Joshua Tree National Park

Mark and I just got back from an extended weekend of camping, rock climbing, and sketching (!) with a great group of people.  This was our first trip since we've gotten home from our 3-month-long trip to Australia and I was raring to go!

In this first sketch, done from Ryan Campground, are the Saddle Rocks by Ryan Mountain.  There are actually a few rock climbing routes on these rocks, the longest in the Park, including the ever-popular Walk On The Wild Side (5.8).  Mark and I did that climb last time we were in J-tree.






 On our second day climbing, we started at the "Hall of Horrors" area.  Mark and Scotty immediately got on a pumpy sport route called Jane's Addiction, and at 5.11b, was harder than I wanted to get on!  I used the time to sketch and take photos.  Here are a couple sketches from these photos:

On the third climbing day, I actually got some climbing in, but in the afternoon I took the time to do a study of a visiting bird, a Joshua Tree, and a Number 3 Camalot.

Once I got home I was able to go through the photos I took, and draw and paint some of my favorites, including this of a blooming beavertail cactus:

Alaskan Fireweed

I normally work in my sketchbook, which currently consists of Strathmore Aquarius II paper, but I've been wondering about how hot press watercolor paper is to draw and paint on.  Many artists who do ink and watercolor paintings enjoy hot press because pens glide much more smoothly on it than cold press paper.  Years ago I bought a block of Fabriano Artistico 140 lb hot press (9x12) but only tried it once then for some reason put it away.  I got it out again, and indeed, it is a fun surface to work on!

My Platinum Carbon desk pen was a joy to use on this paper, and I found myself wanting to draw as precisely and neatly as I could, as I studied my reference photo of Alaskan fireweed from our 2009 trip to Alaska.  But I didn't want a "tight" painting, so when it came time to use watercolors, I strove for a loose and lush color.  Breaking "archival rules", I went ahead and used Holbein Opera in a mix with Cobalt for my flower petals.  A bit of Pyrrol Orange brought a touch of warmth to the nearer blooms.  My photo had plenty of medium-to-dark green bokeh for the background, but I aimed for more spring-like, brighter shades of green for this background.  I don't make a habit to finish with spatter, but I love it when other artists do this, so I incorporated some spatter here with my bristle (stencil) brush.

Why not try Virtual Paintout?

Ink & Watercolor of Ravadinovo Castle, Bulgaria

One of the blogs I follow is by Jana Bouc (www.JanasJournal.com), and it was a recent post of hers that made me aware of The Virtual Paintout.  This is a blog for "virtual paintouts using Google Street View as a resource for traveling the world to find interesting locations and subjects to paint."  This blog and project is hosted by Bill Guffey.  Anyone who wishes can submit artwork to this site for display.  The only rule is that you must use a view from Google Street View as your reference.  Other than that, have fun!  Every month Mr. Guffey selects a new location, and this month (April 2013), it is Bulgaria.

I've never been to Bulgaria (I have an ex-half-brother-in-law from Bulgaria, though!), but after cruising around virtually via Google Street View, I almost feel like I visited part of the country this morning.  It's kinda tough to figure out how to find interesting subjects; it helps to do Google searches on things like "Bulgaria attractions" then try to find a view of a resulting interesting place or subject via Google Street View.

It didn't take me too long to find an attraction I wanted to paint--Ravadinovo Castle.  It took me a little longer to find the darn place using Google Street View.  A Google Maps search didn't yield much except one hotel that purported to be 6 km away from the castle.  It helped to read reviews of the castle in Trip Advisor, as those who visited provided better clues to its location.  I "cruised" the main street of the small town of Ravadavino until I saw it, then found a perspective of it I liked well enough.  Save the link in GSV, and start sketching!

I recommend participating in this fun exercise.  The images you get from Google Street View has its issues (distortion, non-optimal lighting or weather conditions), but the artwork can be freely done without worry of copyright issues.  And it's fun to virtually visit a place you've never been before!

Google Street View of Ravadinovo Castle

The Sketchbook Brigade - Urban Sketchers Tucson

Agua Caliente Park sketch-out

At our latest meeting of the Sketchbook Brigade (a sketcher's Meetup.com group here in Tucson) I suggested to our leader Robin that we add on to our group name Urban Sketchers Tucson, and she agreed!  There is a global organization called Urban Sketchers, and numerous satellite organizations for local groups of urban sketchers.  The global Urban Sketchers is pretty cool, with their motto, "See the world drawing at a time", and they even have a manifesto which outlines their definition of "urban sketching" (which is basically a sketch of a location--it doesn't have to be in a city--done on location).  This falls right into a major component of Sketchbook Brigade activities!

Our most recent sketch-out was last Sunday at Agua Caliente Park on the far north-east side of Tucson.  It was my first time there and I was amazed at what must be hundreds of mature palm trees.

Another recent sketch-out was at the Sweetwater Wetlands where we tagged-along on a meeting of the Tucson Plein Air Painters Society.  As you can imagine, living in the desert tends to draw us to the few wetland areas in Tucson to sketch the novelty of it.

Sweetwater Wetlands sketch-out

Sketching everyday but slacking in the posting!

Though I do indeed spend many hours a day on art, sketching every day, trying to learn, refining my tools and process, enjoying what other artists post, I've been a slacker in posting!

