Happy Christmas 2019

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – The Figure in the Landscape

Brixham Boat
Watercolour and Conté
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

Yes, we can all see it is a boat, not a figure.

Lesson 10 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is the last lesson in the chapter about perspective. The lesson is called The Figure in the Landscape, but it also deals with the impact of perspective on reflections and shadows, distortion and the cone of vision, aerial perspective, Cezanne? and boats.

Waiting for the Dhoni
Watercolour on Paper
190mm x 280mm (11" x 5.5")

Philip starts the lesson by stating that people give scale to a landscape and therefore it is important to understand how to draw them in proportion. He observes:

• Figures (like everything else) recede to the horizon 
• Most people are about the same height, so on flat ground most people's eye level will be close to the horizon line (the eye level of the artist – and the viewer).

The painting of Elaine in the Maldives isn't flattering, but illustrates these ideas. Elaine's head is slightly below the horizon because we are both standing on the flat pier and Elaine is slightly shorter than me. The top of the boat is also close to the horizon because its canopy is at about head height. If Elaine was to walk along the pier away from me, she would appear smaller, the top of her head would stay at about the same level, so her feet would move up the page. Releasing the same holds true for the (approximately person high boat) boat was an important revelation for me.

Small, Far Away

I've spent far too long playing with Philip's advice to initially think about a boat as a box. I will come back to perspective, but for now I am moving on.

Doodling

Sea Mist Rising
Ink on Paper
20.5cm x 20.5cm (8" x 8")

I’m doodling to get back into the habit of making marks on paper – taking some inspiration from Peter Draws. When I am doodling, if I notice I am deliberating too long about what to draw next, I just draw some patterns - anything to keep the pen moving.

I plan to get back on with some sketching over the next few weeks.

Expressive Drawing – Foundational Structure

Finding a Structure
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Build 2
Acrylic on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

I enjoyed the last chapter of Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone. I’d lost my way for a few chapters but picked up the threads for a last hurrah.

Chapter 10 is about foundational structure. Stephen says:

Foundational structure occurs when a series of shapes join to cover (or engage) the entire drawing space, holding the space together in rock-solid fashion.

He calls foundational structure the drawing beneath the drawing. It can be obvious or implied and can supply a drawing with clarity and coherency.

Developing a Grid
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Build 1
Acrylic on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

The chapter explores, two types of structure: the grid (not necessarily square) and large underlying shapes.

Playing with a Grid
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Play 1
Collage
20cm x 20cm (8" x 8")

The play exercise involves drawing horizontal stripes on a square piece of paper, cutting the paper into 64 squares and then rearranging them. Steven suggests repeating the exercise a few times; which I did and even drew one of the resulting patterns.

Playing with a Grid
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Play 1
Graphite Pencil on Paper
20cm x 20cm (8" x 8")

The first build exercise is about working with a grid. In the first part, you draw a grid and respond to it as you draw. In the second part, you start with some automatic drawing (see Expressive Drawing - The Drawing Process) from which you allow a grid to evolve and to inform the rest of the drawing.

Starting with a Grid
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Build 1
Charcoal and Wax Crayon on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

The second build exercise has a similar format, but is about working with underlying shapes.

Planned Structure
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Build 2
Acrylic on Paper
84.1cm x 59.4cm (33.1" x 23.4")

Elaine and I are planning to frame the painting/drawing at the top of the post to go into our sun trap dining room - it is too brightly lit for us to hang any delicate or valuable art. I'm considering tidying up the top right-hand corner of the picture before framing it.

Finding a Structure - Tidied
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 10 - Build 2
Digital from Acrylic on Paper

What do you think? Should I tidy it or leave it?

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Constructing Space

Coaley Peak
Constructing Space - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
July 2019
Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
30.5cm x 12.5cm (12" x 8.5")

Lesson 9 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is about using perspective to convey depth in a picture.

Constructing Space 3
Constructing Space - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
July 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 18.5cm (8.5" x 7.25")

The lesson starts with an exercise to create a perspective grid as a frame of reference for a room receding away from the viewer. Philip then explains how a recessional grid can be a frame of reference for the rise and fall of the real landscape. I used this concept while sketching the view of Coaley Peak. It is one of Elaine, Doris and my regular walking spots. The last time we went there with Mum and Dad there were para-gliders launching themselves from the other side of the hedge.

