Luke Sunbathes in August Heat Wave
It seems very odd to sunbathe in this August heat but our dog Luke seeks out sunlight despite my efforts to keep the blinds closed against it. If he could drive I bet he would take off for dog beach and loll about in the sun all day. I am still working on conveying light and this scene with the sunrays sneaking through the blinds across Luke caught my eye.
This is a Procreate sketch.
Where Our Bathroom Used to Be
We had some water damage while we were away for six months. A slow leak in an upstairs bathroom caused the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom to cave in. The soggy old wallboard and fixtures have now been removed, leaving the wooden frames and a light.
Since our return I have been reading and doing exercises from an awesome book about perspective, Drawing Perspective, How to See It and How to Apply It, by Matthew Brehm. Today I suddenly realized that the exposed frames, the tile floor and existing walls present a perfect opportunity to practice what I am learning.
I see that I did not get the perspective quite right in this sketch. I did not notice as I started to draw that the horizon line was not perpendicular to the vertical lines and then I had trouble with the cast shadows and light beams from the light bulb. But even so I like this sketch.
This is a pencil and Procreate sketch.
A Model Poses for the Drawing Group
This sketch is from a series I did yesterday at a drawing group. I had trouble drawing the model as he was missing many of the usual features that help define people. He was very pale, had a shaven head, small eyes, faint brows, and no lashes that I could see from the second row. I struggled to capture him in my sketches. Although I finally settled in on emphasizing his form by using a few colors and exaggerating them, I never did make a sketch that captured his looks or spirit.
This is a soluble pencil and watercolor sketch.
Sketching the Sketchers
This morning I sketched with a drawing group in San Diego. I have not yet built back my stamina and toward the end of the morning needed a break. Instead of sketching the last 20-minute pose by the model, I turned and sketched some of the artists, which was much easier. As you can see, the artists are quite focused on their work and I did manage to catch a bit of their intensity in this sketch.
This is a pen, pencil and watercolor sketch.
Lookout at Torrey Pines State Reserve
This morning I sketched at Torrey Pines Reserve in San Diego before it got too hot to be outside. I guess the lookout in the distance is about 300 feet above the beach. There are mounds of vegetation interspersed among the sand dunes and boulders. The light was bright even though the morning fog was keeping the sky from showing a strong blue and I left whites on the page to show this.
This is a pencil and watercolor sketch
Figuring It Out
We sat at the table, working side by side and enjoying the moment. I liked the way the light defined the shapes in his arms and shirt and worked to capture the light and shadows in this sketch. Even more, I liked the evaluative facial expression that he made as he read. It was almost as though he was signaling to the computer that he was puzzled a bit by claims it was making. I tried to capture this expression as well.
This is a Procreate sketch.
Sunday at Fletcher Cove Park
It was wonderful to sketch today with the San Diego Urban Sketchers, especially after two weeks of staying home while repairs were being made to our house. We met at Fletcher Cove Park in Solana Beach with its lively sea and strong light, which I tried to convey by leaving an abundance of white space.
This is a pen and watercolor sketch.
