sketchbook :: food for the feast

We had a wonderfully relaxing Thanksgiving holiday which was spent cooking, eating, sketching, and catching up with a dear friend. I managed a couple of watercolor sketches in my 9 x 12 Kilimanjaro watercolor sketchbook. The clementines above and the sweet potatoes below were both done with watercolor only, no preliminary sketching, just straight in with paint.

That is my preferred way to sketch in watercolor, although sometimes I find myself committed to a composition that could have been better planned.

However, there were no do-overs. The clementines were needed for zest in the cranberry sauce and the sweet potatoes ended up mashed under that blanket of marshmallows. And when we put away our art supplies to finally eat dinner everything was so very tasty.

And now it's suddenly time to begin preparing for the next holiday! In between I am resolved to keep up with my studio practice as I have so many ideas percolating at the moment. I know it's nearly impossible to do everything, but I can certainly try!

sketchbook :: Edisto series

Ever since Hurricane Matthew cruised up the East Coast a couple of weeks ago, my mind has been on our beloved Edisto Island in South Carolina. Edisto took a direct hit from the hurricane and has sustained a lot of damage. Keeping up with the news reports and seeing photos of the destruction was, and is, heartbreaking.

I began pouring through my photo inventory from Edisto with the idea of creating a new series of paintings based on that island that we love so much. This top sketch is inspired by the walking path that takes you out to Botany Bay on Edisto Island. Sorry about the wrinkles but this big Seawhite sketchbook is a bit unwieldy for my scanner.

And this one comes from the view out to St. Helena Sound.

Another St. Helena Sound view. I love those tall sea grasses.

I am using a variety of water media with these sketches, watercolor pencils and crayons, Inktense pencils and blocks, a water soluble graphite pencil, charcoal, and a little gesso sometimes here and there. I am exploring imagery from Edisto that is something other than my usual seascapes. You know how I love painting water and waves! But for this series I am looking for a different perspective on that beautiful island, so I plan to explore ideas through lots of sketches and studies.

sketchbook :: a new Seawhite sketchbook

I am continuing with the Raven Rocks overlook theme by exploring compositions and color in my sketchbook. Above is one of the last sketches that finished my Strathmore 500 Series 8.5 x 11 inch Mixed Media sketchbook. Here I used charcoal, watercolor, watercolor pencil, Neocolor II watercolor crayons, and Inktense blocks. Although I like the Stathmore Mixed Media sketchbooks as a sturdy studio sketchbook I had found another, new to me, sketchbook to try.

It's a sketchbook made by Seawhite of Brighton and I chose the 10 inch square format. It is cloth bound with a hard cover and has a whopping 190 pages, so it's a hefty book. One of the first things that I noticed is that it stays flat when opened so there is no struggle with clips or holding the pages down when trying to work in it. The paper is 140gsm(95lb) all media cartridge paper, and it is a nice, bright white. So far, it has held up very nicely to everything I have thrown at it. There is some buckling when the paper gets very wet (and I tend to do that) but I don't mind because it is a sketchbook after all. The sketch above was also done with mixed water media.

I was curious how it would be for straight watercolor painting and I was very pleased with the way the paper in this book handles paint. I like to paint very wet and drop in color to allow it to mix on the paper and that method worked well with this paper. I have had sketchbooks that were so heavily sized that the paint would just sit there which was very frustrating for the way I like to work. I also found that lifting paint was not a problem on this paper either, so the sizing seems about right. This sketch was done with watercolor only.

So all-in-all I am happy to be working in this sketchbook. My studio sketchbooks do become a mix of studies, notes, quick visual thinkings, an occasional watercolor or pencil sketch, and more notes. I like that this has a lot of pages to accommodate all of that. Although because of its size I doubt I'll be hauling it around very far for plein air painting, but I already have a nice watercolor sketchbook to fill that purpose. The sketch above is also with mixed water media. I have more exploring to do yet with this Raven Rocks theme.

Use cheap colors, if you will, but buy good paper - fifty percent and more of your watercolors depends on the paper you use. 

Work very wet and don't be afraid of the colors running into each other. 

Use more color, play with it, yell at me with color. 

