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| POPPIES IN THE FIELD - Sketchbook Practice |
Spring is nearly here. I am hounding the
garden shops, checking out the flower beds on my daily walks, waiting for the colour.
Do you find as you start to draw with pen there is a feeling of permanence. The marks must be exact. It can not be changed. Lines are neat and orderly.
But the lines can be like those flowers, once they begin to grow
they can become wild and free. Full of
confidence and joy.
The answer is practice. But of course there is more to it than that. Meaningful practice helps. But I find practice only works if I feel some success. A sense of growth. A feeling of confidence. Joy.
A Joyful Way to Get Loose with your Pen
NB: There is a video version of the blog post with more examples - See "Get Loose with Your Pen Work" video.
1. Grab your watercolours and a brush - no reference - just put blobs of paint on the page to indicate where a flower might go. 5 blobs is a good starting point.
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| My 5 blubs of colour |
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| Don't worry about making perfect leaves, have fun with the shapes |
Working without a references helps gives freedom to your line work. It feels scary, I know, but you will see you don't really need one. Drawing like this helps you move freely on the page and not feel any of your marks are 'wrong'.
3. Practice this simple poppy flower. While your paint is drying practice making this simple poppy. Make them all different sizes and facing in different directions.
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| Draw the bottom 2 petals first, then add the 3 at the back |
4. Draw flowers, leaves and stems on your painting. Don't worry about keeping the colour inside the lines. You will see the lines will capture they colour as you go. Also, having a bit of white space inside your shapes, creates a lot of interest.
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| Drawing the flowers, stems and leaves |
5. Keep drawing until you are finished. Don't hesitate to add more leaves and flowers to fit your scene, even if there is no painted area for them. Note my finished picture at the beginning of the post, has a leaf added to the left side and there is no paint there.
6. Try working with another shape. I have painted a simple log and stump shape in my book. I did play with a few lights and darks but tried to keep it simple. ( I did get a little carried away as I love painting and drawing old stumps. )
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| My simple log and stump |
2. Adding line work. Picture a log and stump in your mind and start some line work. Don't worry about staying within the coloured area. Note the bits of white on my stump where I enlarged it and reshaped it. Add marks: light, dark, squiggles, dots. Watch and see what they do. Sometimes encapsulate the darker values and other times ignore them. Let your pen move freely.
Add a bit of foliage. Stumps and logs always have leaves, sticks, and plants scattered around them.
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| Note how my line work breaths life into this simple painting |
3. Adding more colour. This is always an option after you add your pen work. I encourage you to do this after you add your ink work. This will help you feel loose and free. Too much colour detail makes you want to follow the lines. Remember when you add the extra colour it does not have to fit into the line work. In fact leaves for example with no line work add depth to your bushes. (Note my bushes on the left side of the stump)
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| A Simple picture but one that makes me happy when I look at it. |
This might be a new way for you to practice your line work but I think you will find it rewarding and helpful in building your confidence and finding your joy.
You will find more examples and further information in the video version of the blog post - See "Get Loose with Your Pen Work" video.
Outdoor Sketching Classes - Starting May 27!!!
Outdoor Sketching Classes are 2.5 hr sessions and located in parks in North Surrey and North Langley. Beginners to Advanced are Welcome. Mediums supported: watercolour, pen, pencil, watercolour pencils and coloured pencils. You can sign up to as many sessions as you like. Class Size: Max 3. $50 per session.
Class Dates:
May 27: 10-12:30pm
June 9 & 16: 10-12:30pm
July 7 & 21: 10-12:30pm
Aug 4 & 25: 10-12:30pm
Sept 1 & 8: 10-12:30pm
You are welcome to contact me for help in organizing your supplies for an Outing.
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