in with the sketching over the last few days. I managed to push myself out very late yesterday despite the heat as I know if I don’t keep it up I will soon let the days slip by and before I know its months. I really want to make this a habit and not slip into my usual routine which is to browse the internet all day!

sketch #12

Notes:8/24/2015 time 2.47pm 97f feels like 100f  36c feels like 37c.

Had to force myself out as I missed my golden hr today. Restarted my running training today. Only 20 mins but it has put a stamp on my day. Tomorrow I will not load my time* until I have done all the things I plan, it starts with browsing the internet and end(s) up later hours later that (I) stop.  Anyway I am at the play park which is deserted as (1) its too hot to play outside and (2) school starts either today (Austin) or tomorrow (Pflugerville). I will try to keep going for 30 mins.2.53pm

3.29 pm 36c feels like 37c  97f feels like 100f  Slight breeze which is cooling. Started too small and too focus(ed) = unbalance. Banging in back ground – some kid on basket ball court, very distracting. 

* I am going to be training on alternative days so tomorrow is the day I will have to put this in practice 

I wasn’t particularly happy with this sketch and it might be because I am using a small sketch book. 8″ x 5¼” . I have thought of changing sketch books but this one will be one I will use until 12/31/2015. Also I started to the right again, so managed to miss most to the left part of the page unlike the sketch below where I used most of the page.

sketch #13

Notes: 08/25/2015 sketch #13 10.04 88f feels like 93f  31c feels like 33c  slight breeze

Back to pencil today. I am going to start moving out of the Park into town of Pflugerville from today. 

11.08 am  32c feels like 35c  91f feels like 95f 

Not very good with perspective!  Need to practice.  had a problem of smudging as my hand dragged across the page – need to learn to life hand off, difficult when you are standing and holding sketch book. Will come back to this again as its a challenge. 

So I think I have identified a key issue for me – interest, much as I like to see the green trees (I used one today to provide the necessary shade), I am not really that interested in drawing or painting them.  So I am going to try for a more urban mix. The above building are situated on the edge of the original old town before suburbia arrived. They are remnants of the old railway that used to run through the town, thence the name of the main artery road in old town Pflugerville (Railway Ave). It really is a gold mine for some one who is sketching and I look forward to exploring it more. This was a view from the Heritage loop trail which is an extension of Pfluger Park.

Still life with wine bottle Jar

Yesterday as promised I started a new still life.  I like the background fabric on the last still life so much I decided to reuse it in this painting and then I coordinated the rest of the still life to complement the fabric.  I feel I am going to struggle with the base fabric as it also has a pattern on it and at the moment, I am not sure how I am going to deal with it.   It not a bold pattern and it’s not striped like the orange fabric.  The pattern is actually leaves which are textured stripes and blackish, so not solid and reflecting light.

So I managed to get the basics done on this painting before the light faded completely. As I was drawing it in I wasn’t too concerned about the light but it actually turned out to be quite a bright afternoon, after the morning fog and showers. Looks like today might be the same but I will working this afternoon so the light will be fading by the time I finish, so will probably continue tomorrow when I know the weather will be sunny.

altered

Today I think I will try to draw something as my drawing skill definitely need brushing up. When I was Camberwell, I constantly used my sketchbook, even for the Saturday morning classes and was actually a requirement in my foundation year. I sort of kept it up at Bath but with the lack of encouragement from the staff, it wasn’t a high priority (in the painting dept anyway.), it soon became an infrequent habit. So really my sketchbook has not been a priority since I was about 20, so its time it regained its importance, if only to reinforce the habit of looking, rather than roaming with my eye.

That is one thing I was always doing in my painting, redrawing, you can sort of see it with the wine bottle as I reaslised when I was working on the background fabric, that it was much taller than I had originally drawn it.  The little red vase is also a little more squat and fatter than I have it here, so  that will be altered  as will the some of the small satsumas. Still I have plenty of time as next week the weather is returning to the normal TX sunshine so I am not going panic.

So far, I am happy with what I have on the painting board.  Materials used so far, Daler Canvas board 16×12  Golden acrylic paint and some primsacolour pencil.