Coming Soon ... Doughnuts

I miss the precious few warm and sunny days we had last week. Bright highlights, rich shadows, and delightfully warm dry air for Urban Sketching. Unfortunately, it was only a brief preview. Today is just above freezing, flat grey skies, and drizzling rain on and off. Not so nice for artists, but perfect for pouring concrete footings. 

Today's sketch captures the early stages of the forthcoming Doughnut shop. Yes, right next door to an 1800's gem of a house. (One of the downsides to being near a major intersection.)

My vantage was from across the major highway sitting in a fast food restaurant. I used waterbrushes. My sketch is in Sakura Koi watercolors with touches and outlines from black Copic Multiliner pens with waterproof ink. The paper was so thirsty I struggled to get loose washes for the large masses.

The Copic Multiliner pens are a dream to use if you want a consistent width line that is truly and instantly waterproof. I'm told they are refillable with the Copic waterproof pigment and separate parts are available if you should damage or wear out one of the tips.

Catching up with the news

It's a chilly and rainy day in Hamilton NJ has driven most everyone inside today. The local coffee shop is filled with people warming up for a few minutes and checking the news. This fella was doing that and was quickly captured in a sketch. Sakura Koi watercolors were added on site. Shading and setting was filled in after he dashed.

Not Quite Spring

That calender may say it is Spring, but the weather is not quite Spring.  This past Sunday I returned to Duke Farm to paint in the freezing cold (literally; more on that later) as it seemed like a good idea.  I have not painted much of late and needed to be outside, so off to Duke Farms I went.  It was supposed to be in the 40's that morning but was actually 25 degrees when I stepped into the park (the iPhone weather app, apparently, does not always tell the truth).   As I set down to paint and started mixing the colors, ice crystals began precipitating out of the wash as the water, literally froze on the pallet. It would have been cool if it was not so cold.  Ice crystals clung to the brushes and glomped on the painting, making the process somewhat strange.  I completed 90% of the painting on site and added finishing details in the cafe.  All in all, it turned out well, but I truly wish for Spring to really begin. 

                                         Watercolor, Pen & Ink on 140 lbs block 9X12

Neighbor's Tree with Snow

The last (hopefully) snow storm of the winter provided the opportunity to paint my neighbor's tree covered in snow.  I tried something different and chose colored pastel paper, which strictly speaking, is not made for washes.  I taped it down (you can see the perfect straight lines at the top and bottom) and kept stretching it after each wash as the fibers in the paper swelled with water.  The painting was finished off using white gouache (which I recently found I had been mispronouncing all my life), using both sponge and brush.

                     Watercolor and gouache 9x12 on 75 lbs Canson Mi-Teintes pastel pater

NJ sketcher in Key West

Have not done much painting/sketching in NJ of late but recently did flee the cold for a vacation to the Keys where I had the opportunity to do a few sketches.  Below is a sunset from Smathers Beach (the dark green patches along the shore are all the accumulated sea grass).  The sunsets in Key West are pretty spectacular, especially on the beak or at Sunset Key.    

                                         Watercolor on paper 5.5x12.25

The point where A1A curves back away from the ocean (to run parallel to Duval St) is a place many seabirds gather.  I was able to get nice and close to a pair of sleeping pelicans.  It gave me quite the view (I never knew they had such sharp tips at the end of their beaks).  I also painted the outcropping where other seafaring birds were sleeping (the dark grey shapes).

                             Watercolor and Pen & Ink on paper 5.5x8.5

                                      Watercolor on paper 5.5x8.5

indoor sketching

does anybody have any suggestions for inside sketching for north jersey?

The Other Tree

I spend a lot of time giving love to my neighbor's tree, but we have a small, interesting tree of our own.  Here is a very quick sketch of the tree. I liked how the lights from the other neighbor's backyard highlighted the tree.

                                        Watercolor, Pen & Ink on paper

And here is an earlier sketch from a different angle, before the weird weeds grew around it.

                               Watercolor, Pen & Ink on 140 lbs paper