SKN Buildings Course Notes

Course Summary

2016-11-14T10:35:00.000-08:00

I reviewed all the course materials and made a mind map of the course concepts.

Here's a link to a PDF of the mind map.

Things I learned or figured out how to do:

Line Quality matters.
I underestimate dry time.
Page placement techniques

layout big shapes
use FriXion pen.

Draw things that move first

shadows
people

Spontaneity vs. Accuracy
Using leading edges technique works with other subjects.
Use clock to measure angles.
Analyze structure and design first to aid drawing.
Setup really helps.
Many building spaces are divided by thirds.
I like using markers and learned to thin and blend and mix them and tested values.
Difference between shade and cast shadow - value and color.

Concepts and tips to take forward:

Resist detail.
Time management.
Stay alert to surroundings.
Find midway points of basic shapes.
Make angles steeper.
Analyze structure and design first, then draw.
Do a setup. Even a little helps. Fast then slow.
Pay attention to drawing straight verticals and horizontals.
Differentiate shade and shadow.
Practice:

lines and angles
color mixing
analyzing structure and design.

Jim

Epilogue

2016-11-07T17:07:00.005-08:00

Epilogue

After class I continued to sketch buildings.

Marker first, then pen. From my own photo reference.

Course concepts used: abstracting shapes, using leading edges, using a basic unit of measure (the width of the first story of the central part of the building), and mapping shade and cast shadows.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch paper, Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens, Sailor Fude 55 degree fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink, and Uni-Ball Signo #UM-153 white gel pen.

I did this sketch while waiting in a parking lot. This time I was testing watercolor in my new journal. The paper handles light washes really well and does not ball up or buckle or bleed through.

Course concepts used: measuring angles, using a basic unit of measure (in this sketch I compared the width of the right hand walll with three windows to the remainder of the house), using grey pens to map shade and cast shadows.

Materials: Ranger Dylusions Creative Journal 5x8 inches, Micron 02 pen, Faber-Castell PITT Artist Cold Grey III pen, Daniel Smith watercolors.

This is a very complicated building. My most challenging one yet with a crazy curved facade and lots of windows, shadows and reflections. Line first, then watercolor, and white gel pen.

Course concepts used: constructing volumes, allowing thicknesses and depths, using a basic unit of measurement (in this case I used the height of one story of the central clock tower), and leading edges.

Materials: Ranger Dylusions Creative Journal 5x8 inches, Kaweco Sport fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink, Lucas watercolors, and Uni-ball Signo UM-153 white gel pen.

Basically there are two ways to draw, with care or with abandon. Usually I block things in, measure angles and relative sizes and strive for accuracy. Occasionally, however, I like to just dive right in, work quickly, and throw caution to the wind. What you lose in accuracy you gain in liveliness.

I like working with a watersoluble pen. The brown washes that you see were pulled off the line work with a waterbrush. It's a fast way to sketch and I like the look.

Course concepts used: blocking in basic shapes first, using leading edges, and mapping shade and cast shadows.

Materials: Ranger Dylusions Creative Journal 5x8 inches, Kuretake Zig Letter Pen CocoIro Extra Fine Sepia, Pentel medium round waterbrush, Uni-ball Signo UM-153 white gel pen.

This is the new rehab unit at Salem Hospital. I'm using different media today. I'm trying Neocolor II watersoluble crayons and a new ink in a dip pen, but instead of dipping into an ink bottle I'm storing the ink a small plastic eydrops bottle and putting a drop of ink on the nib as needed.

Course concepts used: blocking in basic shapes first, using a basic unit of measurement (in this case I used the width of the right hand brick wall), mapping shade and cast shadows, and simplify window reflections.

Materials: Ranger Dylusions Creative Journal 5x8 inches, Neocolor II watersoluble crayons, Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay Sepia India ink with a Tachikama pen holder and Speedball #512 nib, Pentel medium round waterbrush, Uni-ball Signo UM-153 white gel pen.

Jim

Lesson 4: Summary

2016-11-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

Lesson 4: Summary

Concepts:

Mapping light and dark
Refining the dark side and adjusting the light side
Try different methods and workflows.

