Getting Sketchy Again

 I've been really, really lax about my sketching practice for a while now, I've decided to get back into it and in a bigger way.

My primary sketching medium before was mostly line and wash or just pen, before then just graphite.  I've decided I'd like to move in a somewhat different direction yet still keep it simple.  I want my sketches to be more free, more loose, more suggestive and I figured charcoal is the place to start with that.  But what about color? That's usually where things get complicated and where it's easy to create a chaotic, disharmonious mess so again, I wanted to keep things simple.

My goal with this is also to come up with a simple, yet functional kit for plein air (outdoors on location) sketching.  While the photo shows my full watercolor palette I decided to try using only three colors to keep things also and maintain color harmony.  I used yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and paynes gray and just one brush, a large round. I used only one charcoal pencil and one piece of compressed charcoal. I also picked out a selection of lighter pastel pencils and hard pastels.  I knew I wouldn't use all of those colors but I wanted a selection to chose from. 

Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 1

I used a 9x12 Strathmore cold press watercolor sketchbook for my first.  The rough texture was a bit much, I'll probably use hot press or multimedia paper next time. I laid down all of the charcoal defining the entire composition making sure to work quickly and loosely.  Then I watered down the entire paper and applied loose and heavy washes of color.  After the paint had dried I went into it with the pastels to add brighter color and lighter areas but being mindful to not get too carried away and keep the colors harmonious.  The composition is straight from my imagination.

Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 2

I used the same process for this scene based on a photograph I took on the outside edges of the small rural Utah town of Fountain Green in Sanpete County.  This sketch will most likely soon will be used as a reference to make a painting.  Besides the good drawing practice that's another good use for a sketchbook, to test composition ideas for painting.

Now I need to start a plein air sketchbook and I'm also considering making a painting sketchbook, in which I'll actually paint with acrylics in the sketchbook, something I've never done before but after watching some YouTube videos I can see the value of doing that. Stay tuned!

A Morning in the Mountains

 It's been a long time since I've visited the mountains, over a year I think, I decided it was about time to make another visit and I took my sketchbook.

I went up Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains. One of the nicest things about living in the Salt Lake Valley is the mountains are a short drive away no matter where you live in the valley. There's a downside however, it means these mountains are very heavily visited.  Really the only good time to go to the canyon is early in the morning on a weekday.  I left home shortly after 7:00 and arrived at the Mill B trailhead about 7:45 and already the parking lot was 3/4 full. I wasn't planning on hiking the trail, I just wanted to get up to an interesting section of the creek and sketch it.

I don't think you could call this a waterfall but rather just an especially fast and rocky section of the creek.  I decided to go with charcoal for my sketches today.  I used my Stonehenge sketchbook which turned out to be difficult to erase so my usual techniques didn't work as well.

After the creek sketch I decided to got to the top of the canyon and take a walk around Silver Lake. I got to the parking lot before 9:00 and there was plenty of parking and I saw few people on the trail.

I changed my process slightly for this sketch.  I started by applying a large amount of vine charcoal since it's easy to erase and then used an eraser to create the lighter areas and then went back in with compressed charcoal to reinforce the darks.

After finishing my walk around the lake I sat at a picnic table and sketched the bottom part of a large evergreen tree that was next to the trail and close to the picnic tables.  It was now after 10:00 and the parking lot was full and there was many more people, so take note, make sure you visit Silver Lake before 10:00 in the morning.

I don't know why I've stayed away from the mountains this year, there's just no excuse.  This was a very enjoyable morning, I need to make sure I make it up again at least a couple more times before the snow flies.  Here are a couple more photos for your viewing pleasure.

From Charcoal Sketch to Acrylic Painting

 Last month I did a lot of charcoal sketching, even before last month I was often making charcoal sketches first thing in the morning.  I have been doing this primarily for practice but also for trying different subjects and compositions.  This week I decided to turn a couple of those charcoal sketches into acrylic paintings.

