Yesterday evening at dusk we were driving across southern New Mexico. It was an arid area and the setting sun enhanced the yellows of the grasses. I liked the layers that the stretches of grass, trees and sky made and sketched them as we drove.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch.
I drew as we drove from Austin to New Mexico today across a mesmerizing landscape. The trees, I think live oak trees, were thick near Austin, but the further we drove the more sparse they became. They were somewhat backlit against the blue sky and browning hills and just plain beautiful.
I sketched with pastel pencil on black paper and then overpainted portions of the pastel with gouache.
Hillside Near Austin
I sketched with pastel pencil as we drove along today, trying to get the basic feel of the landscape as it flew past us.
An Old Pine Tree
I sketched this at the same cemetery that we stopped by yesterday afternoon. I stood on the hillside below this huge old partially dead pine tree and drew a portion of it in a very small sketchbook. In the end I liked the bold shapes and strong colors, although I did wish I had made the pine tree more recognizable.
This is a gouache and pastel sketch on black paper.
New England Cemetery
This is a pastel and gouache sketch on black paper.
On the Homestead Trail at Prince Edward Island National Park
The rain stopped, the sun came out, the temperature warmed and we spent the afternoon biking on the Homestead Trail at Prince Edward Island National Park. It was incredibly beautiful.
I did something new today. I began with a pastel sketch as usual but when I got to adding the color I paid little attention to the lines I had just made. In fact I pretty much ignored them. Instead I drew with my paintbrush, making changes to the sketch as I painted. I painted outside the lines, over lines and in the lines. And I left more of the pastel showing than I normally do. I think that making the under-sketch helped me understand and organize what was important. However, by ignoring the under-sketch while I painted, my eyes and attention stayed strongly on the scene and I was better able to show what I felt. I like the energy of this sketch.
This is a pastel and gouache sketch on both sides of a 5 X 8 black Moleskine sketchbook with black paper.
Another View from Our Camping Spot
This is our third and last day in New Brunswick. Yesterday I sketched our view looking out to the sea. Today I turned 90 degrees and sketched the view looking at a fresh water pond and hill off to our side. This type of spring landscape is quite challenging for me with its abundance of yellows and reds. I think I am sending a message of autumn, not spring. But I like the bare trees in the foreground and in a way both today’s sketch and yesterday’s are about them.
This is another mixed media sketch. I began with a pastel pencil and gouache sketch on black paper. Like yesterday, I used Procreate to add lines of various colors to the sketch.
Deliberate Sketching 