Observations:

I discovered I really like markers (Faber-Castell PITT Artist pens) and prefer using them over pencils for value studies.
I learned to look for and notice the value and color differences between shade and cast shadows.
I did extensive testing to determine the values of the PITT pens and how to mix and blend them to get additional values and colors.
I was surprised to see that my color perception and mixing is pretty good. There was very little difference between the two Lucca watercolor sketches - one where I applied local color first and then shadows and the other where I applied shadow color first and then local color. The order of application didn't seem to matter much.
My angles and proportions are getting better the more i draw, but it still takes me a long time to draw accurately (upwards of an hour).

To-Do:

Continue to study color theory and practice color mixing.

Continue to practice analyzing building structure and design.

Try Neocolor II on location instead of watercolors or markers.

Revisit all the course materials and concepts.

Jim

Lesson 4: Outdoor Exercise

2016-11-07T12:16:00.001-08:00

Lesson 4: Outdoor Exercise

I sketched my own house for this exercise. Using markers I first sketched a value study. Then I did a full color version with markers.

In each version I first did a quick pencil layout and then worked with markers - light grey, middle grey, dark grey, and black for the value sketch and lightest colors to darkest colors in the color sketch.

I'm starting to feel more confident that I can get the colors and values I want using markers. They are very different from watercolor.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch paper, pencil, Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens, Micron Pigma 02 pen.

Before doing these I did a series of marker value tests in order to find out the values of the color markers.

I used an image editor to drop out the color. There aren't a lot of dark values right out of the pen.

So, in this next test I did grouped the markers by color and experimented with getting the dark values by mixing colors.

I experimented with ways to get additional colors and values by mixing colored markers. On the left I tried getting shades of colors by mixing color with greys. I discovered that if you lay down two layers of the same color, it is darker than just one layer. On the right I made additional values by double layering colors. At the top I mixed compliments - yellow and violet, orange and blue, red and green. At the bottom are experiments with blending two or three colors one on top of the other. On the far right I tried making a wash of color (light blue) without streaks. It's possible, but you have to work fast, scribbling back and forth wet into wet. I tried a single layer, two layers in different directions, and three layers in three directions.

Later I learned how to thin and blend markers. The trick is to gesso the paper first. The ink stays wet on the surface of the gesso so you can push it around, blend it, and even lift it off until it dries (several minutes or until you blow dry it which is what I did). This allows you to build up the color gradually and achieve subtle effects. You can also use a plastic palette, blend two colors on the palette, and then use a blending brush pen or waterbrush to transfer the color to the paper. The other trick I used was to use a white wax pencil as a resist. I drew in the areas I wanted to remain white. PITT pen ink beads up over the wax and even after it dries you can wipe it clean, back to white, with a tissue.

I did a sunset sketch to test my new knowledge of how to thin and blend colors.

Jim

Lesson 4: Indoor Exercise Part 2

2016-11-07T11:51:00.003-08:00

Lesson 4: Indoor Exercise Part 2

I did two watercolor studies using different workflows. The first (on the left) I added the local color first and then did the shadows. In the second (on the right) I did the shadows first and then added the local color.

They turned out pretty similar. I was surprised. The light side of the buildings are a little bit lighter in the one on the right, but not much.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch paper, Micron 02 pen, Royal 1/4" dagger brush, and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Jim

Lesson 4: Indoor Exercise Part 1

2016-11-07T11:46:00.001-08:00

Lesson 4: Indoor Exercise Part 1

I sketched two versions (for comparison) from a reference photo of a Tasmanian cottage - one in pencil and the other using markers.

I did the pencil sketch first. I used three different values of grey watercolor pencils and black. I was pleased with the result and then I tried the markers. Wow. I was able to work much faster and the result had a lot more punch because ink has much more contrast than pencil. Again I used three values of grey plus black. I started each drawing by laying down a mid tone grey in the shadow shapes, then a dark grey, then a light grey, and finally black paying attention to differentiating between shade with reflected light and darker cast shadows. I like how some shapes (like the chimneys for instance) are defined by their shadows. I didn't have to draw an outline around their edges.

Materials: Canson Mix Media paper, Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils, Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens.

I also did another marker value sketch from a supplied photo reference of Manly Tower.