For this sketch I wanted to experiment with a square format for a rural landscape and I wanted a ditch to wind through the landscape, as well as contain an abandoned barn.  This sketch is not based on a particular photo, but rather from elements from several photos and from my imagination put together to create this composition.

"Abandoned Barn by A Ditch" acrylic, 12" X 12"

I used only the charcoal sketch and my imagination to make this acrylic painting.  I tried a new technique I came up with as well that involves three layers, each one using thicker paint than the last, in fact the last layer includes modeling paste in order to enhance the texture.

This sketch is based on a photograph I took at a pond in a nearby park, I go on walks by this pond a couple times a week.  Only a small portion of the actual pond is visible, just occupying the lower right corner of the composition.

"End of the Pond, acrylic 12" X 9"

Even though I made the sketch from a reference photo I set that aside and made the painting using only the charcoal sketch for reference. One reason I ditched the photo is I want to be more free with color, I didn't want the photograph to influence my color choices too much.  The result of this painting is closer to the loose, colorful style I am shooting for, I intend to push that even further.

Sketching and Painting a Kamas Barn

 Some subjects just seem to grab you.  I don't mean a whole genre, but rather a particular subject within a genre.  Anybody that has paid any attention to my art knows I really enjoy rural scenes, scenes that feature old barns in particular. I can't say specifically why I find old barns so appealing but affection for such things seems to be pretty common. There is one barn in particular that has received more of my attention than most others I've seen. 

There is a large, old, seemingly abandoned barn with rusty corrugated metal siding along the Mirror Lake Highway in Kamas Utah.  Kamas is often referred to as the gateway to the High Uinta mountain wilderness area as what is commonly referred to as the "Mirror Lake Highway" originates in the middle of town and leads to a land of lakes, mountains and hiking trails.  Shortly after leaving town on the highway, if you glance over to your right you just might spot this iconic barn.

One summer day in July I stopped at a wide spot on the highway near the barn and got out my sketchbook.

Kamas Barn Sketch

As you can see I used pen and watercolor to make this sketch, I did it while sitting on a chunk of concrete that was part of piles of it that were dropped there apparently to help retain the road bank as the road elevation was quite a bit higher than the field below at this point.  Prints are available, click on the image.

More recently I did a sketch of this same barn from a different angle in charcoal as part of a 30 day, daily sketch challenge.

Kamas Barn Charcoal Sketch

Prints are available, click on the image.

I decided I liked the charcoal sketch enough that I would make a painting of it.

"Kamas Barn Study", Acrylic, 9" X 12"

I decided to stick with brushes on this one and use lots of layering to build up texture and color.  I like the result enough that eventually I'll mostly likely paint a larger version. The original painting is available on Etsy, click on the image.

Sketching the Rural Landscape in Charcoal

 This week my theme for the daily charcoal sketches as been "rural landscapes".  There are plenty of interesting rural scenes to find along the back roads of rural Utah and I've explored and photographed many of them so I had plenty of references for this week's challenge.

I don't remember exactly where I found this barn and old style silo but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere in western Utah County. The composition is a study in contrasting elements, the play of the vertical against the horizontal.

I've now taken so many photos over the years I can't remember where I took all of them.  I'm pretty sure this one was somewhere in Cache County.  This is an interesting arrangement of old wood barns, and backed by my favorite contra-element, trees.  I love the play of natural organic shapes against the geometric hard edges of man made shapes.

This composition is a bit different.  In this case the barn is behind the trees and you don't even see the whole barn which is nestled in rolling hills.

This scene is more intimate than the others, almost a close up of a pole barn or hay shed, I'm not sure what these are commonly called. It's also full of those large size rectangular bales, and backed by lots of trees of course.

If you've ever driven up to the High Uinta Mountains on the Mirror Lake Highway out of Kamas chances are you've seen this barn.  It is just off the highway, is large and covered in rusty corrugated  metal panels, just the kind of thing I love to sketch.

