Sketch – Page 2 – Jim Blodget's Art

November 7, 2020 / 1 Comment

Field Sketch

This is a test sketch using a new ink, Noodler’s Benenke Black. It is a water soluble ink that makes a rich gray when diluted with water. I painted directly with a round brush dipped in water. Earlier in the day I spread some of the ink on a 3×5 card and let it dry to use as a palette. I could then pull the ink off the card with a wet brush and apply it to the sketch. I also filled a fountain pen with the ink and used it to draw the darkest trees on the right and blended with the wet brush. I did the same with a few trees on the horizon line. I really like the slightly warm gray produced by this ink.

Canson Mix Media paper, Sheaffer Balance Black and Pearl Lifetime pen with 14K gold nib ca. 1929-30 filled with Noodler’s Benenke Black ink, and Princeton #8 round brush. Image is 7×10 inches (17.8×25.4 cm).

Jim

November 6, 2020 / 0 Comments

Birches

I’m sketching on watercolor paper with a calligraphy pen. The ink is water soluble. I used a brush to pull gray tones off the black lines.

Strathmore 300 Series Watercolor paper, Pilot Parallel pen with 1.5 mm nib, Pilot Black ink, and Derwent medium round waterbrush. Image is 9×12 inches (22.9×30.5 cm).

Jim

November 6, 2020 / 0 Comments

Backyard Watercolor

Today I did another sketch of the backyard. This time I used watercolor. I wanted to compare it with the marker sketch I did yesterday. I prefer to work with watercolor. It has a lot more variation of colors and techniques.

Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor paper, MyArtScape #8 round brush, and Daniel Smith watercolors. Image is 3.75X10 inches (9.5X25.4 cm).

Jim

November 5, 2020 / 0 Comments

Backyard Color

Every year I try to capture the Fall colors in our backyard. I usually take photos. This year I did a small sketch with brush markers.

Fabriano Hot Press Watercolor paper, pencil, ZIG Brushables and Tombow brush markers. Image is 3.5X10 inches (9X25.4 cm).

Jim

November 4, 2020 / 0 Comments

Fruit Trees

Here’s another quick watercolor study done in one go with a single round brush. I drew with the brush working across the page from left to right. The hardest part was keeping it simple with a minimum number of brush strokes. I have a tendency to over work it and make it into a painting instead of leaving it a simple sketch. Simplicity is hard, but I think I managed to capture the shapes, colors, and lighting of the scene without over doing it.

Canson Watercolor Cold Press paper 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.9 x 21.6 cm), Princeton #8 round brush, and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Jim

November 3, 2020 / 0 Comments

Landscape watercolor

I’ve been admiring David Hockney’s watercolor sketchbook landscapes. I thought I would try to do something similar. This time I used a medium round water brush and Daniel Smith watercolors on 5.5×8.5 inch Canson watercolor paper. I looked at a black and white reference photo on my computer monitor that I had taken a few years ago near the Gallon House covered bridge near Silverton. These round brush watercolor sketches are fast and easy to do and I like the sparse simplicity.

Jim

November 2, 2020 / 1 Comment

Sketching Methods

Sometimes I use a sketch as a visual note to myself. Instead of trying to do a finished drawing on location I will do a quick sketch to capture an idea or impression of what I notice. I may later use the note to do a finished work instead of using a reference photo. Here are three approaches. Each one took me less than 10 minutes to draw. The first one uses line to establish shapes, structure, and proportions. The second is a tone sketch to remember the values, and the third is a color sketch to capture the local colors in the scene.

Jim

October 30, 2020 / 0 Comments

Bush Park – 2

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Today I’m practicing my brush technique with another quick sketch of Bush park. I worked from a reference photo I took during a walk in the park. I did this directly with a single brush in one pass. I did the blue sky first into wet paper. I then did the foreground on wet paper with a couple of mixed greens, a dash of blue, and a couple of browns. Next, I brushed in the tree trunks working from left to right across the page. Finally I added the background foliage.

Canson Watercolor Cold Press paper 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.9 x 21.6 cm), Princeton #8 round brush, and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Jim

October 28, 2020 / 0 Comments

Bush Park

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I discovered a sketchbook done by David Hockney of the landscapes of Yorkshire. I admired his simple use of a single round watercolor brush and thought I’d like to try his technique. I did this simple watercolor sketch on cold press paper using a single #8 round brush.

Canson Watercolor Cold Press paper 5.5 x 8.5 inches (13.9 x 21.6 cm), Princeton #8 round brush, and Daniel Smith watercolors.

Jim

September 16, 2018 / 0 Comments

Flowers Landscapes and Sketches

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This week I tried new approaches to monotypes and sketching. The nasturtiums are still blooming. So, I photographed them with my phone and used the photos as reference for a crayon sketch and a monotype. I then tackled a larger monotype of Ankeny wetland using what I’ve learned so far. Then mid-week I got a new set of Qor watercolors and tried them out on a series of small sketches, and finally today I did another monotype of the Painted Hills in Eastern Oregon using a new technique.

Category: Sketch (page 2 of 4)

Field Sketch

Birches

Backyard Watercolor

Backyard Color

Fruit Trees

Landscape watercolor

Sketching Methods

Bush Park – 2

Bush Park

Flowers Landscapes and Sketches

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