I first did a pencil sketch and then used markers to map the shadows. Finally, I added black.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch paper, Derwent Blue Grey watercolor pencil, Faber-Castell PITT Artist brush pens, and Micron 02 pen.

Jim

Lesson 4: Overview

2016-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

This week we are adding color and value to our drawings.

Concepts:

Mapping light and dark
Refining the dark side and adjusting the light side
Try different methods and workflows.

We learned a three step process for doing value studies.

Map all the dark areas in a mid-tone grey.
Refine the dark side by adding a darker grey to all the areas of cast shadow.
Look at the local color and then apply this over the sketch as needed.

Indoor Exercises:

Part 1: Value Study. I did three drawings mapping light and dark from supplied photo references. The first was done with pencil. The second and third were done with markers.

Part 2: Color Study. I did two watercolor and ink drawings from the same photo reference. In the first one I added local color first and then added the shadows. For the second one I did the shadow areas first and then added local color.

Outdoor Exercise:

Our assignment was to sketch a simple building, to first do a value study to map the light and dark and then sketch the building in color. It was our choice whether to start with shadows or local color.

Jim

Lesson 3: Summary

2016-10-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Lesson 3: Summary

Concepts:

A structured way of working – the seven-step process.
The power of guidelines - alignment, centerlines, horizontal ledges, and adjustments for thicknesses.
Some measuring tips for getting better proportions - look for squares, use a basic unit of measure, and measure between guidelines.

Observations:

The most important takeaway from this week was the realization of the importance and benefit of understanding the structure and design of a building before drawing it. Shapes, angles, and proportions are based on structure and design. Analysis pluses intuition. Understanding the anatomy of a building helps when you draw it, and drawing helps you understand how a building is put together.
Measuring always takes longer than just going for it in ink. It's the old problem of speed versus accuracy. If you have the time, however, it is really worth it to do a setup.
It's remarkable how just a few well placed setup lines can speed up the process and make such a world of difference in the finished sketch.
Buildings look wonky when vertical lines aren't vertical and horizontal lines aren't horizontal. I need to pay attention to drawing straight verticals and horizontals.
An advantage of doing a setup is that it is a good warmup exercise. It gets both observational skills and hand-eye coordination going before you draw with ink.
Working on location is more problematic than working in the studio.
Many building spaces are divided by thirds.

Questions:

Can you recommend a visual dictionary of architecture for artists?

To-Do:

Work on verticals and horizontals.

Make a few important horizontal and vertical setup lines using a ruler and then use those as guides for other lines when drawing with ink.

Practice analyzing building structure and design.

Check setup against the building or a photo and make corrections to the setup before starting to draw with ink.

Jim

Lesson 3: Outdoor Exercise, Adolph Block

2016-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

Lesson 3: Outdoor Exercise, Adolph Block

I drove downtown (Salem, Oregon) and parked across State Street from the Adolph Block building which was built in 1880. It was a cold and rainy morning, so, I sketched from inside my car. Parking on this street is diagonal parking, not parallel. I had to turn and look back from the driver's seat to see the building. Holding my large journal and handling my supplies was difficult in the cramped space that I had.

I took a reference picture with my iPod Touch and used it to analyze the building's design. I did a quick pencil sketch on a small piece of paper. The building is three sets of squares top and bottom with a small piece added onto the right side which I assume is a stairway to the second floor. I also determined the placement of the windows and doors. The top story windows are three to a square, are the same size, and are spaced evenly. The first floor is divided in half vertically with windows above and entrances and display windows below. I also used three dots to find the height and width of the triangular shaped tree foliage.

I then used this knowledge to draw setup lines in my journal. I drew with a Pilot erasable FriXion orange highlighter pen. Next I used a Kaweco Sport fountain pen with Platinum Carbon Black ink to draw the details over the setup. All this took about an hour. I ran out of time and energy and had to stop before I could add the watercolor.

I used a hair dryer at home to erase the orange highlighter pen, and then added watercolor while looking at the reference photo I had taken on my iPod Touch blown up large on my desktop computer's monitor. I used Daniel Smith watercolor and two brushes - a 5/8 inch filbert to start and a #6 round for added detail. I worked in successive steps of color from light to dark. I used a hair dryer between each pass to speed things up.

