Tuesday, June 11, 2013

BOULDER, Colorado Pt.2

Welcome to the second installment about my trip to Boulder! This visit to see my daughter Jenni was not a "sketch trip" per se...but Jen was sweet enough to allow her dear old Dad some time to draw.  I'm making a rather bold move by showing the photos of the actual locations.  My drawings NEVER do justice to the subject matter.  This is especially true about Boulder...it's so beautiful out there!  A big THANKS to Jen, who took the photos of me while I'm sitting down sketching.  I needed to have a sign on my back..."Wide Load" or "This space for rent"!

Above is my sketch of the famous "Flat Irons" mountain formation.  There were lots of hikers going up and down the trails in front of me.
As is often the case, just before I'm about to add color to a drawing, I wonder...should I just leave it alone as a black line sketch?!!!  Quite often, I wish I had not painted them.
This time...I'm okay with the color.  The warmth of the sunshine translated into the browner tones on the rock faces...they were actually more "purple gray".  Oh well...that's why I have included the photos!

This next sketch is a short distance outside of Boulder. Jenni was driving around one day and came across this terrific "dog run".  It was a bit risky sitting out there with the dogs off-leash!  Some of them were just curious...others thought I was in their yard and would just stand behind me barking ferociously!  (One of the more "fierce" ones was a light gray standard poodle like my friend, Joyce, has.)  Most of the times the owners would be right there and make them leave me alone.  I just laughed and talked calmly to the dogs...they were no worse than small children who nearly sit in my lap when they see me drawing!
In this little series of pics below, you can see the dog I'll call "Old Yeller" on the far right.  He nearly knocked me off of my stool he was so happy to see me!
This great panaramic scene was taken by Jenni with her iPhone.  The view was at the far end of the dog trail...a cool looking little valley below.

The next sketch was done at the Denver Botanical Gardens. I was tucked away under the shade of some trees. Unfortunately some of my drawing got a bit "off"...but you just keep on going and make the best of it when using ink pens!

I tried to give Jenni a break from having to hang out with me the whole weekend, so I wandered around the neighborhood near her apartment.  This big old sycamore tree was fun to draw...love sketching trees!!

This rather weathered motorcycle was in the same apartment complex as Jenni's.  I was sketching this around 6:45 in the morning, because I couldn't sleep any longer.

The last drawing was of a little solar powered three-wheel "car".  I guess you have to call it a car...more like a little go-cart!  But I love the curves and shape of the thing. Jenni said that they remove the panels on the front when taking the little car for a spin.  But she said it's been sitting there forever.  Maybe keeping the car in the shade is NOT the best way to charge it up!

Well, that's it for this trip.  Who knows where I'll be off to next!!
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7 comments:

  1. rufaroJune 11, 2013 at 9:28 PM

    As usual enjoyed seeing your work! Especially liked the combination of photography and sketching/painting.

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  2. AnonymousJune 11, 2013 at 9:55 PM

    You did more sketching than I thought you'd have time for. Super work! I too love the combination of photos and work...even the ones without color prior to painting. Thanks for putting all of this together for us to enjoy! Mom

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  3. pedalpowerJune 11, 2013 at 11:30 PM

    Beautiful sketches! I always like to see photos as well as the drawings...I like to see how other artists handle the complexity of subjects, where they choose to edit. It's something I have trouble with.

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  4. Warren LudwigJune 12, 2013 at 8:40 AM

    Thanks for the nice comments, all of you! I decided to include the photos, because I'm like you...I'm curious how other artists interpret a scene or object. I had seen another artist's sketchbook a long while back, and she had been drawing these little boxes around the thing she was sketching. That helps me to leave some things out...I sometimes try to design with where the object might break across that box.

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  5. AnonymousJune 12, 2013 at 6:31 PM

    I think the chair is way to small. Not you being big. Best artist I've ever known are you and our mother. Great work.
    Lil Bro.



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  6. ShamiOctober 15, 2013 at 11:02 PM

    Hello Warren! My Name is Shamsud, I am a clothing designer from Boston, I really like the tree painting from the Boulder Colorado series, is there any chance we could talk about granting me access to base a design off of it... Really digging your work! Hope this reaches you in good health.

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  7. Warren LudwigOctober 16, 2013 at 10:57 AM

    Shamsud...thanks for expressing an interest in my sketch. While flattered, these drawings are my personal journal entries, and aren't available to use on product. Especially if I don't have a say in what happens to the artwork. But thanks for your nice comments!

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