Today, I went to one of my favorite places to sketch again...Kansas University's Natural History Museum. The forecast for the day was rain, so I figured it would be a great hangout in nasty weather. But it turned out to be sunny for most of the day. Oh well...rain or shine...it's always a good day to draw dinosaur bones!
The sketch above was one of the skulls in a display of saber-tooth cats...a
BARBOUROFELIS, the largest of the breed. I spent way too much time fiddling with this. I had a pretty good pencil drawing that I liked. But once I started adding color, the pencil lines were covered up. So this became an exercise in layering opaque washes...definitely a mixed media approach. I came back in and added more pencil at the end.
I was so excited to try a new PILOT cartridge pen I had recently ordered from Japan! But turns out, the ink was NOT waterproof. ARRRrrrrggggg!!! I found this out when I tried laying in a wash on the
MOSASAUR sketch below. When I got home, I did a quick makeover in Photoshop, just to show you what the color was supposed to look like, had the black line not bled everywhere. I used a white Sharpie pen to try to cover up the smeary black ink...didn't care for the final results.
Next up...the trusty TRICERATOPS. I used a brown brush pen for the line work...not sure I like how it came out...too thick. A bit overworked, too. I think I can say that about all my drawings today. But I still enjoy the process. In fact...historically, that has been a real problem for me...I like the process of drawing and painting so much, I don't know when to stop.
As I was leaving for the afternoon, I had been admiring the Museum building. The sun was still shining, but some rain clouds were looking threatening. Consequently, I was drawing faster and looser than usual. I was sketching with a 6B pencil...then added watercolor. There are things about this one that I'm pleased with. Just as I was getting close to finishing...the darker gray clouds started moving in. Time to head home!
As I was walking to my car...the sun was still shining. I heard the chimes ring from the campus bell tower...the historic
Campanile, where all graduating students walk through to end their journey as a KU student. I decided to try the PILOT pen again. I made a very quick sketch, and just wet the line work with a water-brush to create the ink washes.
It still had not rained when I got home, so I mowed the yard. Looking out the window now...the sky is all gray like my sketch above. Let it rain. :)
5 comments:
Sorry about the ink...but I like the effect anyway....Good day for you, I should have gotten out on the deck. Think I will try tomorrow if it doesn't rain. The ink ....don't know where you might find brown permanent ink...but I imagine it is somewhere. Mom
How long did it take you to finish these sketches on location? Curious. Thinking I need to learn to sketch quicker, but these don't look like typical quick sketches.
Gloriadelia...I was at the museum for about 5 hours. So, relatively speaking, they are not "quick" sketches. I think the large saber tooth skull took me an hour and a half. The joy I have in taking a whole day to sketch is, I don't have to rush. i tend to get lost in time, when I draw...it's almost like meditation for me. The drawing of the museum building outside took me about an hour, I think...maybe a bit less.
My advice...who says you have to do a quick sketch? Find the "speed" that feels right and enjoy the process!
Happened upon your blog while searching for images of the Campanile at KU. You are very talented, and I enjoyed spending a few minutes perusing your beautiful sketches and paintings, and maybe getting to know the artist a wee bit by virtue of his work. As one who can scarcely draw stick men, I truly admire visual artists! Keep feeding your soul!
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