That’s a Thought!

Now, That's a Thought!

Now, That’s a Thought!

I love sketching people who are pinning down an elusive idea together. I did several quick sketches of this scene and each time caught something different in their body language that reflected the state of their thinking. The body language of building idea shows in this sketch in the eye contact, the surprised but serious facial expressions, and the closed mouths. It is as though they both are considering the meaning of what was just said.

This is a pencil and watercolor sketch on watercolor paper.

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Sunlight at Toulon’s Train Station

Sketch of the Toulon Train Station by Sarah Sullivan

Across the Tracks at the Toulon Train Station


While we waited at the Toulon Train Station in France last week, I got two quick line sketches of the station from the last platform. My eye was caught by the light and shadows from the strong summer sun. Later that evening I added watercolor to one of them but made a muddy mess. 

Since I am still working on showing light this week I pulled out the two sketches of the train station, and a photo to use as reference, and tried again. First I used watercolor but again got similar results. The contrast of the deep shadows to the light is challenging and I ended up with a muddy sketch. And so I moved onto trying the sketch with Procreate, which is much easier to edit.  I think this version is more true to the light and heat but it still does not capture the feel of Toulon Station on a hot sunny day. 

This is a Procreate sketch. 

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Luke Wants In

Luke Wants In

Luke Wants In

Luke was banished so people could work inside on the bathroom without his supervision, poor Luke!

I continued to work on showing light and think the bits on the patio, furniture, and greenery convey midday California light. However, the light and shadow also fell across Luke’s body and I never quite got that part right.

This is a Procreate sketch with some help from Snapseed.

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Luke

Luke

Luke

Luke is back and we are glad!

He spent the last six months with two incredible people, their dog, cat and horses while we traveled about. It is amazing how good they were to him. I think he misses them because he seems a little restless, paces around the house and lifts his ears to listen to the cars and people outside.

In addition to sketching a slightly somber Luke, I worked to convey the light reflecting on the tile floor on the left side of the sketch.

This is a pen, pencil and watercolor sketch.

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Perfect Leg Rest

Perfect Leg Rest

Perfect Leg Rest

My son put his feet up for a moment and his legs leaning up and off the sofa captivated me. I cajoled him into keeping the pose long enough to sketch him using my iPad. He did not quite hold still, he moved his left hand up over his mouth, which made for an even better pose as his body language then suggested that he might well be asking himself how he could ever have gotten stuck posing for thirty minutes. I was sitting directly across from his feet, which is why they are emphasized. I wonder what the sketch might have been like if I had shifted my position further to the right and exaggerated the feet even more.

While I was glad this sketch included body language, my all time favorite sketching element, my deliberate learning focus this week is showing light. The late morning light made for interesting highlights and shadows, which I exaggerated. I used Snapseed to bring out the detail in the brush strokes and shading as a way to show how the light added visual interest to the sketch. 

This sketch was done mostly using Procreate but with some help from Photos and Snapseed. 

 

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Friday Morning in San Diego

Friday Morning in San Diego

Friday Morning in San Diego

It is good to be back home, enjoying an early morning with my son.

I am still working on light and the puzzle of showing the California early morning sun coming in the sliding door onto my son and the table was engrossing. Once I got looking closely at it, I saw multiple reflections in the glass, which changed as I sketched and the light source moved up. Even though I did not get it exactly right, I did come closer to conveying the feeling of morning light by adding in texture onto sections of the glass.

This is a Procreate sketch with some assistance from Photos and Snapseed.

 

 

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Early Morning Wait at the Airport

Sketch of  people waiting at the airport in Nice France by Sarah Sullivan

Morning Wait at the Airport

The good thing about flight delays is the abundance of people to sketch. This is from the Nice Airport in France while waiting for the first leg of our flight home. The skylights flooded the waiting area with morning light but the body language of the passengers did not reflect the brightness of the day.

This sketch is a pencil and pen sketch on multimedia paper with Procreate, Photos and Snapseed on the iPad.

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