Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020 - Day 14-15

This post is black and white, as in the art materials used, or more accurately, shades of gray.

Day 14 - Abandoned Bulldozer - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

While I was on vacation in Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah a few years ago I decided to take a little side trip to Hanksville, Utah.  Now, there isn't much reason for a vacationer to go to Hanksville, it's a small town in the middle of nowhere.  The only recreational opportunities remotely close to Hanksville besides Capitol Reef is Bullfrog Marina about 60-70 miles south at the northern end of Lake Powel.  Because of that there is a small airport there and a small motel, as well as a place to store and repair houseboats but not a whole lot else. That is unless you're an artist who enjoys rustic scenes of old buildings and vehicles.  I spoted a few of old trucks and tractors in front of an old run down shop and also noticed a couple men talking over a tractor under repair.  I pulled into the lot and went over to ask permission to take photos.  Not only was I given permission to take photos of the stuff you could see from the street I was also given permission to roam the property out back and that's were I found this small bulldozer just sitting there with the blade propped up on a log and backed by a bunch of what I think are alder trees.  I know, it's a very odd subject for a work of art but artists like odd things.  This image has been sitting in the back of my head for a long time and this daily sketch challenge finally gave me an excuse to get it out and on to paper in pen.

Day 15 - Derelict Shed - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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I broke out the black dusty sticks for this sketch, ie charcoal.  I first toned the paper with sepia watercolor.  Just one of those odd rustic subjects that artists love.  I found this scene in Mapleton, Utah, a small rural farming town between Springville and Spanish Fork.  The shed seems kind of small to me, I don't know what the farmer used it for but he apparently spent a fair amount of time in it judging by the fact there is a stove pipe coming out of it.  Maybe it was his "man cave".

Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020 - Day 12-13

I'm nearing the halfway point of this challenge and I've actually kept up with it and am generating plenty of future painting ideas along the way, however right now it is cutting into the painting time a bit but I think it's worth it.

Day 12 - Country Driveway - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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This sketch is based on a photograph I took a few years ago in West Mountain, Utah. It's interesting how many towns you discover that you never knew existed while exploring rural areas.  The photo was actually taken in autumn, I decided to give the trees summer color.  Also in the reference there wasn't so much open field in the background.  That shed at the end of the driveway is awfully small, I wonder what they use it for. I've attempted to make a painting based on this before and essentially failed.  With the composition adjustments I made in this sketch I think I might give it a try again some day since the sketch seems to work pretty well.

Day 13 - Two Granaries - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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I took to the pencils for day 13.  I think graphite is especially effective for rendering rustic rural scenes like this one.  What is interesting about this scene is what you are seeing here is two very different types of granaries.  How do I know the wood structure is a granary?  Because the studs are on the outside of the wall.  To make it easier to clean out all the grain, old style wood granaries were paneled from the inside so there were no obstructions getting in the way of the shovels to clear out the grain.  The granary behind is a "newer" style corrugated metal pre fab type.  I found this little scene in Hennefer, Utah.

Another Abandoned Truck

Please forgive me for painting yet another abandoned truck.  I'm not sure what it is about the rusty, dilapidated state of vehicles in the state of being recovered by nature that I find so visually appealing.  However I appear to not be the only one, I've done fairly well in sales of abandoned truck paintings, as well as abandoned cars and tractors.

Derelict Chevy

I found this truck on the Erickson Ranch in Wallsburg, Utah during the Antique Power Show.  The truck is a 1935 Chevy which is unusual.  Even though Chevrolet outsold Ford for most of the 1930's relatively few Chevy's have survived.  I painted this almost entirely with palette knives to lend it that highly textured, semi-abstract look which you can see better in the details below.

I painted this on a deep cradled panel and painted the sides black which means this painting can be hung without a frame, or even set on a shelf or table.

Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020 Day 9-11

I really should post these updates more often, but at least I am doing it.

Day 9 - Scrub Oak - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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On a summer evening some years ago I ventured up to the east bench of the Salt Lake Valley with a small set of pastels and hiked a little bit up the Mount Olympus trail and did a bit of outdoor painting.  I also took some photos and this sketch is based on one of those.  There really isn't much red rock in northern Utah but there is a bit on the east bench of the valley.