This one is very different from the others.  For one thing I only used a charcoal pencil, no blending, no willow charcoal, no compressed charcoal sticks and no trees which resulted in a much lighter image.  This scene is in Spanish Fork if I remember correctly.  I'm not sure what it is exactly, maybe it used to be some kind of coop, or maybe a granary for a very large operation.  Whatever it is it does not seem to be in use anymore except as a parking lot for grain hauling trucks.

Sketching Abandoned Vehicles

 This week I decided to make abandoned vehicles the theme for my daily charcoal sketches.  I love classic cars, and old trucks and tractors.  While they look great original or restored there's something appealing about finding them "in the wild" being overtaken by nature, the image is just visually appealing, but also could it be a metaphor for leaving the past behind?

I discovered this abandoned 1950 Chevy sedan on ranch property on the outskirts of Torrey, Utah.

This junked 1940's Chevy dump truck is resting in a wrecking yard in Nephi, Utah.

I found this antique Fordson tractor rusting away in a field somewhere west of Ogden, Utah.

This classic Ford Mustang convertible was actually sitting in the parking lot of a restoration shop for years obviously being used as a parts car as parts and sections of sheet metal gradually disappeared.

This circa 1950 Ford truck is sitting in the Erickson Foundation Ranch in Wallburg, Utah.

I found this vintage Farmall tractor at a small farm in Pleasant Grove, Utah

This mostly stripped 1953 Pontiac coupe was resting in a wrecking Grantsville, Utah, unfortunately political pressures pushed the owner to close the yard and most likely most of the cars on the property went to the crusher.

That's all of the daily sketches for the past week, next weeks theme will be "rural" so expect to see a bunch of barns in next Sunday's blog post.

More Charcoal Sketching and Focus

 Focus is something I've always struggled with in art.  I had another episode of "focus-strugglitis" this week.  I started the week with my usual charcoal landscape sketching and then suddenly veered away to do some pen and watercolor sketching of cars and trucks and today after a disastrous start to a pen sketch I went back to the charcoal.  Did I return to charcoal solely due to failure and frustration?  No, I don't think so, or at least not entirely.  I think I was really just in the mood for charcoal sketching and that's one reason the pen sketch didn't go as planned. However, a pro artist should be able to overcome "moods" and distractions right?  Maybe it's just human nature to wander, but I also think I need to work on this and gain some focus.

Here are some charcoal sketches made since my last post.

This sketch is based on a photo I took while hiking on the Red Pine Lake trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Mountain streams are always interesting to observe and sketch.

This sketch is of a spot in the Middle Provo River in the Heber Valley, however in the photograph the shed on the other side of the river is actually a restroom for a trail head.

This is another sketch of the Middle Provo River in the Heber Valley however this this case the river is on the background on the other side of a marshy preserved nature area.

I don't remember where I took the reference photo but this kind of scene is fairly common in rural Utah, I did add the small barn on the left.

While driving down a local suburban street this reflection from a pool of water in an otherwise empty irrigation canal caught the corner of my eye.  I quickly found a place to pullover and park and walked over to examine the scene and take a photo.

Getting Back into the Habit

 I've been on a bit of a break for the last month or so.  I spent my time focusing on other things, while those things may be worth while I'm not sure they are of as much value to me as making paintings and drawings so I've decided to get back to the drawing board and easel.  To ease my way back in I decided to renew my daily charcoal sketching habit.  I do my 15-20 minute charcoal sketch right after showering and dressing, at least I always intend to.  I do miss some days but do make it to the easel to sketch most days.  Here are the sketches I did this last week.

This one is based on a photograph I took somewhere along the South Fork of the Ogden River.  I'm currently working on a painting based on this sketch.

This sketch is a view down a farm driveway from a photo I took in Provo, Utah.