Constructing Space 5
Constructing Space - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
July 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 18.5cm (8.5" x 7.25")

Philip’s instructions for drawing the perspective grid are good, apart from the steps to make the grid look square - I found them arbitrary. My grid does not look square and the grid in the book does not look square. I searched the internet for alternative explanations, but most descriptions fudge the issue. Eventually I found a detailed geometrical / mathematical explanation of perspective (Handprint - elements of perspective). The author, Bruce MacEvoy puts an immense amount of effort into research. Handprint contains a wealth of information about watercolour. I always consult it when buying new paints, but I didn’t realise it had a section on perspective.

Perspective Notes 1
Constructing Space - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
September 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
18.5cm x 21.5cm (7.25" x 8.5")

Understanding the theory of perspective to this level of detail is not top of my learning to draw and paint to do list, but it will keep nagging at me until I find time to read and understand it. As I read it, I am adding clarifications in my sketchbook. I had to consult Sarah for a reminder of  mathematical notation – thank you for your help Sarah.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Cubes

The Queen and Albert
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

Chapter 3 of  Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is about perspective. The chapter begins with simple perspective (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Simple Perspective). Lesson 8 continues the topic by looking at the impact of perspective on cubes and objects that are at an angle to our line of sight or inclined either uphill or downhill.

There isn’t a clearly defined exercise, so I drew this view of the cubic Queen and Albert Bed and Breakfast in Stratford, Ontario from a photo I took when Elaine and I stayed there in June 2011.

I also took the opportunity to practice the skills I recently picked up from Liz Steel’s SketchingNow Watercolor course  (see SketchingNow Watercolor (Lessons 1 to 2) and SketchingNow Watercolor (Lessons 3 to 4)).

SketchingNow Watercolor (Lessons 3 to 4)

Merry Fisher
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

I’ve completed Liz Steel’s SketchingNow Watercolor course. Lessons 3 and 4 have the same well-balanced mix of theory videos, demonstrations, handouts and exercises as the first half of the course (see SketchingNow Watercolor (Lessons 1 to 2)).

Master Palette
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

Lesson 3 is about Using Colour. Liz offers a pragmatic explanation of colour theory and suggests creating a master palette of your favourite colour mixes. She hypothesises you make sketching easier by using a palette of tried and tested mixes instead of trying to match a specific colour while you are out in the field. She also recommends using colour and value studies in preparation for a sketch as a useful discipline for novices.

Colour and Value Studies
Watercolour, Graphite Pencil and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

The assignments for this lesson are to create a master palette and to try some colour and value studies. I enjoyed the exercises. Some of the mixes in my master palette were experiments rather than my usual combinations, but I learnt from this and will adopt some of these new blends. I am also going to change some of the paints and will repeat the exercise using the new colours.

Lesson 4 is about Sketching with Watercolour. Liz discusses the traditional watercolour approach of working from light to dark and suggests starting with the darks as an alternative.

The assignments for the lesson are:

• Paint some cakes either from life or Liz’s photo reference. You can decide whether to work from light to dark, or to start with darks, or to mix things up. I chose to use Liz’s photo and to start with the darks.

• Sketch something you enjoy sketching, but use a different approach to your usual. It could be starting with darks, working wet or layering. I sketched the boat from a photo I took during Elaine’s, Doris and my recent holiday in Dartmouth. I chose to start with the darks and to work wet. I’m pleased I stopped when I did. My original intention was to add a tint to the background, but it doesn’t need it.

Liz's Cakes
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

The last section of the course is another review of sketches. There are also additional theory and demo videos. There is a final exercise to re-do a sketch you did prior to the course and to notice how different your approach is and how much you have improved.

I’ve learnt a lot and acquired some ideas I will incorporate into both my sketching and more considered watercolour paintings.

SketchingNow Watercolor (Lessons 1 to 2)

Summer Collection 2019 (and 2018 and 2017)
Watercolour and Ink
Moleskine A4 Watercolour Album
297mm x 210mm (11.69" x 8.27")

I’ve reached the half way point in Liz Steel’s SketchingNow Watercolor course.

Liz’s premise is that watercolour sketching (particularly on location) requires a different technique to studio painting. Her focus is on a direct approach, trying to get the desired colours and effects first time, rather than the more traditional approach of gradually building up layers of washes.

In common with her other courses. there is lots of well thought out video content and exercises.