Give me something dripping with sunlight - make some horrible free studies.

~Charles W. Hawthorne~

From Where We Stand

From Where We Stand

watercolor

11 x 14 inches

©Ann Thompson Nemcosky

available

After spending this past week working up sketch studies from one of my Raven Rocks images, I chose this composition for painting. I am finding my sketchbook explorations valuable in helping me reach what I am after with composition, color, and light.

Too often I find myself caught up in the subject of a painting and I forget 'why' I want to express this in paint in the first place. By studying the subject first with much exploration I can search out and define the 'why', where exactly does my interest lie? Right now, I find this is a very satisifying way of working.

In other news, I have another gallery representing my artwork. In addition to With These Hands gallery on Edisto Island, South Carolina, I now have paintings available at Hands Gallery in downtown Boone, North Carolina. Hands Gallery has a wonderful mix of art from local artists and crafters. Do stop in for a visit the next time you are in town!

sketchbook :: moving forward

For some time now I have been using my sketchbooks more as working sketchbooks than illustrated journals. They become filled with scribbles of ideas and notes, lots of notes. I have been feeling a bit stagnant with my art and new ideas keep popping up and my sketchbooks are the safe place to explore and try out various media and approaches to visual expression. And two recent events seem to have collided to inspire a renewed interest in my sketchbook studies and my approach to making art.

One was a recent drive up on the Blue Ridge Parkway where we and stopped at the Raven Rocks overlook, and I snapped several photos.

It was a glorious September day and I delighted in the clouds drifting in the bright blue sky creating shadows on the distant mountain ridges.

From those photo references I am working up sketchbook studies, focusing on what interests me most about each scene. I love the deepening of the late season greens along with the warm spots of sun on the mountain sides. I am trying out a variety of media, curious to see what happens with my mark making and color choices. Some, maybe a few, of these studies will eventually find their way into larger works. But for right now, the value is in the study.

And that is where the other recent event comes in. Last week I took part in Tara Leaver's 7 Day Challenge. The goal was to create a series of seven small works in as many days. The parameters of the challenge were left up to each artist to set for themselves. I chose to experiment with my approach to watercolor while working from one photo reference, exploring various views within that singular scene. It was a whirlwind of a week, creating a new work everyday all the while working in a way that was new and unfamiliar. I got out ALL my water media supplies and tested various approaches to getting marks of color on paper. It was a fun and enlightening experience as I learned just how much change I was comfortable with in my work and when the steps were too big to take all at once. It was with this exercise concentrated in one week that inspired me to return to the practice of creating sketchbook studies.

Here are the finished pieces from Tara Leaver's 7 Day Challenge. And here is her blog post wrapping up the experience with lots of wonderful art to see.

All of my sketchbook images above were made in a Strathmore 500 series mixed media 8.5 x 11" sketch journal, using watercolor, graphite, watercolor pencils and crayons, and Inktense blocks.

sketchbook :: Edisto 2016 - water

Water. You know it's one of my favorite subjects and naturally I spent some time while at Edisto painting the subject of the surf. This was the final result of my exploration, watercolor pencil and watercolor on a 9 x 12 inch Canson watercolor block.

I began with a couple of small, quick sketches while sitting on the beach. This was with paper from a 6 x 6 inch Fluid watercolor block that I dipped into the surf until it was saturated with salt water, then very quickly sketched the sea and sky.

Working from the small surf sketches I painted larger impressions on the 9 x 12 Canson watercolor block.

Each time, I focused in a little more from my previous sketch.

...and more

...until this. I enjoyed working without expectations.

And for the last of my Edisto sketches, this is one from an afternoon spent at St. Helena's Sound. It was windy. Very windy out on the beach, yet the sky was gorgeous. As I tried to capture the movement of the water and those wonderful clouds my sketchbook paper would fly up. You can see at the top where I was trying to hold the page down and left a print of my hand in the wet wash of sky. 

And if you have read through these posts all the way to here, thank you! I hope to be back to my regular routine soon as I have new projects in mind as well as series in progress to get back to. Settling back into my working schedule is a little more challenging this time around as we are also in the midst of a big home renovation project. I am happy we are getting it done, but yes, I will be even more happy when it's completed!

sketchbook :: Edisto 2016 - still life

Continuing with my Edisto sketches, this post focuses primarily on the still life studies that I did while there.

