Sketchbook Wednesday #5 - Derwent Drawing Pencils

 Something different this week.  Not only am I sharing a sketch of a different subject in a different medium but the format of this post is a bit instructional.

I decided to try something different this week and made a sketch of a landscape and using Derwent Drawing Pencils instead of my usual pens, markers and/or watercolor cars and trucks. Derwent drawings pencils are similar to colored pencils but there are a couple subtle yet important differences in their properties which I'll cover later.

This is the finished sketch, a nature landscape featuring a tree, bushes and a grassy field foreground.  As you can see I used only warm tones, I feel warm tones work best for landscapes, except maybe for a winter scene of course.  All of the colors available in the Drawing Pencil range are rather subdued.  I used only four pencils for this sketch, Mars Orange, Sanguine Red, Terracotta and Sepia Red. If I wanted to broaden the value range I'd use Brown or Yellow Ochre for brighter/lighter lights and Chocolate for deeper darks.

To apply the color in the foliage I used circular strokes with the pencil at a low angle as shown above.

First I apply a layer of Orange Mars

Next I applied some Sanguine Red to the darker areas.

Next came Terracotta for some even darker areas.

And finally for the darkest darks I applied Sepia Red.

And here's the first major difference between Derwent Drawing Pencils and regular colored pencils.  The Derwent pencils can be blended using a dry blending stump which is what I have done here.  Most colored pencils require some kind of solvent, heat or a special blending pencil to make them blend.  Admittedly the blending isn't very thorough but part of that is due to the heavily textured paper I'm using which in my opinion enhances the image in this case.

The other property of the Derwent pencils that differs from traditional colored pencils is that they can be erased...sort of. The Derwent pencil marks can be significantly lightened using a stiff eraser, you won't get all the way back to the white of the paper but you'll get much lighter than you can with normal colored pencils.  I like to use a Paper Mate "Tuff Stuff" eraser as shown in the photo below with all of the items I used to make this sketch.

So, in conclusion, I enjoyed using the Derwent Drawing Pencils to make this sketch and will definitely use them again. Next time I might try smoother paper and a Chocolate pencil for deeper darks.

More Sketchiness

 More sketches from my multimedia studio sketchbook.

"Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 3"

I don't remember for sure where I took the reference photo but I beleive it was somewhere in Morgan County Utah, about as rural as it gets. It's an image that's always interested me and one I've sketched and drawn a couple times.  I guess what's so interesting is that in spite of the derelict appearance of this barn or shed with the dying tree in front of it, even blocking part of the opening it is still in use and full of hay bales. Like the first two sketches and next three I started with charcoal then applied watercolor washes with a simple, three color palette of muted colors and then finished off with soft pastel to add more texture, detail and color.

"Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 4"

Another derelict barn, this one larger and apparently abandoned altogether or maybe just used to store scrap wood in that section on the left. The reference photo was taken in the small rural town of Midway, Utah on a crisp autumn day. Unfortunately Midway isn't quite so rural anymore, newer developments around it have a distinctly upper-middle class suburban feel.

"Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 5"

I don't remember where I took the reference photo but it was pretty much just like this, an antique Case farm tractor sitting abandoned near the road in a large open area in rural Utah.

"Studio Sketchbook 1 Sketch 6"

I believe I took the reference photo for this somewhere in Sanpete County, a very agricultural rural county in west/central Utah.  This field appeared to be an abandoned farm field left to return to nature.  

Going Green

 I decided to spend some time at the easel rather than the drawing board this week and paint up a new nature landscape painting. 

"Late Spring Meadow"
Acrylic, 11" X 14"
Click on image to purchase

I enjoy going for walks in the Jordan River Parkway, a parkway that spans the entire length of the Salt Lake Valley, I live within walking distance of a popular section of the parkway.  There are a million worthy compositions here and it's a source of endless inspiration like this grassy meadow backed by trees in the late spring when the grass is tall, still green and dotted with wildflowers.

Autumn in the Mountains

 A few weeks ago I spent quite a bit of time hiking, sketching and taking photos in Big Cottonwood Canyon, the biggest canyon in the Wasatch Mountains here in northern Utah.  Using the reference material collected I made a couple different paintings based on a scene(s) in Brighton and I made them the same size and similar style so that could display well together.  They also are painted on cradled panels with the sides painted black and hanging wire already installed so they can be hung without a frame.

"Autumn Spring in the Mountains" Acrylic 20" X 10"

"Mountainside Rock in Autumn" Acrylic, 20" X 10"

Palette Knife Evergreens

 It's been a while since I got the knives out, I managed to do just that this week and created a pair of related paintings. 

"Evergreen Hillside" acrylic, 12" X 16"

I wanted to keep these paintings very loose, almost semi-abstract.  I started by blocking the painting in with large brushes.  I do this not only to lay out the composition but also to cover the surface with colors that fit the composition so that I don't have to totally cover the surface with knife applied paint.  I think this works to create a bit more interest, even a little vibration in the painting as the slightly different colors peak through the knife strokes.

The subject is based on a photograph I took while walking around in the Middle Provo River restoration area in the Heber Valley of northern Utah.  The contrast of the green pine trees and the yellowish-browns of the high mountain desert hillside interested me, however I also added some brighter greens for the younger trees and plants.

"Two Evergreens on a Hill" Acrylic 7" X 5"

The second painting is a much smaller one based on the same concept, in fact I used no reference for this one, just painted the same idea from my own head and the experience of the previous painting.