The first lesson is about controlling water and focuses on three types of washes:

• Watery - a lot of water for the amount of pigment.
• Juicy - a generous load of pigment for the amount of water.
• Pasty - mainly pigment with a little bit of water.

The second lesson is about

• Colour mixing: how to mix two colours
• Layering: putting one wash over another dried wash
• Working wet: mixing paints on the paper while they are wet

The third week is primarily a review of sketches from Lessons 1 and 2. There are also some additional theory videos, an extra demo, and an exercise to paint some of your wardrobe – the clothes not the cupboard.

I’ve learnt a lot, some of it stuff I already knew, but to which I wasn’t paying sufficient attention. Perhaps the most important lessons for me are: be generous, paint with confidence (regardless of whether this is warranted or not), and paint every day.

Being generous might seem like a strange comment. I'm referencing a French film (probably Leon) in which a character observes that only generous people can make good sandwiches (or something like that). I think the sentiment holds true for many things - including watercolour painting.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Simple Perspective

Books in Perspective
Simple Perspective - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
June 2019
Ink and Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
18.5cm x 21.5cm (7.25" x 8.5")

Chapter 3 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is about perspective. He starts the chapter by offering some pragmatic advice:

Linear perspective gives you an understanding of how objects behave in space. It is not a set of hard and fast rules that have to be adhered to, but a little bit of knowledge will go a long way and will certainly help you create a convincing depth in your landscapes, and help clarify how man-made objects, like buildings, recede and converge, making them seem more three-dimensional.

Lesson 7 provides some exercises on simple perspective. It begins with a diagram of a road in single point perspective with a line of equally spaced lampposts running off into the distance. This diagram illustrates a horizon line, a single vanishing point, and how to equally space objects in perspective.

Single Point Perspective
Simple Perspective - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
June 2019
Graphpite Pencil
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 18.5cm (8.5" x 7.25")

Philip then uses photos of piles of books to illustrate multiple vanishing points on the same horizon line and the impact when the books are not lying flat on the table.

My sketch reminded me of the setup from one of Liz Steel's Sketching Now - Foundations exercises (see May 2016 Sketches and Welcome Back)

I’m pretty pleased with the painting in this sketch, but I have a tendency to overwork. I’ve just started taking Liz’s SketchingNow Watercolour. During the use the course, I’m hoping to learn techniques and strategies to get the effects I want more consistently.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Contoured Landscape

Contoured Landscape - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
May 2019
Graphite pencil, watercolour pencil, conte stick on brown paper
24cm x 13.5cm (9.5" x 5.25")

In Drawing and Painting the Landscape, Philip Tyler observes that contour lines describe the structure of the landscape. He asks us to imagine a net stretched over the land and to visualise how the net distorts as it moves over the shapes and planes of the landscape – by drawing the contours, we reveal the landscape.

Lesson 6 contains an exercise to clarify the concept. Philip suggests drawing a grid on a piece of paper, "scrunching" the paper to create a hilly landscape, lighting the paper dramatically and then drawing it.

Keys to Drawing with Imagination – Mirror Imaging

Enjoying the Weather
Ink and Watercolour on Paper
23cm x 29.5cm (9" x 11.5")

Exercise 12 from Keys to Drawing with Imagination by Bert Dodson involves making a drawing of an interestingly shaped object and then drawing its mirror image aligned so the 2 images are touching to make a single symmetrical shape. The mind can read patterns and interpretations into the new shape. In Bert’s example, a crumpled shirt becomes two desert nomads in conversation.

I made a drawing of a miniature dog sculpture by Joanne Cooke. I call the sculpture Salty the Sea Dog. It is about 9cm high and sits on my computer desk. Weirdly, it looks a lot like Doris with her summer haircut.

Salty the Sea Dog
Ink on Paper
21cm x 29.7cm (8.3" x 11.7")

I couldn’t find an inspiring way to create a reflected shape. I suspect the exercise works better with less recognisable objects such as crumpled clothing. This gives the imagination more room to interpret an abstract shape – instead of immediately identifying two adjoining images of the same dog -and then moving on to something more interesting.

I abandoned the instructions for the exercise and drew Salty sitting in a puddle – which is a pastime Doris enjoys.

Expressive Drawing – Equilibrium

Walking the Dog
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 8 - Play 1
Ink on Rice Paper
40.5cm x 20.5cm (16" x 8")

In Chapter 8 of Expressive Drawing, Steven Aimone identifies the importance of equilibrium or balance in nature and suggests a drawing incorporating a sense of equilibrium, speaks poetically about nature and life.

