Monday, June 24, 2019

Not So Still Life

Lately the Urban Sketcher group has been challenging -- one time it was goats, and this week it was horses.  And I haven't been able to draw either critter.  It is most vexing.

This is the Eastside Sustainable Farm in Kennewick, where the sketchers met on Wednesday:


There were turkeys roaming around.


They definitely did not sit still.


And there were plenty of horses around.  These two were fairly quiet:


They stood in one place for quite some time, and I still couldn't draw them. 


The most vexing part of this animal-sketching challenge is that I used to be able to draw them.  In fact, many years ago I completed a 9-month certificate program in Natural Science Illustration, during which I received professional training in how to draw moving animals!


Yet I couldn't do it.  I think the horse below is giving me a disdainful look, don't you?


My current theories on why I'm having difficulty are:  a) I'm out of practice, b) I feel too much time pressure with the group, and/or c) I feel too much peer pressure with the group, which is silly, since there's no competition or critiquing and everyone is very kind.  But perhaps I need to find some moving animals on my own to practice on extensively before trying it again in public, so to speak. 

Here's what I drew instead -- it was very, very stationary:


My other art project for the week was to do a watercolor painting in monochrome.  This was a challenge set by the Mid-Columbia Watercolor Society, and we are to show our work at the next meeting in July.  It could be any subject, and any color. 

Having just visited the Gingko Petrified Forest at Vantage and snapped some pics there, I decided to paint the overlook view, using a subtle color called Shadow Violet.  It is manufactured by the Daniel Smith company in Seattle.  I like the results. 


So that was it for art this past week. 

On our daily walks, we mostly went to the river, but one day we ventured over to the Uptown shopping center, where a car show was in progress.



The entire parking lot was taken over by vintage automobiles.



Pippin preferred the food vendors to the cars.


Finally, a house project (well, actually, a yard project).  The back yard fence was in need of painting, so I painted it.  Having seen a lot of red fences about, I decided to try that color on one side.  It looked fine. 

However, for the back side, I opted for a brighter, cheerier blue, because there are two red shrubs there and I figured it would show them off a lot better. 


As for the third side, the fence there is in poor shape and not really worth bothering about, as it should be replaced.  So I'm not going to worry about it for now.

That's all for this time -- have a happy Monday!

2 comments:

  1. Hmmmmm. I wonder where you could find a couple of moving animals to practice on LOL. Dogs perhaps? You can do it!!

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    1. Yeah, I know - but it's easy to do dachshunds, because I know so well what they look like! Non-familiar animals are harder.

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