One of the benefits of being an artist is your eyes and mind become open to the beauty of the mundane.  Something is simple as a ditch and tree trunks in winter becomes an interesting composition full texture and subtle color.  This sketch is based on a photograph I took on the Jordan River Parkway.  The scene was right at a trail head.  I did embellish some.  The fence line was actually the edge of the parking lot and concrete posts.  I'm sure I'll get around to doing a painting of this one.

I decided to try some vertical compositions, the first of which is simply a couple tree trunks in a winter landscape. This composition is about as simple as it gets yet I think it could make a worthy painting.  The actual scene was in Murray park and there was a lot of clutter in the background that I simplified.

I've actually made a painting of this scene, I decided to make a charcoal sketch as well.  The scene was on a farm somewhere in Smithfield, Utah.  While wandering slowly on the backroads in the area some sunlight glare caught my eye, I stopped the car, got out and found this scene.  Again, something simple but is compositionally interesting, just a little farm ditch.

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Drawing the Rural Landscape in Charcoal

 I've been on a bit of a charcoal kick lately.  Charcoal is a fast, expressive medium that also allows for detail and a full range of values which makes it especially good for sketching but also very good for drawing. I decided to make a new video featuring a rural landscape.

"Oakley Barn"
Charcoal, 11" X 14"

This drawing is based on a photo I took in the small rural Utah town of Oakley.  Oakley is a bit secluded, while it's just a few miles from a major highway it's on a small highway that gets little traffic.  Oakley is typical of a lot of small, rural towns in Utah, nestled in mountains, full of small farms and ranches and dotted with old wood barns.

I shot video while making this drawing.  I talk about my materials and process in this video and then talk about my thoughts on "story" or narrative in landscape art.

Two New Charcoal Drawings...and a Video

 I have two new charcoal drawings to share along with a video.

"Shadow Ditch"
Charcoal, 8" X 10"

This drawing is based on a photo I took while walking the Jordan River Parkway.  The "JRP" is a trail system that runs from Utah Lake in the south down to the Great Salt Lake in the north along the Jordan River. This appears to be some kind of irrigation ditch that is in danger of becoming overgrown by vegetation but that makes for an interesting scene.

"Rural Autumn Bushes"
Charcoal, watercolor, pastel 8" X 10"

This charcoal drawing is a little different in that it is mixed media while still being primarily a charcoal drawing.  I started with subtle washes of watercolor, followed by charcoal drawing and finished off with some color highlights using pastel. The scene is somewhere in rural Utah, I don't remember exactly where.  The season is late autumn and so there is little foliage left and the skies are gloomy, a perfect subject for charcoal.

I shot video of the creation of this drawing, watch it below.

Charcoal Drawing Demo Video and a Bit of Art Philosophy

 I don't make videos often anymore.  They take a fair bit of time to make and they haven't been getting many views, but I do think it's worthwhile to make one every now and then anyway.  I did decide to make a video this week, but with a slight twist.  I demo a small charcoal landscape drawing, I talk about the tools I use and about the scene itself and where I found it, and then the twist, I give a brief history of my art "career" and then talk a little philosophy, the "why" of making art.  Give it a watch, it might actually be worth a few minutes of your time.

Daily Charcoal Sketching

 Lately I've taken up a daily sketching habit with charcoal.  Why charcoal?  Sketching with charcoal is quick, simple and inexpensive. Charcoal makes it easy to put down a wide range of tones and build a complete composition.  Not a lot of tools and materials are required.  Here is my charcoal sketching tool tray.

You don't need everything you see in this photo.  You can start with this basic list:

Paper (something with some tooth)

Vine charcoal

Compressed charcoal

Vinyl eraser

Chamois

Blending stump

I like to sketch at the easel, I just prop up a large sketchbook and sketch vertically.  This forces me to sketch more loose from the shoulder rather than from the wrist.  I keep these sketches to 10-15 minutes each.  They are not meant to be finished works but rather practice and composition tests.  I do one or two of them first thing every morning.

As you see here I am sketching on a large sketch pad even though each sketch only uses part of the paper.  Here are some examples of sketches I done lately.