Our Virtual Sketching group was led this
month by Toni, who took us to the
island of Angra do Heroísmo. Such a treat — I’ve never even heard of this island!
My push for myself is to continue to
work with inks, experimenting with
layering inks, then moving to watercolors.
Unfortunately I have a leaky new pen.
I have fooled with it but it keeps leaking!
Guess what I will be doing today?
My first image is from the
top of the mountain overlooking the town —
probably from a garden area near
Alto da Memoria of even in it!
I started with a pencil sketch, partly to lay out the page, and then locate key elements.
Pencil always let me be a bit looser, and think loosely. I wanted to draw the landscape scene larger, and let the whole layout (you’ll see on another post) become looser.
Once I hit the pen, I am pushing for more control, though again, I’d like to change that.
Finally I started layering colors: DeAtramentis Turquoise for the sky,
Super5 Atlantic (how appropriate) for the sea.
Varying layers of DeAtramentis Green and Super5 Dublin, plus mixed greys, created the basis for the island park seen in the distance, and the underpainting of the palms.
Finally I moved in with watercolors to finish.
I didn’t want to paint articulate every roofline, and tried a graphic element at first
(wish I’d taken a photo.) Mitchell could not see what I was doing,
thought it sand beach or rocks, so, I had to articulate them in the end.
My church is leaning forward in the actual image. Drives me nuts.
I corrected it in the banner!
Moleskin 8×11 watercolor journal,
Pentalic HB woodless pencil, Platinum Carbon pen,
and Super5, DeAtramentis, and Noodler’s inks.
Daniel Smith and Holbien watercolors
I started a closed Facebook group page (you must join to view) to allow everyone
to comfortably post their virtual sketches, and also where we will,
from time to time, take virtual sketch walks together.
If you want to know more about what a virtual sketchwalk is review my first post.
I also created an accompanying Flickr group!
Don’t forget you can also post your images on Flickr!
Come join us On Facebook if you are inclined!
There are a few more notes/pointers on our first walk through Laguna Beach, California.
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D.Katie Powell Art 
Your need to straighten the horizon to level the church is just more proof that in reality the world is rounded and are our eyeballs are too. We live on plateaus of straight lines balanced on a rounded world. We tilt our heads and our focus jumps from one vanishing point and horizon to another. There are multiple vanishing points and horizons all around us. I sometimes just like to play around drawing lines of perspective of doors within doors or windows within windows and railroad tracks and hydro poles.Start connecting vanishing points I end up with a paper full of grid lines. Keeping all objects proportional doesn’t always come easy and don’t want to think about measuring. Just want to draw and paint without thinking too hard lol.
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I actual DO agree with you about just having fun with the images, or I would be doing architectural drawing with perfection. On the other hand, when my eye catches it then it jumps out to me –NUTZ!
I know the big thing these days is to draw a lot of perspective lines, but I usually just draw a few lines for reference to keep my drawing where I want it on the page —
Horizon, some streetlines or rooftop lines, a general shape or two, maybe — =or if it is a lot of elliptical shapes I may go into some detail.
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