Urban Sketching at Summers Past Farms

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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The San Diego Urban Sketchers gathered today at Summers Past Farms in El Cajon. Summers Past is a family owned nursery, gift store, garden, wedding venue and interesting sketching location. I chose a rusted out truck on the far edge of the property to sketch. It was so abandoned that it was practically part of the landscape. However, my choice of ink for the initial sketch defined the truck’s edges and set it apart from the surroundings. I used splashes of paint for the trees and shrubs in the background and like the way those parts turned out.

I sketched in ink, pencil, and watercolor.

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Brophy reflection

Posted on November 21, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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You might not know that Phoenix has canals full of water and edged by trails that people walk along for exercise and enjoyment. This is a section near Brophy Chapel and this sketch shows its reflection in the Grand Canal just after sunset. This sketch is unusual for me in that there are no people in it. It provided lots of challenges, particularly the reflection. After several sketches this is what I have to show. I would like to return to this subject again and continue to improve it.

I used a photo I took for reference, sketched in pencil, and then put down watercolor. I needed more contrast for the reflection so I used colored pencil to strengthen the color and add texture.

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The living room

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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This is a late evening sketch of a room that was central to our lives for so many years, our family living room. It is not completely put back in order after a party tonight and now all the others are in bed or gone. Even without people in it it is full of stories and memories and I wanted to convey this feeling. I worked with dark rich colors and was casual about the perspective, hoping that this would suggest a long existence, good use and a place well lived in. This is another sketch I hope to return to and improve.

I drew it in pencil several times, painted it in watercolor and then inked over many of the lines.

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Individual downtime

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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In every reunion there comes a time to check on families, work and news, and to get a little down time. My sisters were doing just this, on their devices, holding still and behaving like excellent models, which gave me an excellent opportunity to sketch them. I was struck by how similar the three are to each other and tried to use this to convey a story of sisters in a peaceful state of downtime. I exaggerated the similarities among them by having each look at her own device and placing each device at a similar angle and height. Although their clothing choices and colors were similar, I exaggerated these further to emphasize their unity.  Finally, I reduced the space between them since sitting close to others can be an indicator of a personal relationship.

I drew with an ink pen and added watercolor later.

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Reconnecting

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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Reunions mean catching up on all the news in a deep and sincere way by people who care about each other. Improving my skill at telling a story through image is my major goal for this blog and I kept thinking about how to convey something as complex as a family reunion as I sketched throughout the day. I did so many sketches but I could not get it right. I was using a fine point pen and drawing lots of detail but the message was becoming overridden by the details of who I was drawing. It was not clear if my sketches were about identifiable individuals or about the idea of relatives reconnecting with each other.

In the evening my brother build a fire and from my vantage point behind my sister and sister-in-law, I noticed the fire and warm colors could be a visual metaphor for the kind of listening and talking longtime relatives do when they get together. I switched from an ink pen to a brush pen to force myself to keep the image simple yet show faces with some emotion. This is a sketch I would like to develop further when I am home again.

I used a brush pen and watercolor.

Posted in Body Language, Facial Expression, Groups Interacting, Story Creation, Telling a Story, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Sister reunion

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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Four of us sisters met up in Phoenix and began talking right away, even though it was late. I thought to convey the closeness of the relationships by showing conversation, placing the figures close together, and using similar colors for the clothing.

This is an ink drawing with watercolor. I am having trouble getting my computer on the network here at our  old home and so am using my old ipad and its camera as a substitute. When I am back in San Diego I will scan this sketch and then update this post.

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This can’t be the optimal control of the quantum oscillator, can it?

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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This is the fourth day I listened on the sideline as two scientists pursued an elusive relationship among their equations. Many of my sketches are about the visual beauty of people learning and thinking together. This sketch is about the labor of making ideas clear enough to be described with words and equations. It takes push, tenacity, endurance, stamina, and hard work and while onerous at times, is incredibly beautiful as well.

I conveyed their effort through their intensely grim expressions, tense body language, the hands clutching a forehead or chin, the bodies leaning forward, their attentive gaze intent on the same sheet of paper, and the somber colors of a late night study. The books in the background allude to their background knowledge but I tried to keep the focus on the actual mental struggle that their work involves.

I sketched in ink and watercolor.

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