Monday, May 14, 2018

Breaking the Routine

My habit, when out sketching, is to find a view that appeals and then plonk it down on the page like this:


Or like this:

It occurred to me that this approach could get a bit predictable and perhaps even dull, and perhaps I should try different compositions once in a while.  I've done this a few times before, where I tried putting more than one view on a page:


Or tried to take a more journalistic approach, such as this:


While the "one view, one drawing in middle of page" approach certainly works fine for most sketches, this week I decided to mix things up a bit.  I would like my sketching books to be more like journals, to reflect more of what I'm seeing or experiencing than just the same view that I could get if I snapped a photograph.

So here is my first effort, done at Magnuson Park, where I've often admired the wisteria on the pergola there without ever managing to convey it well in a drawing.  I think this worked fairly well:


The next day I didn't go anywhere, so I practiced a new compositional style in my own back yard:


The next day I ventured out with the Hounds to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Greenwood:


There were plenty of fabulous views.


And fun things to draw.


I tried to convey several different aspects on one page, and as in the wisteria drawing, I tried mixing color with black and white.


I think I could have left a bit more white space in that piece.  Always learning!

After sketching that day, I hauled the Hounds down the road to Golden Gardens Park for a bit of beach viewing.



On Saturday I did my usual bird walk at the Montlake Fill, where I encountered a territorial dispute between a Red-winged Blackbird and a crow:




One of the Osprey was on the nest platform, probably on eggs, waiting for its mate to return with fish.


The Osprey was not going to budge from that nest, as another bird in a tree nearby was keeping an eagle eye on it:


I also spotted a lovely American Goldfinch:


After strolling around the loop trail, I went next door to the Center for Urban Horticulture to sketch at the perennial garden.



So I had fun experimenting with different page layouts this past week, until now I think those are getting predictable!  Which gives me another project to work on:  mixing up the compositions even more in new ways.  There's another week of good weather in the forecast, so I should be out and about.

In fact, it was so warm the past two days that I hauled out the wading pool (though not for me)....


Pippin was unsure about the strange new thing in his yard....


But since he models his behavior on Truman's, he did hop in...and immediately hopped out.  He's not quite the water dog that Tru is, though he will go wading at the lake shore.


Have a fun week, everyone!

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