Playing with Color

I have been playing around with bold color in my sketchbook the last few days. Partiality because it's fun and partially because I need to use up the last few spreads in a book I don't like that much.  Of course there are things I do like about the the book, one of which is the texture of the paper. It has been along time since I painted on rough textured paper and I like the change. Mostly I do not like the book's inconsistencies and poor construction, both of which make working in it more frustrating than fun, which is never what you want from a sketchbook.
I should also mention that I am playing with a mobile post for the first time. So this is a bit of an experiment the same as my colorful pages.

Virtual Paintout July 2013 - 84 Smith Street

84 Smith Street
Faber-Castell PITT pen in black size S, Daniel Smith watercolor,
Hand•book handmade watercolor journal, full spread 8x16 inches

This month's Virtual Paintout location is Charleston, SC.  I found this view of Charleston the very first drop of the orange peg man in Streetview and fell in love with it because of the large imposing tree.  I always find sunny scenes to be difficult to paint as it feels wrong as you are painting to add in the extremely dark darks you need to make the view look truly sunny.  This view was very sunny but nearly all of the image is encompassed by the shadow of the tree.  I do not feel like I was extremely successful in getting it to look very sunny or very shady but I had fussed around enough with this page and decided to call it finished whether it was right or not.  At least after finishing I can recognize that in order for the scene to look more brightly sunny I need to increase my dark range and push the shadows deeper and darker.  Hopefully, that helps me learn and next time I paint a sunny scene I have the courage to get those darks on the paper and do not chicken out because it feels wrong.

The Virtual Paintout is an online virtual sketch-out where a new location is posted each month and artists use Google Streetview to locate a scene or view that they would like to paint or draw in that location.  Work is then emailed in and posted on blog and a Facebook page run by Bill Guffy.

Creekside Chickens ~ year two

Sketched using a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in cool grey with a brush tip,
Daniel Smith watercolors, in an India Handmade Hand•Book watercolor journal,  8x16 full spread size

 On Sunday, July 7th the MetroSketchers group met in the backyard of Sophie and Chris near Minnehaha Park to draw their small flock of chickens for a second year.  This year they have new chickens, a flock of six that they got as one day old chicks back in April, one of which was a rooster by mistake, which was being relocated to a small farm after we sketched that afternoon.  It was a typically hot July afternoon and the chickens were not very social, in terms of mingling with sketchers in the yard.  For most of the afternoon they huddled together in a small corner at the back, forcing us to all be grouped in and around said corner at the back to better see the chickens.

Sketched using a Faber-Castell PITT artist pen in cool grey with a brush tip,
Daniel Smith watercolors, drawn over the top with a Faber-Castell calligraphy pen in black,
in an India Handmade Hand•Book watercolor journal,  8x16 full spread size

 I got to the event about a half hour late, after a few quick chicken gestures and seeing that the chickens were staying put in terms of location, I decided to sit on the back steps and sketch a portion of my view.  Chris and Sophie really have a lovely backyard, with hanging baskets, lights, small sculptures, and flower beds.  They also had about twenty or so people in lawn chairs quietly sketching, so even not drawing chickens, there was plenty to draw.
By about two-fifteen most of the sketchers were starting to be hot and restless and Sophie was bringing out some refreshments and the chickens saw this as the perfect time to begin moving through the yard.  I guess after seeing us sit quietly in chairs for over two hours they decided we were safe to mingle with after all.  From my perch at the back steps I was able to finally sketch a trio of the chickens.  I was also able to snap a couple of photos for use as reference later.  It was one of those reference photos that I used to finish the part of a sketch that I got of Horatio, the rooster, later that afternoon at home to finish the spread in my journal.
I am currently working my way through a journal that I impulse bought while waiting for a friend in an art supply store.  I am nearly finished and will post my thoughts on the book, because I have many, in a later post.  For now let's just say that this book has been a frustrating learning experience and just when I thought I had made peace with it and its paper, I turned the page and drew chickens and began to paint and discovered that these next few sheets are completely different from the rest of the book that I am just over halfway through using.
Right now let me just say that two important lessons are already becoming evident as I use this book.  Lesson one: don't ever impulse buy a book because it looks interesting while waiting for a friend.  Lesson two: I make my own books for a very real reason.

Peony

Peony from my garden-
Handbook brand journal, PITT Brush pen in cool grey, Daniel Smith watercolors
7.5x16 inches

After looking at this peony, that I cut from my garden specifically to draw, for three days I finally sat down and just made myself do it.  I have been thinking it was too complex and that I could never get it right and that it would take forever.... Basically whining to myself that I am not good enough or that I do not have the time and letting that little voice win.
Well today, after reading Danny Gregory's post about that voice, the one we all have that keeps us from doing whatever it is we truly love to do, I just did rather than talk myself out of it.  And as always it feels good.  Feels good to have a finished page, good to have spent an hour painting, and good to not have listened to that nasty little voice in my head telling me I am no good.