Working on location is more problematic than working in the studio. In this case I couldn't see very well through the rain on the car window. I misjudged the placement of the halfway line between the stories which made the top story windows too long and the ground level windows and doors too short. I should have caught that by comparing the setup sketch with the building or photo, but I didn't. Next time I'll try to remember to check before adding ink.

Jim

Lesson 3: Indoor Exercise 2, Capitoline Hill, Rome

2016-10-06T16:57:00.001-07:00

Lesson 3: Indoor Exercise 2, Capitoline Hill, Rome

We worked from a supplied photo reference. Again we were to work through the drawing using the lesson concepts - a structured way of working, guidelines, and measuring to get better proportions.

I first did a setup sketch to lay the building out in my journal and set the proportions of the building pieces. I used a Pilot erasable FriXion orange highlighter pen so that I could later erase the setup lines.

I then added ink on top of the setup lines using a black Zebra disposable brush pen with a fine felt tip. I chose this pen because it is capable of making both fine and bold marks and because it is waterproof.

Notice I adjusted the ink lines as I drew and didn't follow the orange guidelines if I thought the angle or proportion was wrong (for instance I adjusted the height of the tower and the angle of the right staircase).

Next I erased the orange setup highlighter lines with a hair dryer.

Boy, that sure works great to get a clean drawing. It's much better than trying to erase pencil. You don't smudge the ink.

Finally I added watercolor.

I layed in the sky first (working wet-on-wet) with a 5/8 inch filbert brush and blotted out a few clouds with a tissue. I used the same brush to paint the light tan of the upper story. I then darkened the mix with a little cerulean blue to add the shadows. The small details were done with a #6 round brush.

Doing a measured setup solves a lot of problems and saves time because you don't have to do separate analytical pencil sketches to work out the proportions and placement of the major building elements. However, measuring always takes longer than just going for it in ink. It's the old problem of speed versus accuracy. If you have the time, however, it is really worth it to do a setup, because the more you know about the subject and its underlying structure and purpose, the better.

The other advantage of doing a setup is that it is a good warmup exercise. It gets both observational skills and hand-eye coordination going before you draw with ink.

Jim

Lesson 3: Indoor Exercise 1, Notre Dame

2016-10-06T16:54:00.000-07:00

Lesson 3: Indoor Exercise 1, Notre Dame

I first did a two minute sketch of the basic structure of the building. I used a orange Pilot FriXion erasable highlighter pen so that I could later erase the setup lines using a hair dryer. The ink from this pen disappears with heat and re-appears with cold.

Next I drew on top of the setup lines. I started using a yellow ochre colored pencil, but soon switched to using a Zebra disposable brush pen with a fine felt tip and black ink.

I then erased the setup lines with a hair dryer.

The colored lines you see are the colored pencil lines I started drawing before switching to ink.

Finally I finished with colored pencil.

It's remarkable how just a few well placed setup lines can speed up the process and make such a world of difference in the finished sketch.

Jim

Lesson 3: Overview

2016-10-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

This week we are taking a different approach. Up to now we have been working with shapes and volumes. We have been drawing what we see. The approach this week is to study and discover the underlying structure of the building and the architectural design and to base our drawings on our understanding of the building.

Concepts this week include:

A structured way of working – the seven-step process.
The power of guidelines - alignment, centerlines, horizontal ledges, and adjustments for thicknesses.
Some measuring tips for getting better proportions - look for squares, use a basic unit of measure, and measure between guidelines.

We learned a seven step workflow. Not every step is need, but we always work in this order.

Overall volumes/shapes
Proportions
Main structure and stories
Rhythm of windows and other elements
Window frames
Openings and windows
Details (decoration) and texture

We also learned how to use guidelines, make adjustments for thicknesses, and how to measure lengths and angles.

Indoor Exercises:

Exercise 1: We did an analytical diagram of the structure of Notre Dame in Paris from a supplied photo reference. Then we did a more detailed sketch drawing on what we discovered in the initial diagram.

Exercise2: We did the same using a reference photo of Capitoline Hill in Rome.

Outdoor Exercise:

Our assignment was to sketch a local building that has at least two stories and a number of bays. I chose to draw the Adolf Block in downtown Salem.

Jim

Lesson 2: Summary

2016-09-28T23:12:00.002-07:00

Lesson 2: Summary

Concepts:

Adding and subtracting volumes.
Allowing thicknesses and depths.
Using leading edges.

Observations:

Working from the top down can be problematic. If you don't get the angles and proportions of the roof right, the rest of the building will not be right either.
I'm still making the windows too big.
It's hard to balance accuracy and spontaneity. Drawing carefully slows you down and makes the lines look too stiff and stilted.
My indoor drawings improved as I went and helped a lot when I did the outdoor drawings.
The leading edges technique works with other subjects.

Questions:

Should I return to the same location to finish the sketch (add watercolor)?

To-Do:

Work bigger.

Work faster.

Try using erasable highlighter for set up and layout.

Measure basic vertical and horizontal distances and compare relative sizes.

Find the midway points of basic shapes.

Make angles steeper. Compare angles to clock.

Draw windows smaller.

Write in all caps.

Jim

Lesson 2: Outdoor Exercise 2

2016-09-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Lesson 2: Outdoor Exercise 2

I drove to Silverton and sketched the Gordon House this morning.

Finished Drawing

It was cold and mostly cloudy. I sat there for almost two hours looking at this house and figuring it out on paper and then sketching it. My goal this time out was to produce a measured drawing getting the proportions and angles right and my lines straight and controlled. When you are on location, you have to figure out where on the "sketch vs finished drawing" spectrum you want to be. I wanted to try an accurate drawing at the far end of the spectrum.

I started with a thumbnail sketch done in pencil of the basic volumes. I used the front left facing wall as a unit of measurement (A) and compared the other widths and heights to it on my initial sketch. The left hand side was way too long as drawn.

Small thumbnail working drawing in pencil to figure out the volumes and proportions.

I then turned the page and laid out the building across both pages using pencil and then I inked in with a Micron Pigma 02 pen. Finally I added the shapes of some of the trees in the background and the small hedge in the foreground.

I was getting cold and tired and ran out of energy. I quickly added the complicated shaped windows on the second floor, packed up my gear, and headed for lunch.

Later I noticed that I had missed a few elements of the structure - the left hand support pillar for the cantilevered second floor porch and the right hand support post for the car port. I would like to come back and finish by adding watercolor.

Proportions and angles are good. The length of the car port is short by about a quarter. Other than that, I think this is a good representation of the building.

My skill at drawing long lines straight is getting better if I am careful and turn the paper. I used two methods. I drew one or two lines in pencil using a ruler and judged where to draw parallel lines in ink based on the pencil line. I also drew dots at the end points and drew dot to dot.

Materials: Strathmore large softcover journal, pencil, Micron Pigma 02 pen.

Gordon House is the only building in Oregon that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was one of his Usonian houses and used to sit on a hill overlooking the Willamette River. The house was saved from near destruction in 2000 and moved to its present site in the Oregon Garden near Silverton, Oregon.

The house is most often pictured from the left side and is indeed beautiful from every side.

The posts and beam holding up the cantilevered second story porch were added a few years ago. I don't know the story behind why they were added. I assume they are a temporary fix because the ground shifted or they put the house back together again incorrectly, but they were not part of Wright's original design.

Jim

Lesson 2: Outdoor Exercise 1

2016-09-28T21:35:00.002-07:00

Lesson 2: Outdoor Exercise 1

Our assignment was to sketch a house.

I actually did this drawing before I did the indoor exercises and it shows. I made many of the mistakes that Liz addresses in the indoor exercises. I got the angles of the roof wrong which made the proportions of the sides of the house wrong. I made the windows too large and the roof of the porch is too big. I was surprised by how difficult is was to draw a simple two story house. So, I learned a lot. You often learn more by attempting to do something before reading how to do it.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch spiral bound pad, pencil, Pentel EnerGel 0.5mm ball needle point liquid gel pen.

Jim

Lesson 2: Exercise 2, Thicknesses and Depths

2016-09-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Lesson 2: Exercise 2, Thicknesses and Depths

This exercises was all about thicknesses and depths. Again we worked from a photo reference.

We were to pay particular attention to the thicknesses of the beams and columns and the depth of the roof and windows.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch spiral bound pad, Zebra disposable brush pen extra fine nib.

Jim

Lesson 2: Exercise 1B, Volumes and Accuracy

2016-09-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Lesson 2: Exercise 1B, Volumes and Accuracy

In this exercise we were to revisit one of our four 1A drawings.

I re-did the first example. I added a little more window detail and some context.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch spiral bound pad, Zebra disposable brush pen extra fine nib.

Jim

Lesson 2: Exercise 1A, Volumes

2016-09-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

Lesson 2: Exercise 1A, Volumes

The theme of this exercise was local houses. We worked from four photo references of houses in Tasmania from Liz Steel. We were to draw directly in ink without any pencil setup.

These were supposed to be quick volume sketches, but I got carried away and spent about 20 minutes on each sketch carefully observing the angles, proportions, leading edges, and placement of each shape drawing slowly and purposefully.

Drawing buildings is all about visualizing as you go. When drawing in ink, you have to slow down and think about all of these issues before you commit to a line.

Materials: Canson Mix Media 7x10 inch spiral bound pad, Zebra disposable brush pen extra fine nib.

Jim

Lesson 2: Overview

2016-09-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lesson 2: Overview

During the second week we explored constructing volumes in more depth. We investigated three ideas:

Adding and subtracting volumes.
Allowing thicknesses and depths.
Using leading edges.

There are three steps involved:

Seeing the base volumes.
Adding elements.
Subtracting elements.

Indoor Exercises:

The indoor exercises introduced us to the concepts and allowed us to practice in a relaxed environment.

First we did four drawings of houses from photo reference. We drew directly with ink with no pencil setup.

Then we revisited one of our sketches and tried to improve upon it.

Finally we did another house paying particular attention to thicknesses and depths.

Outdoor Exercises:

Our assignment was to draw a house. I did two drawings. I did the first before doing the indoor exercises and it has many of the common mistakes that Liz addresses in her review of the indoor exercises.

I did the second one after reading her materials for the week. I took my time and did a carefully planned, controlled drawing.

Jim

Lesson 1: Summary

2016-09-18T17:44:00.000-07:00

Lesson 1: Summary

Concepts:

Feeling Edges
Abstracting Shapes
Constructing Volumes

Observations:

Line quality matters. The work I admire has less shakey lines.
I underestimated the dry time between washes. You can see in the positive shapes sketch that the largest dark window bled into the mid tones.
I'm still having a hard time judging placement on the page.
Shadows shifted as I drew and painted. What happened is I painted the shadows as they were at the moment. So, the net result is that the painting records the shadow shifts over time and is not a snapshot of a moment in time.
I saw and wanted to add more detail, but I resisted the temptation.
I tried mixing juicer mixes of watercolor. This made things a lot easier because I didn't run out of a color and have to stop and remix more.
Each sketch took longer than anticipated. The entire exercise took me over two hours to complete.
I lost track of time and became oblivious to my surroundings including the people around me. A few people walked up behind me to look at what I was doing and surprised me when they made a comment. They were all complimentary by the way.

Questions:

What do you do while waiting for paint to dry?

To-Do:

☐Try dry media or wet media that dries quicker such as Neocolor II, colored pencil, or markers.

☐Practice lines and curves and angles.

☐Figure out page placement techniques so objects don't go off the page.

☐Practice lettering.

Lesson 1: Church

2016-09-17T20:51:00.001-07:00

Lesson 1: Outdoor Exercise - sketch a church.

St. Mary's Church

I did this sketch while attending the Oktoberfest in Mt. Angel, Oregon. I did four sketches of this church starting with a continuous line drawing to warm up and discover aspects of the building.

Continuous Line

Next, I did some abstracting of shapes. First I looked at the negative spaces of the sky and the windows.

Negative Spaces

Then, I looked at the positive shapes of the building itself.

Positive Spaces

After lunch I switched positions and painted the final sketch head-on using the constructing volumes technique. I drew in pencil first and added watercolor in several washes - the sky, light tones, middle values, and finally the darks.

Constructing Volumes

Next I drove up the hill to Mt. Angel Abbey. I wanted to check out the buildings with the idea of coming back later to sketch them. There are many beautiful buildings on this campus including a famous library designed by Alvar Aalto. It was such a beautiful day I decided to sit down and sketch the church. I used a brush pen first and then added color with Daniel Smith watercolors. It turned out to be my favorite sketch of the day.

