Vacation Sketch Day

Yesterday was a state holiday in Utah so I decided to make a long weekend of it and take a vacation day today.  I made sure to get all the "must do" items on the to-do list done yesterday so I could spend my time however I pleased for the rest of the weekend.  Today I chose to travel to the Heber Valley which is about a 50 min. drive East and South of the Salt Lake Valley.  My first stop was one of my favorite places, the Middle Provo River.  I parked at a fisherman access area that I'd never explored before.  Apparently quite a few fisherman had the idea to take a vacation day today as well, the parking lot was almost full even though I got there about 9:00 am.  I started by sketching the river itself at a spot close to the trailhead;

Luckily a fisherman wandered into view and cast his line while I was still doing the pen drawing so I could add him for scale, though I think I made him a tad large.

Next I really wanted to sketch a cottonwood tree, we don't have many of those in the Salt Lake area.  It took a bit of searching to find one in a good position for me to sketch even though the river is lined with them;

By now it was nearly noon and even though the Heber Valley is at a higher elevation than the Salt Lake Valley it's not any cooler during the summer so I went into town and sat at a picnic table in the shade and sketched part of the St Lawrence Catholic Church;

I almost didn't post this sketch because there are so many errors in it, but the reason I sketch isn't to create a masterpiece.  Sketching from life is all about improving your observation and drawing skills.

Here are a couple photos I took during today's activities;

The middle Provo River

The main path along side the river.