Posted in drawing

Sunday Sketching – On the Pond

By now I have looked through all of my photos from the July trip and selected some for use in my art. Today I want to study this image of my husband and brother in a rowboat on the pond at brother’s property.

The picture as is tells the story of enjoying an early morning on the pond in July. I wanted to simplify the scene, focusing on the men, the boat and the pond. Using the photo editor, I re-framed it, increased the light and applied a filter, to reveal this.

I like this low-value image a lot and can visualize how I would paint it. But first I wanted to look more closely at the values, and also practice sketching the subject. So I took out all the color and zoomed in on the boat.

Now it’s perfect for sketching in graphite.

This was a fun and easy sketch. I’m inspired to move on to watercolors.

Posted in drawing

On being a Grandmother

Anyone who is one knows that there are joyful opportunities and sacred privileges in being a grandparent. Over the years I have experienced more than a few of these special moments. Sometimes they is exist only in a shared photograph. That’s how I felt when I first saw this photograph of my grandson almost ten years ago.

Now as I begin to train myself in drawing and painting, I experience the profound pleasure of reproducing this moment in media.

My first sketch of Henry and Cat:

It warmed my heart to make this image. Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for capturing the moment and sharing it.