Looking for the Perseid Meteor Shower

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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My goal this week is using a variety of line to tell a story. This is a sketch of an individual searching the sky the Grand Canyon for the Perseid Meteor at dawn. This sketch is mostly line with some red and grey wash. The line is used to outline the figure and cliffs, fill in the shadows, and emphasise important parts of the drawing such as the high mesa and the figure’s hair. Again, the sketch does not show the depth of the canyon, this is something I will need to work on tomorrow, my last full day at the canyon.

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It will be even nicer with you in it!

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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I hurriedly sketched a small family as they posed for a photo while the older daughter grumbled, “Just take it without us!” I loved her mother’s response, “But it will be even nicer if you are in it!” I was charmed by this little family, the dad was so proud of his kids and the mother was so pleased to be recording the moment.  My focus this week is using line expressively but there was so much to record, it was hard to begin. I went through a similar experience with all the trees in some of my early Colorado sketches and kept reminding myself that it helps to just skip over much of the detail. So I suggested the color and lines of the strata with quick dabs of color and line. I tried to use a quick spirited line for the living people and tree and a more solid line for the canyon rim and rocks. It came out kind of flat, figuring out how to add more depth is next for tomorrow. Perhaps I should have varied the thickness and value of the line and color.

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Grand Canyon

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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This is the blog I should have posted on Monday, August 10. We are camping at the Grand Canyon and do not have internet access, so I could not upload last night.

The Grand Canyon is a great place for using a variety of line, all the color is in layers and the layers go on and on. The scope and size of the canyon is nearly incomprehensible, this sketch does not even begin to capture it. I did a few sketches without sky and people and have decided that for my skill level, the context provided by these more easily recognizable images really helps the viewer. This sketch is from one of the first viewpoints of the Grand Canyon and I wanted to capture how awed many of the viewers are as they walk up to the edge.

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Gesture Landscapes

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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Today we drove from Telluride across the Navajo Nation to the Grand Canyon. As we drove I sketched, completing ten or so of these. The landscape did not hold still. I used a water soluble pencil together with watercolor to capture my observations quickly, much like in a life drawing class where the model changes positions every few minutes. I wanted to exaggerate the sweep of the mountains and minimize the variation and abundance of the colors as I tried to record the essence of what was flashing by my window.

As this sixth week of blogging ends, I understand better why I have had such a hard time stating what my success criteria (learning goal) is each week. I just do not yet have enough skill in noticing to be descriptive, broad and precise. Being able to state a set of success criteria requires experience and expertise. I am in the process of building expertise through my direct experience with sketching, thinking and writing about my sketching and by reading and viewing the work of other artists, bloggers and writers. I am beginning to have a sense of what I am doing but not yet able to be clear.

In the coming week I plan to work with line in all its forms- faint, strong, short, continuous, wide, narrow, hard, soft, grey, black, white, colorful, dramatic, understated, cheerful and enthusiastic. I plan to use line deliberately to help tell the stories I experience this week.

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Where are we?

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

TwFullSizeRender (2)o men stopped on a path, blocking my view of the mountainside I was sketching. They pulled out a smart phone and consulted it for directions. I turned a page and began to sketch them, thinking they would leave before I could finish, and sure enough, they did. This ‘in-the-moment’ sketch is not focused on deliberate practice of any sort, but it was fun to turn the irritation of my blocked view into a lucky sketch of two perplexed friends. And this sketch is a much better sketch than my landscape, so it just goes to show that good luck can be made in an instant.

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The Reading Lesson

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

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As I was reading in the library today, I became aware of the halting voice of a beginning reader and the murmur of a teacher. I moved closer, listened a bit to the lesson and got out my sketchbook. The child was tasked with reading a paragraph aloud and then retelling it in her own words. The teacher listened attentively, asked clarifying questions and then listened again. My goal this week is exaggerating body language to convey a story and after a few sketches I decided to sketch a story of a teacher with high standards and a child who wanted to learn and please. The teacher’s head is set in a skeptical, listening angle. She leans on her right arm, and gives the child her full attention. Her crossed legs betray a bit of impatience mixed with self-disciplined. The child is earnest, sitting upright as she peers at her teacher’s face, searching for affirmation. Her expression borders on anxious and the way she uses her hands reinforces the tension. The actual library window has a view of other buildings. I substituted in the green mountain to symbolize the distance the child has to climb as a reader and to show that the child could be playing outside on this summer day. This decision caused me great difficulty in getting contrast between the two heads and the mountainside. I went in several times adding in more color. I regret putting the table leg in the midst of the teacher’s legs, the design would be much stronger if her legs were not blocked by the table.

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Last Telluride Town Talk

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

forest 3The last town talk of the summer took place in the historic New Sheridan Hotel. I love going to these because the speaker is fair game for a sketcher. This time the speaker stood on the stage, well above the audience, especially for those of us in the first few rows. This unusual vantage point made his feet, legs and hips seem disproportionately large and provided an excellent view of his kneecaps. There was a large screen that left little room for the speaker to move about. My goal this week is to exaggerate body language to convey a story and I did this by having the speaker point at his slide while he stared at his finger and explained his point. The speaker wore black but I know from my past experience that black clothing is tough to paint in a shapely way so I made him wear white. I had to use both sides of my little 3.5 X 5 Moleskine sketchbook to capture the speaker, which accounts for the odd shape of this sketch. Perhaps if I had included the lectern and a few audience members it would more clearly tell the story of a public lecture.

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