Concern

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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I spent hours today continuing to read the Procreate handbook and practice digital art techniques by making adjustments to yesterday’s post, Thinking. I lengthened the body, moved the eyes, shortened the nose and chin, added worry lines to the forehead and made color changes. All in all, these changes shifted the figure’s expression from thinking to concern. This sketch is my only choice of a sketch to post as it is the only sketch I did all day. The good thing is I am learning to use tools that increase the likelihood that I will be able to intentionally communicate a specific message through deliberate choices that I make with the images I make. Tomorrow I will go back to sketching with traditional media.

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Thinking

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

 

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I kept noticing the look of thinking as this young woman worked. Her expression changed as she wrote and rewrote, as though she were in an engaging conversation. At times she appeared questioning, knowing, disappointed, happy, or perplexed. This showed in her expression, posture, and focused gaze on her computer. I wanted to tell this story as I continued to experiment with digital media. In this sketch I learned to use many layers for the different parts of the sketch. I created, deleted, and merged countless layers to get to this final drawing. Now that I have a better understanding of layers I may redo this sketch to strengthen the contrast between the figure and background.

 

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Airport lines

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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While I was waiting at the airport I noticed the general impatience and tension of the crowd as they stood in line. Not having  my sketchbook with me, I turned to my ipad and used an art app, Procreate. I exaggerated the angles of the figures’ shoulders and feet  hoping  this would convey their stress. Digital art is a different media for me and I need to develop different skills to use it well but I am definitely intrigued with it and plan to do more.

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A quick study session

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

A quick study session - 1

Two students met up and sat briefly in the warm December sun, rehearsing, I think, for a class presentation. They were focused and a little tense, in contrasted with the more relaxed pedestrians behind them. Their focus is conveyed through the mutual gaze upon the same notebook and close hunched shoulders. I was uncertain about how much background to include in this post and made several versions all cropped differently. I finally went with the full original because the background helps establish that this sketch is at the university.

I sketched in ink and added color later at home. 

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Studying on the patio

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Last days to study c-1

The last day of fall semester at SDSU is two days away and the patio up at the college was full of people studying, heads bent down, books and computers out and in use. Most were in groups and seemed to be preparing for projects and exams. It was oddly harmonious and I tried to convey the feeling by the heavy use of blues and greens.

I drew with an ink pen and added watercolor later.

 

 

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Parking structure at sunset

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Parking Structure at Sunset - 1

A parking lot is an unusual subject for me. I was up at the college planning to get some end-of-semester student scenes to complement the ones I did at the start last August. I did get a few but my attention went to the setting sun’s reflection on the vehicles in a multistory structure. I had fun with the contour lines of the cars, thinking about the perspective of a sloping parking structure, and the view down into the lower floors of the lot. This is definitely a sketch I could improve by going back and sketching it many more times until I get a feel for its complexity.

I drew in marker and added paint later at the house.

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Rio San Diego and Fenton

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Rio San Diego and Fenton - 1

A red stoplight at some intersections makes me very happy because I get to pause to appreciate the view. Rio San Diego and Fenton is one of these and I had to get out of my car and sketch the canopy of palm trees and the movement of the fronds above the cars and people. With all the holiday traffic there were many cars blocking the intersection but in this second sketch I eliminated most since I thought it distracted from the trees.  I left white space in the foreground to contrast with the trees. I feel sorry for the bicyclist struggling with his square rear wheel!

I drew in ink and later added watercolor.

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