This is from my sketchbook from this past summer. My husband was chatting with his friend and colleague from graduate school, and I was sketching nearby. We were on a balcony in Colorado, enjoying the last light of the day and the warmth of the sun.
Looking back in my sketchbook, I found this rough sketch. I was sketching people at the beach on a late July evening. This little guy was having a great time jumping waves and flinging seaweed with his father. Now that I look at it again, I like how I captured the motion of the light, the child, and the waves.
This simple still-life from our Tuesday night Zoom group was fun!
The San Diego Watercolor Society was out at Shoreline Park for our monthly paintout. Shoreline Park overlooks the Americas Cup Harbor, and a marina bursting with boats. It is framed by the hills of Point Loma and is a favored spot of artists, especially on a mild end-of-summer day.
I began with a sketch of the boats in the harbor, but noticed that my attention was drawn to two artists out on the pier. Both were painting with so much pleasure, focus, and enthusiasm that I felt compelled to capture it on paper. I turned my paper over and with a few strokes I soon had the figures, easel and pier.
At some point, I had to decide whether or not to include the boats, homes, foliage, streets, and hills in the background. I went with simple, opting for big shapes in blue, thinking this choice might better convey a sense of tranquility and creativity.
A little pumpkin and a big bok choi met with a striped tablecloth for our Tuesday Night Zoom Group.
A few weeks ago, I sketched a young man who was working on his laptop. This new sketch is a kindred piece. It shows a man with a similar, contemplative expression. Both scenes gave me the sense that the men, with their relaxed open expressions, were actively chasing an idea by conversing with their computers.
In this sketch, I used sky blue, Naples yellow, and Quinacridone violet because together, these convey a feeling of the display’s reflected light on the man’s face.
The North Carolina Beach was beautiful, and at night, the energy from the thunderstorms seemed almost otherworldly. I took a series of night photos and particularly loved the ones with reflections.
Deliberate Sketching 