Related Drawings - Asymmetrical
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 8 - Build 1
Graphite and Charcoal on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

Steven defines equilibrium as the unity that occurs when opposites or polarities come together like yin and yang. He identifies examples of different types of polarities such as night and day, hot and cold, wet and dry, pain and pleasure, hope and fear, love and hate, light and dark, active and passive, rough and smooth, top and bottom, inside and outside, front and back, left and right, and so on. He explains that equilibrium provides a feeling of stability and is usually a desirable and necessary thing, but sometimes instability gives a sense of life, excitement and tension.

Related Drawings - Symmetrical
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 8 - Build 1
Graphite and Charcoal on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

The play exercise for the chapter involves creating drawings with left and right balance without resorting to symmetry. The build exercise entails creating a pair of related drawings. They both have a sense of equilibrium, but one of them is almost perfectly symmetrical and the other is asymmetrical.

Flying a Kite
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 8 - Play 1
Ink on Rice Paper
40.5cm x 20.5cm (16" x 8")

I still haven't got back into the swing of these exercises, but I am persevering, trying to absorb the ideas, and trusting I will be inspired by some of the later chapters.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Measured Drawing

View Towards Gatcombe Farm
Measured Drawing - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
April 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 18.5cm (8.5" x 7.25")

In Lesson 5 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape, Philip Tyler introduces some techniques to accurately draw a picture to scale based on sight measuring and angle checking. This involves adopting the stereotypical pose of the artist using a pencil in an outstretched arm to estimate the relative size of objects, measure angles and to check alignments.

The approach is similar to those explained in other sources including The Urban Sketcher by Marc Taro Holmes (Citizen Sketcher) and Liz Steel's SketchingNow Foundations course. This isn't surprising because there are a limited number of ways to address the challenge of translating a three-dimensional landscape into an accurate two-dimensional drawing.

Philip includes an interesting discussion about how much of the landscape we can see without turning our head. This knowledge can help us to tackle our tendency to include too wide a field of view in our drawings and to simultaneously draw everything too big.

Edge of the Common
Measured Drawing - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
April 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
16.5cm x 12.5.5cm (6.5" x 5")

The exercise also includes the seemingly unrelated concept of decorative line drawings in which the confidence and fluidity of the line work is as important as the subject:

... the objects in the landscape become a series of shapes that are defined largely by an unwavering line. There is a real confidence to the line, finding the rhythms and repetitions of motif within the landscape.

Otter Estuary - Decorative Line
Measured Drawing - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
April 2019
Ink on Paper
19.5cm x 15cm (7.5" x 6")

The picture of the Otter Estuary is a decorative line drawing using a photograph as a reference. The other pictures were drawn from life, first focusing on accurate measurement and then trying to create decorative lines.

From the Bench on Fewster Road
Measured Drawing - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
April 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
12.5cm x 16.5cm (5" x 6.5")

I had the usual apprehensions about drawing in public, but there really doesn’t seem much to worry about. I take care to position myself as out of the way as possible. If anyone notices what I am up to, they are usually too timid to disturb my fierce concentration. If they miss (or ignore) the signs that I don’t want to be interrupted, they only want to look at the drawing and to pass the time of day. In common with most sketchers, I haven’t encountered anything except pleasantness and compliments.

Keys to Drawing with Imagination – Macro Drawing

Walnuts Are Brain Food
Macro Drawing
Keys to Drawing with Imagination
Graphite Pencil on Paper
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
14.0cm x 20.3cm (5.5" x 8.0")

The objective of Exercise 11 from Keys to Drawing with Imagination by Bert Dodson is to make an enlarged image of a small object or creature using a good magnifying glass. Bert observes:

Enlarging an object transforms it. It reveals a level of structure and detail that is otherwise invisible to us.

This was a challenge because my magnifying glass is not good. It provides a small distorted field of view with minimal magnification – frankly, I would be better off squinting at the subject. I am also struggling to get back into the swing of modelling with pencil (see Keys to Drawing with Imagination – Creating Destruction). I’m persevering because this is a core skill I want to cultivate.

Keys to Drawing with Imagination – Creating Destruction

Brown Bag Lunch
Creating Destruction
Keys to Drawing with Imagination
Graphite Pencil on Paper
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
14.0cm x 20.3cm (5.5" x 8.0")

Exercise 9 of Keys to Drawing with Imagination is about drawing things that are crumpled, dented or crushed. Bert observes there is something aesthetically pleasing about the partially destroyed.

