SketchCrawl pages

Cabbage palms, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

Today was our second participation in the 30th Worldwide SketchCrawl! We went to Freedom Park again, and along the boardwalk I noted the changes from the last SketchCrawl in October.

The water levels are much lower, and the alligator flag is brown and brittle, with some plants sporting new growth from the bases. The sky is tinted a bit cooler in hue, and there are many more bare branches emerging from the evergreen foliage; grasses and sedges have turned ochre and brown.  I watched a lone great egret wade the shallows, feathery breeding plumes dancing in the wind.

Near the lake, a nearly barren firebush offers abundant sprays of berries to darting songbirds.  Further along the boardwalk, and into the older wetlands dominated by cypress, laurel oak, red maple, and pond apple trees, I spotted a single raccoon digging in the mud.  As I started to sketch, it spotted me and ambled off behind the ferns.

A few more quick sketches, and then back to my warm car.  Not cold compared to my northern friend's and family's climates, but 60 degrees F (and dropping) combined with a drizzly rain and a steady wind signaled a good time to end the day of sketching!



We received some wonderful publicity from our local paper, the Naples Daily News; you can see the photo gallery here.  You can also view the Flickr SketchCrawl group of sketches from all over the world here. 

Firebush

Firebush, originally uploaded by Elizabeth Smith.

The heat, humidity, and mosquitoes are keeping me inside, so I brought in a small branch of Firebush to paint. It's just as well, as it's been quite overcast today.

This plant is one of my all-time favorites! It looks great in the middle of summer, and attracts all sort of butterflies, as well as our ruby-throated hummingbird. It does get a bit bedraggled in the winter, but the birds seem to relish the berries after a couple of cold spells.

I'm trying out my early birthday present - a new Pentalic Nature Sketch sketchbook in the 6 x 12 inch size. The format is unusual, but I read a good review about it, so I'm giving it a try.

The paper scans a bit yellow (as does the Arches hot-press watercolor paper), but it seems to take watercolor fairly well. I wouldn't recomend it for finished paintings; it won't withstand repeated washes and/or color lifting. Otherwise the paint goes down nicely, and the Micron pens work well on the surface. 

I'll try out regular pencil and watercolor pencil soon.  All in all, I think it will be a great nature journal!

You can click on the images above to view them larger on my Flickr photostream.

I need to take my own advice more often…

At least when it comes to drawing exercises. If I’m sketching regularly I can easily slip right into drawing; I don’t wrestle much, the drawing seems to draw itself.

But when I’ve been away from my sketchpad or journal, facing a block, or approaching a tough subject, I need to take the advice I give others. Go back to basics: gesture and contour drawing exercises. Remember those from school?

I find that gesture drawing is a great way to loosen up. I have a tendency to draw from the wrist, which is great for detail studies, which I love. Drawing with the whole arm, from the shoulder, makes me connect with my subject in a dynamic, unfettered way. Because it’s the drawing in the framework of an exercise, I also let go of any expectations.

Freedom to draw without expectation is…well, freeing. And my detailed study afterwards seems to flow much better.

I enjoyed the gesture drawing in pencil so much that I tried one in watercolor, just to see what it would be like. I was more pleased with that one than the more detailed study I did afterwards!