Wagon Shed, Wind and Water

Tags

barns, Canson XL multi-media paper, graphitone, Kathleen Renninger, outbuildings, Pages from a Nature-Lover's Diary, titmice, wagon shed, water-soluble graphite

Wagon shed in progress

Wagon shed Sketch in water-soluble graphite

The Story Behind the Sketch:

Artist friends George & Charlie & I were set up out in a field sketching this old combination stable and wagon shed ( & corn crib, I believe) . It was an attractive scene, with interesting large rock formations in the foreground. We had stood up to get ready to go for lunch when a big wind came along & took everything—I mean, everything–the chairs, umbrellas, tables; our supplies were scattered everywhere. It so happened that I had just drawn a dark area in the opening at the left of the building and added water to it to intensify it—a litlle too much water, letting quite a pool in that area. I figured the air would dry it while I was gone, but the wind had other plans. As you can see in the first photo, it simply blew the blackened water down into the lower part of the drawing, letting a streak. )

The Technical Stuff:

Paper: Canson XLMulti-media spiral bound sketchbook. Pencils: Graphitone water-soluble graphite (light, medium and very dark). Brushes: Niji Waterbrushes, flat, and small ( pointed)

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

I used the light grade of Graphitone to sketch in the main shapes, then started toning & adding contrast with the darker grades , spreading, blending, & intensifying with water. While the grass in the foreground was actually one of the lightest values in the scene, this was in incidence where  discretion was the better part of valor. It would have almost required masking fluid to cover that area, especially the stems of plants growing tall against the rocks. Choosing to make this area darker than the rocks seemed prudent, and still made for an effective rendering. I also had to decide to limit the detail on the rocks, or they’d have become  too dark.  The tree foliage was done by “scribbling” & then extending the edges with a damp brush. I  ended up using a kneaded eraser to remove some of the detail from the roof to gain a little more of a sunlit look, & better contrast. I got lucky while stroking vertical lines into the siding on the front of the structure; at one point my pencil was just damp enough to let a very textured stroke or two—which I feel added to the overall effect quite nicely.

As far as that nasty streak left by the wind, it wasnt’ hard to turn it into a plant stem. (When you can’t get rid of your mistakes, camouflage ’em!)

 

---

Today’s Excerpt from ‘Pages’:

Titmice on Clothesline 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pages+from+a+nature-lover%27s+diary&sprefix=Pages+from+a+natur%2Cstripbooks%2C328

NOTE: 

All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2014. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Advertisement

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Tags

colorless blender, Cray-Pas OIl Pastels, crocus, oil pastels, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, Pro-Art Oil Pastels, Spring flowers

Crocus in Oil Pastels

 

The Story Behind the Sketch:

Our Spring flowers have been exceptionally gorgeous this year; I couldn’t stop taking photos of the breath-taking crocus. One I had taken one that was backlit by the sun & had a bit of a sun-flare in it inspired this drawing/painting. Now, I’ll admit that this is much more than a sketch, but I wanted to share it with all of you anyway. I really can’t decide if it’s a drawing or a painting. I’ve been told that  if the entire surface of the substrate is covered, it’s a painting. Still, when you are holding what amounts to a crayon in your hand and making strokes on the paper, isn’t it a drawing?

The Technical Stuff:

In truth, this is a “hybrid”, as I used water-soluble oils, which were spread with a brush after application, and regular oils which were drawn-on. Canson X-L watercolor paper tablet &  Pro Art Oil Pastels, Portfolio Water-soluble Oil Pastels, were the materials. In addition, a Cray-Pas colorless blender, and white, were used.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

I almost threw it out at one point. I thought it was a failure about 30 minutes into it. It looked too “rough” ; I had to stand back 18 feet from it for it not to be confusing to the eye, to have it coalesce into the image I wanted. But I decided to trust myself. I’d pulled other works out of the fire in the past, & if I kept plugging at this one, I’d do the same. With some additional blending with a brush and using the Cray-Pas colorless & their white pastels, the image began to take on the look I wanted. (I did have to walk away & leave it a few times though,  sneaking back into the room to view it to see if it looked any different .  Did I think some art fairies would come in & worked on it while I was away?) Over the course of a few days, I had finally finished it & was satisfied. Sometimes, ya just gotta hang in there.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

New Blog, New Book, New Adventure

Tags

nature books, self=publishing

Just to let you all know, I have started another blog which will chronicle my adventure in self publishing and marketing my book, Pages From A Nature-Lover’s Diary. You can view it here: http://sketchbook2publishedbook.wordpress.com/

Sketches Become Book

Tags

animal drawings, botanical drawings, createspace.com, nature books, Nature sketches, Pages from a Nature-Lover's Diary, self-publishing

Front Cover Pages From A Nature-Lover’s Diary

The Story Behind the Book:

For almost thirty years I had kept sketch diaries of things I’d seen in nature,— whether it was a baby bunny out in the yard, a fox in a field, or some lovely wildflower that had taken my fancy,— adding notes to describe what I’d seen or tell a short story connected with it. I did this for my own enjoyment, never actually expecting to share it with anyone. However, when I decided to show one of these journals to The Monday Painters, a  group of artist friends with whom I meet each week, they convinced me that a book could—and should— be done from them.

The Technical Stuff:

I did my own graphic design and preparation of the files needed for publishing, using photo-editing programs, and “Pages” ( Mac equivalent to Microsoft Word)

Createspace.com was the online printer I chose to publish through.

My Experience in Doing this Book: 

It was a LOT of work! A million decisions had to be made, starting with “which entries, out of hundreds, would I include in this book?” ( It could only be so long and still be affordable and manageable.) Ultimately, though, it has been the most satisfying thing I have ever done. Nature has been such a rejuvenating influence in my life, and I think this book is the perfect way to share my enjoyment of it with the world.

I will soon be detailing my experience in creating & marketing this book in a new blog. I’ll keep you updated!

In the meantime, if you’d like to see a preview, go to

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=pages+from+a+nature-lover%27s+diary&sprefix=Pages+from+a+natur%2Cstripbooks%2C328

If you think you’d enjoy owning a copy, it is also available at the Createspace Estore:

https://www.createspace.com/4274137?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026www.createspace.com

( I get a higher royalty there!)

If you choose to purchase from Amazon, please let a review. Thank you!

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2014. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

A Two-handed Approach

Tags

Antietam Farm, barn, canson XL watercolor tablet, farm buildings, graphite, illustration, oil pastels, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, springhouse, wagon shed, Waynesboro PA

wagon shed with vines

The Story Behind the Sketch:

The tendonitis I had quickly developed in my left wrist from over-use, had left me unable to sketch at all for a couple of weeks, –most distresssing!— but with the help of a brace, visualization/relaxation , and careful avoidance of use, I began to feel like I could try it again. 

After a three-week hiatus from painting-out with the group, I was missing my artist buddies. Hauling the chair, table, & other equipment needed for this activity, worked out okay thanks to help from friend George. The group went to the beautiful Antietam Farm outside Waynesboro, which has a delightful assortment of old  buildings including this wagon shed.

The Technical Stuff:

Canson XLwatercolor tablet, Portfolio Water-Soluble Oil Pastels, 5B graphite sketch pencil. Various acrylics brushes.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

Having some use of my right hand now, I chose to use both in doing this sketch. First I drew in the general outlines of the bulding with the oil pastel using my left hand. I found that, in “thinking with my left” so to speak, my sense of perspective was different; it took some getting used to.  I did some brush work with both left & right, eventually falling  into a rythm of adding color with one hand & brushing water over it with the other.

The picture seemed to lack definition, as I find my work often does when using water-soluble media, so I outlined almost everything with a graphite sketch pencil. I made a point of doing this with my left hand so as to stay in practice.

One of those things that happens sometimes with outdoor sketching is that you have to change locations halfway through the sketch due to some weather condition, in this case hot sun. My painting partners & I actually had to move inside the wagon shed. Needless to say; I had to “wing it” from there on out. As a result I’m not sure I got the perspective correct, but then again , with old buildings, things are apt to be crooked anyway!

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Left-handed Sketch: Black-eyed Susans

Tags

black eyed susans, Black-eyed Susan, botanical drawing, colored pencil, Derwent Aquatone, Derwent Watercolor, illustration, water-soluble colored pencil, watercolor pencil

My first left-handed sketch; Black-eyed Susans

The story behind the sketch:

When I knew I’d broken my wrist, I immediately made up my mind that if I suffered ill effects from it later on, such as arthritis, it would not stop me from doing artwork. Thus began my journey toward “ambidextrosity”.

My husband, being aware of my resolution, went out & bought me a Derwent water-soluble colored pencil sampler to encourage me. On my third day of being “one-handed”, I began this sketch from a view of our flower bed through the front door, while relaxing on the couch.

My experience in doing this sketch:

The Derwent pencils were very nice to work with. The “Watercolor” ones can give good sharp detail, and the “Aquatone” can provide a wider stroke, being a woodless pencil. I found I could both sketch &  then brush-over with water to good effect, with either type, & that the were both useful for  adding in more color & detail on damp paper. The Aquatone seem especially well-suited to dipping directly into water & applying to paper.

Working left-handed was very slow, but I think the advantage in it is that total concentration is required, which is therapeutic for me. I think it may activate un-used portions of the brain, and heighten the ability to observe as well.

It took several short work sessions for me to complete this, but that seems immaterial in comparison with the benefits I feel I received in doing it.

The technical stuff

Substrate: Canson “XL” watercolor tablet

Pencils: Derwent Aquatone & Derwent Watercolor

Size of work: Approx. 8x 10″

What We Focus On

Tags

barn, canada geese, Chambersburg PA, Coldbrook Farm, Derwent pencils, farm buildings, graphitone, illustration, springhouse, vertical siding, water-soluble graphite

water-soluble graphite barn and springhouse sketch

The Story Behind the Sketch:

My artists group met a week ago at Coldbrook Farm, a piece of artists’ paradise in Chambersburg, PA. Among the inspirational sights were a barn, springhouse, & pond with Canada geese.

The Technical Stuff:

Canson XLwatercolor tablet, Light and dark grades of  Derwent Graphitone water-soluble graphite pencils were used for most of this sketch, plus water & a Grumbacher #2 bristlette round brush, a #1 Plaid  3/4″ craft brush, & a Royal & Langnickle small #4 angle.

My Experience in Doing this Sketch: 

As in all situations we choose what we will focus on. While there were frequent sounds of sirens from the nearby hospital, there were  also

serenades

from catbirds & mocking birds. While the siding on the barn was actually asbestos shingling, I looked at the flavor of the structure  & drew simple vertical siding instead. A rough sketch was all I was after this time around; I was there to enjoy myself on that singularly beautiful day—& so I did.

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2013. I am more than happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so—but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.

Summer Color Wins Out

Tags

colored pencil, Derwent, Derwent Inktense Pencils, Eberhard-Faber, Eberhard-Faber Mongol pencils, landscapes, REnfrew Park, water-soluble colored pencil, watercolor paper, Waynesboro PA

Water-soluble Colored Pencil drawing at Renfrew

The story behind the sketch:

Recently, my painting group visited Renfrew, a wonderful park and restored farm from the 1700’s, just outside Waynesboro, PA.  http://www.renfrewmuseum.org/about_renfrew.html

While the old outbuildings beckoned to me; the clear sunny day with all its color sent my head & heart to a place of fantasy. I put away my graphite sketch pencils & got out my water-soluble colored ones, in hope of capturing what the day made me feel.

My experience in doing this sketch:

Using these pencils starts, for me at least, with sketching out what I want to include in the scene, followed by lightly coloring-in some areas that I intend to touch with a wet brush. Often after wetting, I add detail with the pencil.  I found that ,with this picture,  once I had colored & brushed everything in, the picture lacked impact. So I took the unorthodox approach of outlining the flowers & other things in the foreground with a dark gray pencil. This perked it right up!

The technical stuff

Canson XL Watercolor paper ( an inexpensive paper), was used. Eberhard Faber Mongol water-souluble colored pencils were  used to sketch-in most of the picture. These less-expensive pencils are fine but sometimes produce fairly light colors. So more intense ones were added with Derwent Inktense water-soluble pencils. Now, I’m told that the color in these pencils is not watercolor, but ink. I don’t know , technically , what the difference is, but they do produce a brighter , richer, color than the Mongol pencils.

If anyone has had experience with using any type of water-soluble colored pencil, I welcome your input on the subject.

Procrastination & Priorities

Tags

art, artwork, children's story, drawing, illustration board, sketching

Rough sketch of character from my children’s story

This post is a lot less about the sketch & more about the reasons we don’t get around to sketching, or fulfilling our creative dreams. I have written a children’s story which I intend to illustrate & self-publish, but it took me “forever”  to actually start one (now completed) watercolor illustration. Why? My excuses ranged from the fact that it’s home-improvement season, to caring for an ill cat, not getting enough sleep, having too many social obligations, a cluttered work environment, and having to get down on the floor & cut a hunk of illustration board into workable pieces to start.

Some of these are more than just excuses; they are circumstances that have truly interfered with my ability to produce. However, the bigger problem is that I have not learned to make creative time my top priority—and for any of us to make our artistic dreams happen we have got to do that.

I have something to give to the world, & so do you! Make sure you find time to create it, whatever it is!

P.S.  Check out Filio Kondylis’ blog http://filiokondylis.wordpress.com/ for her insightful thoughts on our attitudes & behavior as artists. It’s been very worthwhile for me.