Torrey Pines, Sea and Sky

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch of Torrey Pines, Sea and Sky by Sarah Sullivan

Torrey Pines, Sea and Sky

It was a beautiful day and I sketched at Torrey Pines State Reserve. My plan was to apply yesterday’s lesson to conveying this amazing  landscape.  I wanted to show the ruggedness of the terrain, all of its angles, bends, folds, flatness and roundness, by using line and the direction of the paint stroke.  I ran out of time and so did not add pastel lines over the paint, as I did yesterday, but I see it was not necessary. I am beginning to understand this process and will keep at working on this skill this week.

This is a gouache sketch in a 17 X 12 inch Derwent sketchbook with black paper.

Posted in Landscape | Tagged , | 7 Comments

A Presence

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of a woman with presence

A Woman with Presence

We had a particularly expressive model today at our figure drawing class. She radiated her presence and this made capturing both her looks and personality easier than normal. But conveying the model’s mood was not the lesson’s purpose, the purpose was to show the angles, bends, folds, and roundness of the figure using line.  On this last sketch of the day I included gouache paint along with pastel line.

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Light for the Sunflowers

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of light coming in a window onto a couch and sunflowers

Light for the Sunflowers

Last Monday I sketched these sunflowers in this same setting. I liked it because it was a simple bold design. However,  after two days of looking at the sketch alongside the flowers in my living room, I decided it would be better if one of the flowers extended above the couch. So on Wednesday I sketched it again on a larger sheet of paper which gave me room to include the full couch and, because I sketched in the afternoon and not the evening,  I also included the sunlight coming in from the west window. This weekend my cousin, whose artwork and art thinking I love, wondered if the light should come all the way across the couch. I thought about that for a day and decided to edit Wednesday’s sketch and emphasize the light more. And now I wonder if I should place the flowers directly in front of the window and sketch it again with lots of back light coming through the flowers and vase. In any case, I have enjoyed thinking this through and trying out possibilities.

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

As the Afternoon Ends

Posted on September 16, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of a woman sitting on a plaza at SDSU as the Afternoon Ends

As the Afternoon Ends

In this fourth sketch set in the west plaza at San Diego State University, the single figure takes up more of the space on the page and the sky does not extend beyond the row of palm trees. I think this makes it seem more like a private balcony than a public plaza.

This is a 9 X 7 inch gouache sketch.

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Landscape, Telling a Story | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Taking in the View

Posted on September 15, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch by Sarah Sullivan of three people Taking in the View

Taking in the View

After twenty-six months of sketching a new scene pretty much every day,  I am making a change. Rather than sketching a scene one day and then moving on to a new scene the next day, I will be sticking to a setting and repainting it several times. For example, I did several versions of fruit, sunflowers and the view from the west side of San Diego State University this month, each time making different choices. I want to develop my skills at composing and think this will help.

Today’s sketch is again from the plaza on the west side of the SDSU’s campus and is the third sketch in this series. The palm trees, sky and railing attract my eye each time I am there, and I want to use these features to suggest a story for the people who spend time there. In this sketch today I extended the apartment building across the horizon line and made the trees blend into the sky. The sky and people are bright and the building is bland. I think these choices put more of the focus on the people.

This is a 9 X 9 inch gouache sketch.

 

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Groups Interacting, Landscape, Learning, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

On the Steps of the Student Union

Posted on September 14, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
On the Steps of the Student Union

On the Steps of the Student Union

A group of students met up on the steps of the student union at San Diego State University  just long enough for me to do a quick sketch with pastel pencil and gouache. It was late in the day and the students were relaxed and cheerful and I wanted to capture this feeling in a sketch. There was a large banana plant behind them which I would omit if I were to sketch this scene again.

 

Posted in Groups Interacting | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Sunflowers and a Couch

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Sketch of some Sunflowers and a Couch by Sarah Sullivan

Sunflowers and a Couch

A few days ago I sketched this same scene and called it Sunflowers for Marci. I wanted to do it again with one of the sunflowers extending above the top of the couch. For this second version I also added a rug and a window thinking this would make the couch more grounded.

This is a gouache sketch with pastel pencil lines on black paper in a 17 X 12 inch Derwent sketchbook.

Posted in Telling a Story | Tagged , , | 2 Comments