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.

A Six Day Blue Art Challenge

 Last week I participated in an art challenge put on by an administrator of an art forum.  The challenge was to produce one piece of art, start to finish, each day for six days and each piece must contain the color blue.

"Small Autumn Tree Study" acrylic, 8" X 6"

"Autumn Bushes Study" acrylic 6" X 8"

For the first two days I kept it simple and just painted two small acrylic autumn landscape studies with blue skies.  The first one is an autumn version of a summer landscape I did for the green challenge, the other just on an old photograph I took in Wanship, Utah.

"Tall Blue Trees" acrylic, 12" X 9"

For the third day I revisited my abstract trees series.  I started by adding texture using pieces of tissue paper wrinkled and fixed to the surface using gel medium.  Then I applied high flow paint and water and let it drip, then refined the composition and colors using heavy body paint applied with brushes and then added a bit of line work using acrylic markers.

"A Big Blue Barn" acrylic 9" X 12"

This one is a little out of character for me.  Ya, it's a rural landscape, and it's an autumn scene, but I've never painted a barn blue before, I don't believe I've ever seen a blue barn but I wanted more than just a blue sky for this one to comply with the theme of the challenge. The reference was a photograph I took in Liberty, Utah.

"Abandoned Blue Chevy Dump Truck" acrylic 11" X 14"

It's been a while since I've painted an abandoned vehicle so I picked one for the fifth day.  The reference was actually green but it's no big deal to make it blue.  The truck in the reference was actually in a junkyard in Nephi, Utah, I put it in a field backed with bushes.

"Blue 1935 Buick Sedan" pastel 12" X 16"

For the last day I really pushed my skills.  This painting was popular with the other participants but I'm not especially happy with it.  I decided to use pastel instead of acrylic for this one.  The painting is very loosely based on a vintage black and white photograph of a 1935 Buick driving in traffic on a highway somewhere in California. I focused on the Buick, removed the traffic and modified the background.

I've been doing a lot of challenges lately and am now rather burnt out on them.  I think this last one especially pushed me.  Time to do something a little different I think, maybe some pen drawing.

Five Day Green Painting Challenge

 This past week I took part in a themed five day art challenge, meaning all participants needed to make a new piece of art every day for five days straight that fit within a theme, in this case the theme was "green".

While I've made green paintings in the past my inclination is really toward autumn colors, so I decided this would be a good motivation to experiment more with greens.

"Small Summer Tree Study" Acrylic "7 X 5"

All of these paintings were based on charcoal sketches I'd completed previously, in fact many of them had been posted in a previous blog.  This is one of those, just a simple study based on a single tree in a field during summer.

"Summer Shed in the Hills" Acrylic 5" X 7"

I actually simplified this one a little bit.  The charcoal sketch had two trees, I reduced that to just one.  I used somewhat different techniques for making these paintings, more or less the same as the two paintings in my previous blog post.  The palette knife was only used to mix paint so the paintings are made entirely with brush work.  I used three layers, a thin layer just to block in the composition, a thicker layer to refine the composition and color and the final layer using very thick paint with modeling paste mixed in to finalize the color/composition and add texture.

"Irrigation Canal Study" Acrylic "5" X 7"

I found this scene in Box Elder County in northern Utah a few years ago and only now got around to painting it.  I think there's potential for a larger painting of this subject.

"Path Through Spring Meadow" Acrylic, 8" X 10"

I especially like the results of this painting.  Not that it's perfect but I think it does set the mood and create an inviting scene, someone even commented that the painting made them want to be there which I think is the ultimate compliment for a landscape painter. I added a few dots of color to represent wildflowers.

"Spring on Beaver Creek" Acrylic, 9" X 12"

The reference for this painting was also collected years ago but in Cache County showing a little known creek in spring though my original reference was in autumn, however since I worked from my charcoal sketch the colors of a reference photo did not influence the colors I chose for the painting.

This was a good challenge for me. I think the paintings turned out pretty well, though I think I could have used a little more variety in the color, especially on the warmer side of the color wheel.

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.

Duo Tone Studies

 I participated in a short, three day challenge with some other artists recently and decided to use that challenge to try something new.

I'm not really much of a watercolorist but I would like to improve my skills with that medium. I also saw a YouTube video recently about painting with just two colors.  I decided it would be a good idea to experiment with watercolor and duo tone to keep it simple.  The following three paintings are the result.

Rural Ditch Duo Tone Study

For the first painting I used only burnt sienna and payne's gray both of which are grayed down colors and complements on the color wheel which allowed me to get some deep darks but with subtle coloring.  The reference photo came from a trip to the Heber Valley, this ditch is in the small, rural town of Charleston.

Evergreen Hillside Duo Tone Study

The second painting is also based on a photo I took in the Heber Valley, a scene along a trail just below the Jordanelle Damn along the Middle Provo River.  The two colors used for this painting are french ultramarine and green, (cobalt blue plus hansa yellow).

Abandoned Wood Barn Duo Tone Study

The last painting is based on a photograph I took somewhere in rural Utah, I believe in Sanpete County.  The composition features a small abandoned wood barn in a field with trees behind.  The two colors I used were cobalt blue and quinacridone gold.

I don't know if I'll ever become a true watercolorist but I did enjoy making these small studies and do feel I learned some things that will help with future studies and sketches. I may even some day try duo tone color schemes with acrylic paintings.

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.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidkingstudioart/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidkingstudio/