Palms Against El Mirador, 12 x 12

Painted from the rooftop, this evening painting was the last one of the trip.  I was sad to leave because, once again, it felt like I was just getting into the swing of being in and painting in this small town.

I like the abstractness of the large hill.  It was covered with vegetation that had gone dry until the coming rains when it will spring into a jungle like green.  The palms are an endless source of subtle color variations.

The drawing is of some young banana trees in the back of the courtyard and just outside the door where I slept.....oh, yeah....you can see it.   Love those markers for making quick form out of my sketches.  You really should try it.  I just got an order for some new colors for sketching on toned paper which I'll post later.

Oh yeah.  Here is one of those baby 18" iguanas that would drop off the roof occasionally next to us.....a bit surprising.

Two For The New Year

 

Welcome to the New Year!  Despite the busy-ness of it all, we always have a good time, are sad when it comes to an end and now think about our next big event.  We don't know what that event is yet, but we need to concoct one to drag us happily into the new year.  And we give thanks....the days are getting longer again!

There wasn't much room for art but I did find some time today to get out sketching for an hour.  The speed and simplicity of marker drawing still mesmerizes me as a blank sheet turns into shapes and forms.  The location of the dock scene is right behind the second drawing of Santa, the Grinch and a Snowman as they deflate themselves into 2012.  I think  they will be back because they've been up there every December for the last ten years....

All the best.

Little People

I had to take a quick ferry today to deliver some materials and, lacking any other diversions, I drew. The son of a friend is in school for digital art (and will soon be published in ImagineFX, the magazine). I saw his sketchbook the other day and he had filled a page with the coolest small people drawings....so I wanted to see what I could do. I had a pen and a marker with me so for you marker drawers why not give this a try? The smallest figure is 1" and the largest is 2"....so this is only the top half of my sketchbook that you see. Pencil sketch a little and then ink in if you want. Just don't try and be too literal. Get the idea and large shapes down and then let the marker shading bring out the form. I only got a glimpse of each figure and drew from memory. It was fun. Thanks Cody, yours were much better.

Roslyn Autumn, 12x14

Another quick marker study and the resulting painting. When I did the drawing I was only interested in the major differences between the light and the dark areas so I used just one value of marker. Once I had that, I used paint to loosely block in those large shapes in a neutral color before adding the actual color you see here. Once the major light/dark separations were made, all I had to do is add color in a value that was similar to the block-in. That's when painting becomes fun.

Filling Markers

OK, marker fans. You've been asking for this info....

I use three different brands of markers, Touch, Prismacolor and Copic, and have been successful in refilling them all. At first I didn't see the value in refilling, but after I counted up the number of markers hanging around the studio it made economic sense.....and especially after I ran out of marker juice during a demonstration.

All you need is the ink and refilling needles. Both Copic and Letraset sell the ink. I went to iCopic for my supplies and was able to refill every make of marker. For about $5, a bottle will refill a marker 5 t0 10 times, which is both cheaper and more convenient. They recommend getting a bottle of clear blender to clean up the needle, but since it's only ethyl alcohol (enthanol) I would think most any alcohol would work.

It's very easy. Connect the needle to the bottle of refill ink, gently thread it down the side of the marker tip and gently squeeze a few times. Let it rest a bit to distribute the ink and you've got a new marker. Disconnect the tip, rinse with alcohol, seal everything up and go draw.

In my opinion these are the ups and downs of the different brands: Prismacolor: easy to find, the tip has three edges for differing lines, they have a tendency to roll and the caps are a bit of trouble. Touch: seem to hold a lot of ink, not as easy to find. Copic: replaceable tips, different size markers with larger tips, easy to pop tips in and out, seem to be less 'toxic' smelling, harder to find, expensive. Letraset I haven't tried.

Eastler Cabin, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2

Heading up the Maine coast to Prince Edward Island, and again on the way back, we stayed in this cabin that has been in the family of a friend since 1946. A peaceful lakeside place on twenty acres just a few miles from the coast. No shower. Had to go swimming to clean up. Ahhhhh.

You marker fans can pick out the three values pretty easily here. Imagine how I had to subdue the dark forested background in order for the cabin to stand out. It's easier if you follow the first 'rule' and quickly separate the dark from the light before going on to darker values. The same for painting.....use middle values to make a statement about the light and then, like a sculptor, carve out the painting with the darker and lighter tones.

Camden Kids

I wish I had taken the time on this trip to draw more people. Just a few lines and a bit of tone can suggest so much. These two were sitting on a stone wall overlooking a spillway. The cormorants sitting on the rock were waiting for a meal to show up. There is a visual triangle formed between her dark hair, the dark of the birds and the shadow accent of the rock that moves the eye around the work. Simple, quick and all it takes to put me back in that moment.

Landscape Drawing

I've been hired to do the drawings for an extensive remodel, landscape and building facade, of a country club. This is a fun, but daunting, task. Here are two drawings I did yesterday to help get my head around the project.

The upper one is of the approach to what is a pretty ho-hum building. My favorite part of this drawing is the car.

The second is of some signage I was using for inspiration. I hadn't done a landscape piece on toned paper before.....people and still life only. I think it is just like painting a landscape in that you've got to simplify and then simplify some more to keep the detail from taking over so much that the major shapes get lost. I'm going to do some more of these and see if I can get better.

On the Movie Set

My wife has a role in a movie....it's a lark. You've heard before that movie making is 'hurry up and wait'....it's true. I came as an extra but ended up drawing most of the time so I thought I'd share two of them. These are just fun to do. The lines prior to adding the tone are pretty simple. It's the values that bring out the form.

Ferry Waiting

Just missing the ferry that Monday was frustrating....but once over my frustration it bacame an opportunity to draw for twenty minutes. This looks more complicated than it is. The illustrations in my book, Value Sketching with Markers, show you how simple a drawing can be before you add values. The values create form and give a sense of solidity. I still find it amazing and a great way to 'paint' without all the fuss. Just a few pens and some paper.

Marker to Monotype

On Sunday was the Marker to Monotype Workshop. Participants turned their marker value drawings into prints.

The prints shown here are demos from that workshop. The still life is loosely taken from the demo drawing of the day before (see previous entry). I don't call it a good print, but it does make the point of how to reinterpret drawings.

The bottom landscape print is better, also taken from a marker drawing I did on location in the Cascade Mountains last Fall. The drawing preceeded a painting which is now framed and in a gallery.

As usual, I learned a lot from the people taking the workshop. It's so interesting to me how the same materials in different hands can yield such differing and unique results from every person. Drawings from the previous day and other marker workshops were turned into new artistic expressions. I was exhausted yet very gratified.