Water Street Alley - Petaluma

Water Street Alley seen from across Petaluma Boulevard.

The week before last, while visiting a downtown coffee shop, I decided to sketch the wall in the alley across the street.  I wanted to see how well I could render textures of stone and brick with a fair amount of detail.  The challenge was to keep the line-work from becoming too "busy".  Not sure how successful I was, as there is always a fine balance between having too little, versus too much, detail in a drawing. Getting that balance right is something I work at continually.

Schoolhouse Beach, Again

Here is a sketch of Schoolhouse Beach done over the weekend.  Maybe an idea for a future painting.

Pencil on paper, 3.5" x 10.75"

Recent Sketchbook Drawings

I have been making an effort to do more sketching as the opportunities arise, and then post them to this blog when I have filled a few pages in my sketchbook with drawings I think people might want to look at.  Here are some below:

"View of Baker Street in Petaluma, CA"

"Calm Day at Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, CA"

"Morning Shadows, Three Rivers, CA"

"Hillside, Three Rivers, CA"

"View of the hills, Three Rivers, CA"

Sketching - Heat of the Day

This afternoon I was out sketching along the trails at Crane Creek Regional Park.  A warm day (92 F); I only saw two visitors and a ranger in the park.  Also saw a noisy hawk on patrol, and an enormous vulture, that flapped up from the tall grass, like an old raincoat, each time I passed by; interrupting its feast, no doubt!  

Pencil; 3.5x5.5 inches

I stopped on the trail to do this quick pencil sketch of a hillside in full sunlight, with a gnarled tree trunk on one side with the cool shadows of foliage on the other side, where the trail is heading. Normally, I wouldn't stand out in the blazing sun long enough to do a sketch like this, but from experience I knew that somehow the camera wouldn't capture the very thing that caught my attention in the first place.

Petaluma Sketch Crawl

I'm planning to take part in a "sketch crawl" this coming Saturday in Petaluma.  I did this sketch of the Open Door Church during the "Petaluma Sketch Crawl" last December. These events are really helpful for getting out and doing some drawing during a time of the year when I might not do so otherwise.

Update:  This event has been rescheduled for Saturday, December 8th, on account of rainy weather.

Pencil on Sketchbook page
11 x 8.5 inches

Hogbacks

Late yesterday afternoon I did these two quick drawings in my 3.5 by 5.5 inch pocket sketchbook of the "Hogback Rocks" at Wright's Beach, .  The weather was perfect for plein air painting, considering the time of the year.

Winter Shadows

Duncan's Landing Shadows, 3.5 x 5" sketchbook, December 2011

Duncans's Landing Cove, 11x14", Oil on Panel, January 2009

Duncans's Landing is on of our favorite spots along the Sonoma Coast of northern California.  We have stopped here many times over the years to watch the ocean waves crash on the rocks, or just read and relax here.  By now I have done more than a few sketches and paintings from this spot.  One feature that I have returned to draw and paint is the cliff and beach of the small cove at Duncan's Landing.  Above are two of my attempts to capture the deep winter shadows that are so characteristic of the northern California coast at this time of the year.

Keep Drawing

All last week, since taking part in the latest sketch crawl event up in Healdsburg, the importance of keeping a regular sketching habit has been on my mind.  To that end, I have started doing some sketches of whatever I happen to see around me.  I'm not especially looking for interesting subjects; rather, the important thing is to keep drawing.

A few days ago I did a small pen and ink study of some plant containers outside on our deck.

A minimal studio

A drawing with minimal hatching

Healdsburg Sketch Crawl

Today I sketched at the Plaza in Healdsburg, CA. for the "World Wide Sketch Crawl 34". 
Because of rain and wind, my drawings were confined to views obtained from the shelter and comforts of "Flying Goat Coffee".

Here are two sketches I did over cups of light roast coffee.

View from Flying Goat Coffe

Pencil on paper

5.75 x 8.5"

Two Readers, Flying Goat

BBB charcoal pencil on paper

3.5 x 5.5"

Luther Burbank House

Luther Burbank House
3.5 x 5.5 inches
Pencil on Sketchbook Page

This afternoon I did a quick sketch of the Luther Burbank House in Santa Rosa.

Notebook Page

India ink and acrylic wash on paper. 

A page from one of my notebooks with pattern ideas for a future project.

My Pocket Drawing Kit

I have always been fascinated to learn about what other artists consider their essential tools to carry with them at all times. Currently, I have been making it a habit to always have a sketchbook and drawing supplies with me wherever I go.  In this post I want to share a little bit about the drawing kit that I have put together and carry with me, and how I use it.

The drawing tools I've selected allow me to make basic monochromatic sketches and drawings which can be developed into more finished pieces later on.  I use pencil, charcoal,watercolor and gauche, which allow me a range of media to capture different transient effects of light and form. At the very minimum, a few quick pencil lines jotted in a sketchbook are of more value to me than a photograph for recording the fleeting impressions that I may later develop into a painting.

My drawing kit consists of a "Moleskine"-type notebook and a small metal tin to hold my drawing tools.  Together these two items easily slip into a jacket pocket or side compartment of a courier bag, etc.

Everything must fit inside this tin, or it stays home.  Since there is no room for pen and ink, I learned that if needed, I can add ink-work to drawings later on at home.

 

Inside:

• 1 small "Altoids" tin with four colors of watercolor pigment 
• 1 tube of opaque white gouache
• 3 "Utrecht" brand travel-type watercolor brushes, sizes 1, 5 and 8
• 4B Conte crayon
• an eraser
• BBB charcoal pencil with pencil holder
• Hardtmuth flat sketching pencil
• No.2 pencil stub

(the ruler is for scale)

The watercolors that I use are sepia, Naples yellow, Venetian red and Payne's gray.  I use colors for laying in cool and warm neutral washes to establish masses, rather than to record particular colors.  Since finding containers and water for brush washing is usually easy, I normally don't carry these, unless I know that I am going to be out in the field somewhere. Drawing and painting away from home still require some planning.

South Jetty Beach

Here's another page from my sketchbook.  This is a view of the dunes on the south jetty of Humboldt Bay on a cool, misty July afternoon.  (My wife and I had just traveled from a part of the country undergoing a massive heatwave and drought).  What a contrast!

Size 8-1/2 x 11"
Watercolor and pencil

Pier 39 Sea Lions

This is from one of my sketchbook pages where, at my wife's request, I did some quick sketches of sea lions that gather around Pier 39 in San Francisco.  It was a while back and the first time that I saw these sea lions.  I was impressed by their interesting postures and movements; not to mention sounds.

Size 8-1/2 x 11"
Ink and Conte crayon on paper

Entrance to Doyle Park

Medium:  Graphite stick on paper
Size:  9 1/2 x 6 3/4"

One of several recent sketches I did of this view for a possible future painting.  Over the summer I have been doing a series of on-site sketches of places that I may later develop into paintings.

Pewetole Island

Size - approximately 7-1/2 x 10"
Medium -Watercolor, ink, gauche, Conte crayon and pencil