Sketchbook Skool - Polishing

Decide very late in the game to sign up for the Polishing kourse at Sketchbook Skool, a 6 week course. It started 30 September. I started almost a month late. The first class is comics with Danny Gregory. I have always wanted to do a comic series about my life and family. I kept putting it off because I firgured I needed to develop my characters first. That meant being able to draw their heads and bodies in any pose. Therefore, I never did anything, I quit before I could start. I had set a very high threshold. Danny has you just jumping in and doing it. I am having fun. Here is my first conversational comic, the first assignment.

Goose at Pond Edge

Another view of the gray goose.

Duck Couple

Another sketch from one of the photos I took at the Hill Top Inn. The rock formations around the grounds were interesting. They were flat gray and looked like very thick pancake batter that was pour out. They appear all over the lawns. These were around one of the ponds. The white duck was the female and the malard duck was the male. I can't remember their names. But the female was the guardian and did not like me.

Three Geese Heads

Still working on drawing geese. Like the bottom one best, but more practice is needed. Had hoped to get out today and draw from life. Instead I took my husband to the doctor's office for this cold/flu thing that is going around. Plus the wind is a bit strong for my new plein air set up so I couldn't have used it anyway. Thank goodness I took enough photos recently to keep me busy.

Plein air set

This is my "fishing" vest. The pockets contain everything I need within easy reach. I have used this for several years. It is perfect for hiking or sketching in a confined space. When I get to the point of adding color I balance my travel watercolor set on one side of my sketch pad. This set up works well for me when using waterbrushes so I don't have to worry about a water source. I make most of my sketchbooks so I always have ones that fit the largest pockets.

But last week I came across a set up designed by Leslie Fehling on her blog Everyday Artist . It looked so much better than anything I have seen. So I bought the pieces and put my own version together. It is a bit larger, 15x18 so my 12x9 inch watercolor block fits. Instead of a sponge I use a wrist band (the black rectangle below the drill bit gauge).

This show the lid from a liquid laundry detergent bottle that holds my fresh water supply.

Here is my brush case, liquid laundry detergent bottle, and tote that holds everything including my board.

Resting Peacock

A quick sketch of a peacock at the Temple Hill Farm.

Rooftop Goats

The people at the Temple Hill Farm have built a multi-level ramp with a couple of lookouts. This is a great idea it probably keeps them from getting too bored. Want to work on the angles and proportions of the goats heads. They are fun and interesting animals.

Chicken

I am guessing it is a chicken and not a rooster. My knowledge of farm animals is very limited. This chicken lives at the Temple Hill Farm in Leesburg Virginia. I went out Tuesday on a paint out with the Loudoun Sketch Club. We are scheduled to return to the same location next Tuesday. I am trying to decide if I want to go back. There are chickens, goats, and pigs 5 minutes from my house. I might go there instead.

Duck, Duck, Goose

A couple of value sketches of the white duck and gray goose at the inn.

White Duck

Last week we went to a winery and then stayed over night at a B&B. We had a great time. The inn had 3 small ponds where a duck couple and a gray goose lived. This duck was not particularly fond of me. She chased me twice. I guess I invaded her personal space while photographing her and her friends.

Peacock

I belong to two local art groups, one for my oriental brush painting and a general art group, the Loudoun Sketch Club. The LSC has paint outs during the warmer months of the year. Unfortunately I haven't taken much advantage of going out with them this year. But yesterday I did go after being encouraged to do so by a fellow member. It was one of the few hot days we have experience this fall but it was great to get out and paint with other artists. Since it was my first time in ages to attempt plein air painting I decided to start with my sketchbook, pen & ink, and watercolor. I also took a complete watercolor set up just in case I got ambitious. I did not. Sketching and bag lunch was about all I was up for. But they always go to the same location two weeks in a row. That way you can complete a painting with the same lighting. So I may go over my photos and see it I want to plan a painting from one of them and return. There were chickens, pig, piglets, turkeys, and goats. Plus a lovely brick home, barns, out buildings, corn fields, and pastures. Hopefully I will be better at taking advantage of these outings next year.

I have been sketching. I have been taking Liz Steel's Sketching Now - Buildings class on-line. It is a good class and I think my buildings are improving. But the main thing that will improve my sketching is just practicing sketching more and more buildings on location.

I have also being working out compositions for my Taos acrylic paintings series. I have to get on them before the excitement fades.

Tree Removal

Our house sits next to a county tree reserve. In order for our HOA to cut down dead trees it takes a lot of paperwork. It has taken about 2 months to get this dead tree approved for removal. The problem is the tree is so tall that when it falls it could possibly take out part of our deck or our neighbor's house depending on the way it would fall. So when I returned home this morning after walking Jake I grabbed a sketch pad and went to work. The paper is classified as mix media but I think ink, pencil, or colored pencil is about the only media that would work well. Maybe a light watercolor wash with very little water. But it was fun quick sketch.

Ladder to the Sky

I think I finished this one today. Changed the left side quite a bit but think it works. Not as excited as I was at the end of the first stage. The longer I fiddle with a painting the less I like the end result. Now to decide whether to work on the other 3 that I have sketched out compositions or move on to something else.

Ladder to the Sky (stage 1)

This is the first in my Taos series. I am working in acrylic and playing with blocks of color. I have 3 more sketched out. It is roughed at this stage but I think it is going the way I want to go. Don't know if I have the courage to leave the colors so bright and unblended but at this time that's the way I want to go.

Ladder to the Sky 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

River (unmounted)

I have been working on a new oriental brush painting, River. It is probably finished, waiting to be mounted, sitting in a drawer. Will mount it when I get at least 3 paintings finished. It is a pain to drag out the large mounting boards.