SKETCHBOOK - "Bulldozers in the Sun"

Even though there was a "heat advisory" today, I enjoyed the afternoon drawing one of my favorite things...construction equipment!  Hallmark was nice enough to give us some "Re-Fuel" time after lunch.  So I headed out to a site that has been calling to me everytime I've been on my drive to church each Sunday.  Fortunately there were some trees to sit under...but it was still mighty hot!!

The drawing above was actually done after the one below.  I was grinning like a lttle kid as the crew of bulldozers were busy moving dirt in a huge open field.  You can just see the tiny little "train" of dozers in the background (above the cab of the red truck), making lap after lap over the hill and back into the open spaces.  Just as I finished adding color to the drawing...the guys were finished for the day...and my subject matter drove off!  I had a chance to talk to the crew, which is always fun.  I don't think they see a lot of artists sketching out there on the site.  One of the guys told me, as he was gassing up his dozer, "Dude...I should have you draw my 6!" (which is short for a CATERPILLAR D6R...actually one of my favorite bulldozers!)  If he had stayed put...I WOULD have drawn it.  :)

The drawing above is done in pencil and watercolor washes.  I usually go with ink pens, but started to just lay out this long composition with pencil first.  But I liked where the sketch was going, and just stuck with the pencil.  It is one of my rare "double panel" sketches where I purposely went over the margin.  I like the spiral binders in the middle...lets you know it's in a sketchbook!