Well, to start, here is a page from one of my sketchbooks I did today.  I walked outside to a saguaro in our neighborhood that always catches my attention every time we drive by it.  It's got so much character and is not the standard shape for a saguaro.  I've been meaning to sketch it, and this morning I finally did.  I intended it to be a regular plein air sketch, but after I finished drawing the saguaro I didn't want to "ruin" it by drawing the other stuff around it (a mesquite tree devoid of leaves, the roof of a house).  So I wrote my thoughts about the cactus, and the word "resiliency" came to me.  Then I added a border and Q. Burnt Scarlet to fill the frame.  For a finishing touch, I re-drew the border with a fountain pen containing Private Reserve Velvet Black ink (a water-soluble ink), and touched around the border with a damp flat brush to allow the ink to spread.

I have been trying to draw from life more.  It's so tempting to sit comfortably at my desk and sketch from photographs, but people say it's better to draw from life, so that is what I'm trying to do.  Even if it's a vacuum cleaner!

So I've been watching Brenda Swenson's DVD Sketching Techniques With Watercolor, and I am just soaking it up!  Her work is amazing, both her fine art pieces and especially her sketches.  I have to admit that even though I know that tools don't make the artist, I recently ordered some of the tools that Brenda uses.  I ordered that palette she likes, the Heritage (aka Mijello) 18-well sealable palette.  And since I have to fill that palette  with fresh paint, and many of my favorite paint tubes are low or out, I had to order several new tubes of paint (but first I had to decide what paints will make the final 18 for the palette).  Then I noticed the brushes she uses, the Loew-Cornell 7020 Ultra Rounds, so I had to get a set (sizes 14, 10, 6) of those.  Besides, my two rounds are kind of old and can be moved into my plein air kit.  And that flat she uses, the daVinci 5080 20mm, that looks interesting.  I've not used flats hardly at all, but maybe I should.  My only 3/4" flat is 10 years old that I bought from my art teacher at the time.  Maybe the daVinci one is better?

Art Journal or Artist's Journal?

"Nitty-Gritty" artist's journal page,
5.5x8.5" Canson Universal Sketch pad

In a pinned post on the Artist's Journal Workshop Facebook group, Cathy Johnson makes an excellent distinction between an art journal and an artist's journal.  To quote:  "Art journal or artist's journal? We've been talking about our expectations of ourselves and our journals, and that's one reason I make that distinction. An art journal is expected to be ART--an artist's journal is simply your journal, and you are the artist. You can make art in it, if you wish--or you can play or plan or explore or even write your grocery list! The pressure to produce is gone. Give it a try!"

Personally, I like to do both, but primarily I yearn to spend most of my time with an artist's journal.  Someplace where I feel safe and free to sketch, doodle, write, experiment, explore,...whatever!  An artist's journal to me is a chronology of an artist's continually unfolding process of development.  And, well, as an artist I am currently on the steep end of the learning curve!

But in order to feel free, an artist must feel comfortable with the book itself.  For me, even the most inexpensive watercolor sketchbooks are still too intimidating to use as my artist's journal.  Well, I recently found the solution in a post by Alisa Burke!  Besides being an amazingly creative artist, she is also a believer that you don't have to buy expensive materials to make beautiful art.  I was blown away by what she could do in cheap sketchbooks of 65-lb paper, even using watercolors!  Wow!  

The Canson Universal Sketch pad
takes watercolors pretty well!

So I searched what inexpensive sketchbooks out there in the 65-lb range, and I discovered the Canson Universal Sketch.  Reading reviews, people were using watercolors in it with pretty good results.  So on my next order to Amazon, I threw in an order for a 5.5x8.5" Canson Universal Sketch pad, and it's perfect!  This sketchbook holds up surprisingly well with watercolor paints. No bleed-through so I can paint on both sides of the paper. The bright white paper allows colors to be vibrant. 

I know I shouldn't feel stifled by thicker-papered, nicer, more proper watercolor paper sketchbooks to use as my artist's journal, but I do. So to work around my hang-ups, I've found a really great solution for me. Besides, my fountain pen draws so smoothly on this paper, which I also really appreciate.

The first photo illustrates my "nitty-gritty" use of this sketchbook.  While waiting to backup my hard-drive, I sketched the backup drive.  While watching Danny Gregory's interview with Prashant Miranda, I paused the video and sketched Prash--my very first attempt to sketch someone's face!  And while browsing the web I came across a cute illustration of a gecko that I wanted to remember, so I copied it into my sketchbook, and noted the colors I used.

The second photo illustrates an attempt to get some more drawing, painting, and calligraphy practice in my artist's journal.  I got out my stack of reference photos and felt in the mood to sketch a blooming prickly pear.

Sketching Australia

I'm back from 3 months in Australia!  Since I am very much into sketching these days, I made sketching what I saw in Australia a high priority for my time there.  Before I went, I carefully decided what sketchbook, pen, and watercolor pigments to bring.  I decided to try the Stillman & Birn Alpha because it looked like the paper was thick enough to handle watercolor paint yet thin enough to provide an ample number of pages in the book, and allow me to feel freer to write in it too.  It worked out great!  I brought my favorite pen, the Platinum Carbon Desk Pen, and spare Platinum Carbon ink cartridges.  I originally thought I'd bring ink in a little nalgene bottle with a syringe, but didn't want to bother with that.  As it was, I only used 2 ink cartridges for the entire 3 months.

It was of course a wonderful experience to do so much sketching, and I really feel that my skills improved with the almost daily practice.  It wasn't too difficult to find the time to sketch while travelling with a non-sketcher (my husband), as I was able to sketch while he was doing other things.  But still, oh what fun it must be to feel free to sketch where ever, whenever, and for as long as you want when travelling solo or with another sketcher!  Someday I shall have to experience that.

If you care to see more pages from this sketchbook, I created a Facebook album.