Day 10 - Abandoned Granary - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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I toned a piece of hot pressed watercolor paper with sepia watercolor before drawing this little scene of an abandoned metal granary with charcoal.  You see these little cylindrical metal granaries all over rural Utah and they are often abandoned, left to be reclaimed by Mother Earth, or maybe cut up for scrap some day.  Looks like the former is the case for this one, as the vegetation appears to be slowly swallowing it.  I found this little scene in some small farm town near Tremonton, Utah.

Prints Available

I can't pinpoint exactly why but I really enjoy abandoned vehicle scenes. I find scenes like this one especially interesting, where the abandoned vehicle is so obviously slowly returning to earth, this one is even being hosting a small tree.  I discovered this little scene in Mcbride's Auto Wrecking in Grantsville, Utah.  I was fortunate to be able to spend a couple hours wandering their yard photography dozens of similar scenes. Unfortunately McBride's is no longer there, the victim of questionable city politics, housing developments pay much more in taxes than junkyards.

Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020 Day 6-8

A couple more days have passed, time for an update, three more sketches to share.

Day 6 - Rural Landscape

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This sketch is based on a photo I took in Castledale, Utah, a small desert town in central Utah.  Obviously there's some water there too since there is some farming in the area, basically a bit of an oasis in the desert, this scene in particular is quite green, not just in my sketch but for real too.  While exploring the town I noticed an old, unused bridge at the end of a dead end street.  I went over to investigate, walked across the bridge and encountered this bucolic farm scene.  I think I'll have to make a painting of this one too.

Day 7 - Abandoned Classic Chevy

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I found this scene also in Castledale at the north end of town.  I liked how the dilapidated fence echoed the sorry state of the abandoned 1950 Chevy sedan and I even "enhanced" the disrepair of the fence in the sketch.  This one also goes on my "to be painted someday" list.

Day 8 -Rural Hay Shed

I kept this one simple and small, just used sepia toned pens.  This scene is in Wanship, Utah, a very small rural town a ways east of Salt Lake City just off I-80.  The Weber River runs behind this rustic old hay shed.  I've attempted paintings of this hay shed a couple times before and didn't care for the results, that was several years ago, maybe it's time to try again, this time using the knives.

Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020 - Day 3-5

Day 3 - Dilapidated Abandoned Barn - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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The day 3 sketch is a graphite pencil sketch of a dilapidated barn based on a photo I took in Ogden Valley, in the town of Eden, Utah.  This one might make a good painting.

Day 4 - Abandoned Ford Deliver Truck - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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The day 4 sketch is an abandoned antique Ford delivery truck rusting away in the weeds in pen and watercolor. Based on a photo I took at the Antique Power Show in Wallsburg, Utah.

Day 5 - Rural Farm Landscape - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

The day 5 sketch is simple pen sketch of a rural farm scene to test the concept for a painting. Based on a photo I took in Oakley, Utah.

Daily Sketching Challenge May 2020 - Day 1-2

I've decided to challenge myself to produce a new sketch every day for the month of May.  Why?  Well, sketching regularly is just good practice for any artist and I've been very lax about sketching lately.  I'll try to post a blog about these daily sketches every day or two. Here's the first one,

Day 1 - Abandoned Tractor - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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Day 1 sketch is an abandoned antique non-styled Farmall tractor rotting in the grass.  The sketch is based on a photograph I took while exploring the "junkyard" out back at the Erickson Ranch in Wallsburg, Utah during the Antique Power Show. I used a Faber Castel Pitt Artist Pen which waterproof and watercolor paint to add color.

Day 2 - Autumn Landscape - Daily Sketch Challenge May 2020

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Day 2 sketch is an autumn landscape, somewhere near a rural area with a bit of a fence line and a walking trail up the hill through the fields and trees.  Again I used pen and watercolor.  My reference photo was taken in Ogden Valley near the Pineview Reservoir in the town of Eden, Utah.