Open Air Sketching — Where Do I Start?
I have to thank my friend Ami and her darling significant person Doniel for these questions. On a cold-ish morning in June 2021, at the windy Eckley Pier in Crockett, CA, the 3 of us got together for an open-air sketching hang. On the hike down to the water and during the group sketching lesson, they asked me the following questions:
Where do I start?
I usually have students draw what I draw to get them started. I explain what I see as important to the scene and explain to them, as I am doing it, why I make the choices that I do. We draw the scene together, and they learn from me by doing it themselves. It’s a great way for me to help kick-start a step-by-step process for them, a process that they will eventually make their own.
How do I set up my materials?
Preparing your materials is really dependent on what materials you are using. So, for example, if working in oils or pastel, your setup will be very different. For watercolors, though, I always spritz my paints with a small spray bottle to soften them up and I clean my painting surface with a wet paper towel so that my mixing area is clean. I pour a small dish of clean water and make sure that my brushes, pencils, and pens are within reach.
Mount Tam, Morning, Wildcat Canyon, Richmond, CA
How do I use my materials?
I start by making “puddles” of each primary color: red, yellow, and blue. I make these puddles on the lighter side at first and then add more pigment as I continue to paint. I use one very large brush, holding it near the end of the handle. In this way, I am using my whole arm to paint and not just my hand. I load my brush with color and use the side to lay in my washes. I then switch to using the tip of my brush for finer detail and to add more color.
How do I stop myself from drawing in too many details?
I focus on drawing in big shapes to act as an outline for my painting. I don’t need to draw in every tiny detail in my scene. I focus on drawing in 3 major elements. In the case of landscape, those elements are sky, ground, and trees. I am oversimplifying here of course to make a point. I keep my initial drawing very simple because it is easy to get lost in the details.
“Colors are truly magical, and you can spend a lifetime studying color and color mixing.”
How do I get the colors right?
Colors are truly magical, and you can spend a lifetime studying color and color mixing. For beginning students, I try to emphasize the idea of working with a limited palette. You can mix all the colors you need from primary colors. After that, it’s just a matter of combining those colors in the correct proportions and according to the values that you see. It is more complicated than that, but that’s a good place to start thinking about color.
How do I get the values right?
Values are how light and how dark objects appear. These values are affected by all sorts of neat things like time of day, position of the sun, weather conditions, etc. I usually start off by assuming there is going to be a very dark value, a very light value, and a middle value. If I start there, I can start to lay in the approximate value of the elements in my scene.
When is my drawing done?
I always assume that my audience is completely brilliant. I mean that I usually stop when I start to see my painting look like the landscape in front of me. I assume they will see what I see because they are brilliant like me. I don’t need a lot of information to give the viewer a snapshot of my experience. If I feel like I am missing something essential, I’ll spend a bit more time putting in more details.