This is my third go at drawing a crumpled bag. I seem to have forgotten everything I knew about drawing and rendering shadow shapes. I will persevere with this sort of drawing with pencil and pen over the next few weeks. I need to get back into the practice of first analysing and outlining the shadow pattern and then becoming absorbed in rendering it.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Partial Peek

Coaley Peak
Partial Peek - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink and Gouache
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
30.5cm x 21.5cm (12" x 8.5")

Partial peek is the subject of Lesson 4 in Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler . It is the next step after blind drawing (see Drawing and Painting the Landscape - Blind Drawing). The aim is still to spend more time looking at the landscape then your sketchbook. You blind draw as much as possible, but take occasional peeks at the paper to ensure your lines are not too far out of whack.

Clouds in the Valley and Ivy Clad Oak Trees
Partial Peek - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink and Gouache
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 30.5cm (8.5" x 12")

Philip observes that some elements of the landscape lend themselves more to blind drawing than others - he suggests trees and rolling hills. Liz Steel makes a similar observation in her SketchingNow Foundations course.

Draw the foliage loosely, almost blind without worrying if the tree gets out of control a little.

I think blind drawing works best when a descriptive edge is more important than pinpoint accuracy.

Otter Estuary and Mon & Brec
Partial Peek - Drawing and Painting the Landscape
Ink and Gouache
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 30.5cm (8.5" x 12")

I drew a few partial peeks from photographs and one in situ at Coaley Peak - this is just along the Cotswold Way from Selsley Common (where the sketchbook was blown out of my hand during the Blind Drawing exercise). Coaley Peak is normally even windier than Selsley common, but this time the weather was kinder.

Expressive Drawing – Rhythm

Rhythmic Drawing with Several Motifs
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 7 - Build 3
Digital

In Chapter 7 of Expressive Drawing, Steven Aimone discusses Rhythm. He observes there is a rhythm in all living things and suggests if a drawing displays rhythm, it can be experienced as being about nature or life itself. I agree that there is something primal about a drawing with a strong rhythmic component.

Rhythmic Repetition
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 7 - Play 1
Graphite on Paper
84.1cm x 20cm (33.1" x 8")

The initial play exercises concern creating long thin drawings based on the rhythmic repetition of vertical lines.

Horizontal Rhythm of a Vertical Line Bar Motif
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 7 - Build 1
Acrylic on Paper
84.1cm x 59.4cm (33.1" x 23.4")

The first build exercise is also about the rhythmic repetition of vertical lines. The instructions for the exercise are like those for previous exercises - you add elements to the drawing and remove anything you don’t like by erasing or obscuring it.

I had a major loss of mojo during this exercise. The drawing quickly reached a point where both Elaine and I were enthusiastic about it. Elaine even talked about framing it. I decided to do one more thing, which spoilt the composition and then spent weeks adding bits on and covering bits up - never finding a pattern I enjoyed. Part of the problem is once lines have been erased or obscured, the drawing begins to look overworked. The white acrylic I use intensifies the problem because it's not a pure white - it has a slight creamy yellow cast. My loss of confidence and enthusiasm was also due to a lack of time for drawing and painting.

Rhythmic Drawing with Several Motifs
Expressive Drawing - Chapter 7 - Build 3
Charcoal on Paper
59.4cm x 84.1cm (23.4" x 33.1")

I began to get things back together on the final build exercise - creating a rhythmic drawing with several motifs. I wanted to draw it again and refine it. For a change, I decided to do this in GIMP a free alternative to Photoshop.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Blind Drawing

Otter Estuary
Blind Drawing
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
February 2019
Ink
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
20cm x 11cm (8" x 4.25")

Lesson 3 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is Blind Drawing (a.k.a. Blind Contour Drawing). Most drawing courses and books include blind drawing in one form or another. See the contour drawing label for posts about contour drawing and blind drawing from:

• The Natural Way to Draw
• Keys to Drawing
• Liz Steel’s SketchingNow Foundations course
• Adebanji Alade’s Inspired to Sketch blog

The aim of the exercise is to study the subject intently. You draw while looking at the subject, you don't look at the paper until the drawing is complete. I particularly like Kimon Nicolaїdes instructions from The Natural Way to Draw:

Imagine that your pencil point is touching the model instead of the paper. Without taking your eyes off the model, wait until you are convinced that the pencil is touching that point on the model upon which your eyes are fastened. Then move your eyes slowly along the contour of the model and move the pencil slowly along the paper. As you do this, keep the conviction that the pencil point is actually touching the contour. Be guided more by the sense of touch than by sight.

