Limber Limbs

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Ice Cream Store 3

My goal this week is exaggerating body language to tell a story but there was no need to do so with the two subjects of this sketch. I stopped for coffee in the middle of the day and noticed two limber sisters lounging as they each ate a doughnut. I was astounded by and envious of their ability to contort their legs and still stay upright. I caught the movement of the three background figures and the contrast of their activity to the girl’s relaxed sitting. I blocked in greys for the rest of the store and went too dark.  I like that the composition has several triangles in it; the bank of windows, the three background figures and the left corner of the table through the legs and right chair. I may come back to this sketch and improve it by replacing some of the grey color in the background and modifying the arm of the older sister so that it clearly hangs over the back of the chair.

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Window Washing

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Window WasherI was on my way to the library when I noticed a man up on a ladder washing windows. I found a perch and began sketching him. My goal this week is to exaggerate body language to clearly tell a story and I had fun with it in this sketch. The man was hardworking, burdened with equipment tied to his hips, and safety minded. This was not a story I was successful in conveying so I changed the elements somewhat. It took a few tries but eventually I drew the man leaning too far to the right for his own safety and more interested in peering inside the window than in cleaning it. Not including the equipment on his hips helped clarify his image. I challenged myself to use minimal lines and strong colors but wonder if more lines would have better conveyed the story. I still miss my lines! I cropped the picture, taking off part of the left hand side and part of the top so as not to have the man in the center.

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A last streak of light

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Sunset 4
I did not have much success with my plan for sketching exaggerated body language today. However, after a rainy afternoon the sun lit a streak on the hillside and I tried my hand at capturing it. While not satisfied, I do like that I exaggerated the strong color on the mountainside thereby defining the areas of sunlight and shadow. The strong colors on the mountaintop complement the gentle tones of the sunset. The red cliffs will need further work to be really clifflike but this is a start. I drew in ink and wish I had not as I find the lines distracting.

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Hey There!

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and sat near the bar. Two of the people sitting up at the bar caught my eye and I reached for my sketchbook. There was a lot going on between these two and I did several thumbnails and gesture drawings wanting to catch the action before they left. I noticed how the man watched the woman, how her face and eyes looked away from his but her shoulder and hips leaned toward him. His sandals were on the floor beneath him and soon one of his feet rested on the rung of her stool. I was lucky that they lingered and I could get it all in a complete sketch. I again used reds and blues for skin tones but toned it down from the previous days. The restaurant was busy but instead of including the other diners in my small sketchbook, I added a few blobs of color to suggest depth and other diners.

Today ends my fifth week of blogging and pre-planning my sketches to include perspective, values and story, which has had impact on my the quality of my work. When I compare this sketch to my first on June 29, I notice that my work is more relaxed, better planned, and more painterly. I am beginning to see the kind of growth that I seek.

In this coming week I plan to convey the story of what I see by exaggerating the body language of my subjects.

Ridgway

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All in a Morning

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

I keep a sketchbook as a way of remembering and understanding. This morning I sat and sketched four relatives, squishing them all into the same sheet of paper, not caring too much about the impossible overlapping of the space and people. It is a collage of people, moments and feelings from the last day of our family reunion. The two men were working on a puzzle, my sister-in-law on her needle work and my sister was sharing a story. I did not quite capture how pleased we were to be there together, perhaps because I put too much on this one small sheet of paper. I continued using strong reds and blues for the skin tones and just hinted at the color in the clothing. And I am more comfortable with using a range of values on the skin. I am glad I was able to capture so much of our reunion in my sketchbook.

Saturday

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It looks like your mother!

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

This morning I sat with many of my relatives, including my cheery sister-in-law MJ. I get a lift from MJ’s wry sense of humor and could listen to her stories all day. As we all caught up on our news and exchanged stories, MJ did needlework and I drew her. Imagine my surprise when I looked over the sketch below and saw that I had a sketch that not only strongly resembled MJ’s mother, but also caught a bit of melancholy that I had not overtly noticed when sketching MJ. I think it is the lift of her head, her open blue eyes, and the violet scarf that convey the pensive mood. And I am wondering if the strong blues and reds I used in the skin tones and hair highlights also contribute to a sense of sadness. I will do more work with these colors as I would love to be able to intentionally create this kind of emotional impact.

MJ

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Yes, and…

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Sarah Sullivan

Although my main goal in this sketch was to show focused listening, a secondary goal was to use blues and reds to indicate skin tone and especially shadow on the skin tones.This work with shadow is tied back to the two campfire sketches and the need for strong darks to show the nighttime setting. Of course I have long heard the recommendation that the artist should use color directly on the paper instead of mixing it up but it is one thing to hear advice and another to follow it. It takes steady nerves to actually place blue on a subject’s face when you are pleased with a sketch. Since we were outside in a grassy field with bright light, some of my sister’s skin tone was completely washed out, which I captured, and other parts of her skin were strongly in shadow, which I now think I could have conveyed even better had I used more blue. The tilt of my sister’s head and her relaxed expression communicate listening and her arm with a semi clenched fist suggest that she would like to add something to the conversation but is holding back until the time is right.

Listening

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