Mt. Angel Abbey

Mt. Angel Abbey with sketch

Location Notes:

I underestimated the dry time between washes. You can see in the positive shapes sketch that the largest dark window bled into the mid tones.
I'm still having a hard time judging placement on the page.
Shadows shifted as I drew and painted. What happened is I painted the shadows as they were at the moment. So, the net result is that the painting records the shadow shifts over time and is not a snapshot of a moment in time.
I saw and wanted to add more detail, but I resisted the temptation.
I tried mixing juicer mixes of watercolor. This made things a lot easier because I didn't run out of a color and have to stop and remix more.
Each sketch took longer than anticipated. The entire exercise took me over two hours to complete.
I lost track of time and became oblivious to my surroundings including the people around me. A few people walked up behind me to look at what I was doing and surprised me when they made a comment. They were all complimentary by the way.

Jim

Lesson 1: Manly Church

2016-09-17T20:40:00.003-07:00

Lesson 1: Indoor Exercise - Manly Church

Again we all worked from a photo reference.

The assignment called for doing four sketches:

Continuous line - draw without lifting the pen from the page.
Abstracting negative spaces - paint the sky shape and then the window shapes
Abstracting positive spaces - paint the silhoutte of the building with a light color, paint the midtown shadow shapes, and then add the darks.
Constructing volumes - draw the main volumes in pencil and guidelines for all the windows, and then add ink.

Continuous Line

Negative Spaces

Positive Shapes

I really like the look of the positive shapes without any ink lines. This technique of working in three or four values is a classic method of working in watercolor used by English artists in 1800's.

I ran out of time and didn't do #4. Constructing volumes. Instead I went straight to the outdoor exercises.

Jim

Lesson 1: Boxes

2016-09-17T20:38:00.001-07:00

Lesson 1: Indoor Exercise - Boxes

We all worked from the same photo reference for this exercise.

We did four sketches:

Blind contour - draw without looking at the page. (This helps warm up your hand-eye coordination).
Continuous line - you can look, but don't lift the pen from the page. (This is an excellent method for learning about the parts of your subject and seeing how they are related. However, it's difficult to get the angles and proportions right and the lines straight).
Abstracting Shapes - draw the edges of the blue shapes and shade them in with blue pencil. (Helps to see the shapes - both positive and negative).
Constructing volumes - draw the basic box shapes first with pencil, then add ink. (This produces the most finished looking sketch because you plan it out first).

Blind Contour and Continuous Line

Abstracting Shapes and Constructing Volumes

Jim

Lesson 1: Line Exercises

2016-09-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Lesson 1: Indoor Exercise - Line Practice

For our first exercise we did a bit of line practice - making strong lines, parallel lines, long straight lines, dividing lines, angles, drawing squares, converging lines, and a few patterns.

Straight lines

Angles

Boxes, Converging Lines, and Patterns

This takes me back two years when I took Liz's Foundations course. I discovered in week two that I couldn't draw straight lines very well. So, for the next four weeks I practiced drawing lines. I researched various suggestions and techniques and devised my own method of practice. My goal was to draw straight lines at any angle or in any direction without turning the page or using guidelines. Afterwards I collected and scanned all my practice sheets and created this PDF to document my process and findings. It really does help to do targeted practice.

Jim

Lesson 1: Overview

2016-09-17T20:28:00.001-07:00

Lesson 1: Overview

During the first week we reviewed and practiced three ways of visual thinking.

Feeling Edges
Abstracting Shapes
Constructing Volumes

Indoor Exercises:

First we did a bit of line practice - making strong lines, parallel lines, long straight lines, dividing lines, angles, drawing squares, converging lines, and a few patterns.

Then we did a series of drawings of boxes (from a photo reference) using blind contour, continuous line drawing, abstracting shapes, and constructing volumes.

Finally we did another series of drawings from a photo reference of Manly Church. We did continuous line, negative space, positive space, and constructing volumes.

Outdoor Exercises:

The assignment was to sketch a church on location using all the methods we used indoors - continuous line, negative space, positive space, and constructing volumes. I sketched St. Mary's church in Mt. Angel, Oregon.

Jim