Langdale Hills
Blind Drawing
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
February 2019
Graphite Pencil
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
29cm x 15cm (11.5" x 6")

Philip Tyler recommends the exercise as a technique for warming up:

To find a way of getting into the landscape to discover how it might be drawn.

I drew a few blind drawings from photographs and one in situ on Selsley common. The common is on the edge of the Cotswolds with views over the Severn estuary stretching as far as the Brecon Beacons and the Malvern Hills. It is almost always blustery on the common, probably because the valley acts like a wind tunnel. Elaine and I were there walking with Doris on a particularly windy day. I took a few minutes to sit on a bench and draw the view of Pen Hill. The exercise reached a natural conclusion when the wind abruptly ripped the sketchbook out of my hands and deposited it a few feet away.

Pen Hill from Selsley Common
Blind Drawing
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
February 2019
Graphite Pencil
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
20cm x 18cm (8" x 7")

I enjoy blind drawing and always get enthralled by the exercise, but my drawings never look anything like the thing the subject. While drawing Pen Hill I realised part of the problem is I normally place the paper to my side - outside of my field of vision. The contortion on my arm makes it difficult for my hand to track accurately; which results in a wonky sketch. It doesn't really matter because the objective of the exercise is to study the subject intently - not to produce a master drawing, but I would still prefer the results to be slightly more accurate. Philip suggests using the cover of the sketchbook over your hand, so that you cannot accidentally look at the drawing. Something I will do from now on.

Valentine’s Day Card Doodle

Happy Valentine’s Day Elaine

Hearts are difficult - to draw. They are all curves and changes of direction. It is easy to hesitate while drawing them and this results in scrappy looking lines. My trick is to use a brush pen on rice paper. This combination gives a pleasantly blotchy line – a bit of hesitancy is just lost in the noise.

I used Winsor and Newton alcohol based ProMarkers to colour the design and lettering. They also spread unpredictably on rice paper – which means they can be blamed for any tendency to stray outside the lines.

The overall effect is controlled untidiness (a phrase borrowed from John Lovett).

The pattern was inspired by an exercise on rhythm from Expressive Drawing by Steven Aimone. I sketched it out, then refined it by tracing it and tweaking it multiple times using an LED light box.

I drew the motif and the letters on separate pieces of rice paper before combining them in GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program - a free alternative to Photoshop) and uploading onto a Moonpig card.

Happy Valentine’s Day Elaine.

Drawing and Painting the Landscape – Revealed Landscape

Walking the Mon & Brec Canal (May 2018)
Revealed Landscape
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
January 2019
Graphite Pencil
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
14cm x 11cm (5.5" x 4.25")

Lesson 2 of Drawing and Painting the Landscape by Philip Tyler is about a technique to reduce inaccuracy in landscape drawings - perhaps (more subtly) it is about studying the landscape closely and understanding how it is arranged. The title Revealed Landscape describes the technique - you obscure most of a source photograph and draw the small “revealed” section.

Revealed Landscape
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
January 2019
Graphite Pencil
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 30.5cm (8.5" x 12")

In the first assignment you use a piece of paper to obscure everything bellow the horizon, draw the horizon, move the paper down a small amount, draw the newly revealed section of landscape, and continue down the page.

After I finished two of these drawings, I added some shading to them. In retrospect this was probably cheating because the lesson is part of a chapter called “Linear Drawing”

Basic Proportion
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
January 2019
Various Media
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 30.5cm (8.5" x 12")

The second assignment is to cut a square or rectangular window in a piece of card, place this over a photograph, and draw what you see through the window into a box with the same proportions. Comparing the position and size of the lines and shapes relative to the long and short sides of the rectangle helps you to recognise their size and position in the overall composition.

Basic Proportion
Drawing and Painting the Landscape
January 2019
Various Media
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
21.5cm x 30.5cm (8.5" x 12")

I used photos of our neighbourhood and from recent holidays as source material for these pictures. I'm looking forward to drawing directly from the landscape in the following exercises.