Street Ball in the Spring

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Playing Street Ball in the Spring

Playing Street Ball in the Spring

This started off as a sketch of the flowers in my yard, similar to the sketch I did last Wednesday of the daisies at Cabrillo National Monument. I wanted to capture the mounds of flowers against the curve of the street.

I was pretty much finished when my young neighbors came out to play ball. Their energy captured my attention; they were so springlike as they played ball. I wanted to add them into the sketch but was worried that the balance would be broken by this unplanned addition.  I am glad I added them.

This is a gouache sketch.

 

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Landscape, Telling a Story | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Presenter

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
The Presenter

The Presenter

 

One of the perks of living within walking distance of a university is the ease of sitting in on presentations by thinkers from near and far. Not only is this an opportunity to hear ideas, it is good for sketching too. Since it takes several sketches before I come close to capturing something that represents the spirit of a person as I see it, an hour of drawing someone confined to a podium is a treat.

This week I listened to and sketched a recent ambassador to Korea, Kathleen Stephens. Her intensity, presence, warmth, authority, and focus struck me immediately and I got several pastel line drawings during her presentation that worked. However, it was not until the end when she leaned forward on the podium while taking questions that I got the sketch that conveyed her strengths. Later at home I used the app Procreate on my iPad to add color and emotion.

The Presenter

These are sketches with pastel pencils on either black or white paper. The final color in the final sketch is added using Procreate.

Posted in Body Language, Deliberate Practice, Facial Expression, Telling a Story | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mounds of Daisies

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Mounds of Daisies

Mounds of Daisies 

I sketched today at Cabrillo National Monument where the mounds of daisies are breathtaking. It was perfect for working on one of my ongoing deliberate sketch questions, “How can I show the rhythm of nature with big shapes and repeating small shapes?”

I could see the rhythm of the bushes as they receded away from me over the hillside overlooking the harbor and city. The sweep of the bushes from my left to right was strong and dominating. The ground, a few bushes and the mountains in the back were different enough to add contrast to the direction of the daisy bushes. I see that there is a gap between what I wanted to draw and what I drew. This is a good beginning and a sketch I would like to develop into a painting.

This is a pastel and gouache sketch.

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Landscape | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fishing at Shelter Island

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Fishing at Shelter Island

Fishing at Shelter Island

Our landscape class met today at Shelter Island on the San Diego Harbor. Our goal was to apply multiple graduated washes and use the modulations in the color to show the sea and sky. The locale had large flat expanses of sky, sea, and was excellent for this assignment. Since I was working in opaque gouache, not transparent watercolor, I did the assignment more roughly than the other artists.

There was a woman fishing at the end of the pier who caught my eye. She was working three fishing poles and, although busy, also seemed relaxed and at peace. I think I caught her tranquility in this sketch.

This is a pastel and gouache sketch on black paper with some editing using Procreate.

 

 

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Back to Back

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
Back to Back

Back to Back

Our goal today in the figure painting class was to achieve harmony by painting with a dominant color and, if necessary, small amounts of the colors adjacent to it on the color wheel. This was an awesome assignment because it made me think about color.

Our two models were seated back to back, like strangers in a restaurant or on a train. Their body language suggested that they were not together. Both models’ bodies were relaxed, their expressions were pleasant, and their gazes disinterested.

I chose purple for the dominant color, thinking it would communicate the detachment between the two people. I used a bit of blue on the man and got to the point where I needed to paint the background.  I began with a bit of purple along the left side. In hindsight, it probably would have been best to leave the background mostly purple, but I added red and the next thing I knew, the red was competing with the purple for dominance. I even added it to the man’s shirt. The focal point on the woman’s face was lost in all the red so I used a water-soluble pencil to strengthen lines on her face and between the two figures.

This is a pencil and watercolor sketch.

 

Posted in Body Language, Deliberate Practice, Facial Expression, Learning | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

More Flowers in a Vase

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
More Flowers in a Vase

More Flowers in a Vase

I picked up today where I left off yesterday, painting flowers in a vase. The vase is in the same place on my desk but this time I painted with gouache on black paper, not with transparent watercolor on white paper as I did yesterday.

As I worked I compared the two mediums. I notice that it is easier for me to control my brushwork with the gouache and that the color is more intense, especially the blues and greens. However, the variation within a color is much more interesting with the watercolor. I should try both mediums together and see what is possible.

I did not use Procreate on today’s sketch. Perhaps tomorrow I will.

Posted in Deliberate Practice | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Flowers in a Vase

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Sarah Sullivan
In a Vase

Flowers in a Vase

I kept working on flowers today, which was really about working on color, line, harmony and contrast. It was a lot to think about and I took several photos of the sketch as I worked on it.

As you can see, it was good that I took a photo of the first sketch before adding background color in the second and then darkening it in the third. The loss of contrast between the flower and the background detracted from the focus and I did not like the second and third versions at all. Eventually I went back to the first photo and imported it into Procreate where I was able to keep working on it until I got a result I like.

Posted in Deliberate Practice, Learning | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments