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.

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