Our most important criteia for a cottage rental is that it have a large screened porch with a good sized table. Four artists all together need room to spread out!

Especially when so many treasures are collected.

More each day.

I enjoyed having the time to fill my sketchbook pages with these found objects.

I especially like the old, weathered sea shells. The markings tell such interesting stories.

Onions from the local market became the "challenge" subject that we all painted at least once. Of course, many fine meals were shared that were created with produce from King's Market at Edisto.

sketchbook :: Edisto 2016 - land

It's already been a week since our return from Edisto Island, SC, and I have finally managed to scan most, but not all, of the sketches that I did while we were there. Since there are so many that I want to share here I have grouped them into three categories, for three separate posts. The first of these are the sketches that relate to the landscape of Edisto. 

I love the palm trees there, and listening to the rustle of the palm fronds in the ocean breeze is one of the most calming experiences that I know. The sketch above is the view across the way from our rental cottage, on one of the rare overcast days we had during our stay. This sketch was done with watercolor in a 9 x 12 Kilimanjaro sketchbook.

Much of Edisto is a watery landscape and I was happy to be able to spend a morning with a friend sketching this marsh view at Botany Bay. It is a view of Ocella Creek, while the high tide was filling the marsh, also watercolor only in the 9 x 12 Kilimanjaro sketchbook.

And while the first sketch was drying I focused on a different view of Ocella Creek for another quick sketch. This time on a 9 x 12 Canson watercolor block.

My sketching spot.

Here is that stunning view with the watery marsh in the morning light.

And once again view across the way from the front screened porch of our cottage, this time on a sunny morning, also in my 9 x 12 Kilimanjaro sketchbook.

sketchbook :: lilacs again

I wanted to capture my lilac bush while it still had blossoms, so on a warm afternoon last week I sat outside and quickly sketched with watercolor. This is a view looking up at the top most branches of what is now a pretty tall shrub. The blossoms were swaying in the breeze and bright sunlight. This was sketched with a little watercolor pencil and watercolor in an eight by eight inch hand.book watercolor skeychbook.

sketchbook :: spring's blooming in my yard

I wasn't sure I would see lilac blossoms this year after the hard freeze we had a few weeks back. Many of the lilac buds did turn brown and wither, but a few survived and are now beginning to bloom. My lilac bush is a favorite of mine and I so look forward to its fragrant blossoms each spring.

And although the forsythia is mostly finished blooming now, they were spectacular this year. Ours are not kept in tidy hedges, but grow wildly at the edge of our woods. This year the color was so vibrant they reminded me of fireworks bursting forth in all their golden yellow glory.

Both sketches were done with watercolor only in an 8 x 8 inch hand.book watercolor journal.

sketchbook :: time for spring

A new season, a new sketchbook for me. And all of the best plans just waiting to happen. This is an 8 x 8 hand.book watercolor journal. I began my usual way with a calendar on the first page, and my travel watercolor palette on the next. The sketch above was done with watercolor only of daffodils from my yard. They are in one of those old glass milk bottles, the kind we used to get in school with the waxed cardboard cap, if you are old enough to remember that. From the scan you can see the previous page shows through where I painted the colors in my palette.

The only adjustment I have made from my previous travel palette is to remove sap green and put cerulean blue back instead. I know. Sap green. One of my long standing "go-to" colors in my watercolor palette. However, lately I find that I am using mixes for greens rather than relying on green pigments.

Just to prove to myself that I would be happier with an additional blue (cerulean) and that I wouldn't even miss sap green, I played around with mixing various greens. Although the scan is a poor representation of  the actual colors, there in the center, a mix of phthalo turquoise and gamboge results if a beautiful sap green that has more depth than sap green straight from the tube. I am keeping phthalo green (blue shade). It is a color that I find much too intense to use on its own, but it results in beautiful mixes such as grays when mixed with alizarin or burnt sienna and rich greens when mixed with various yellows. It is good to change things occasionally. Even small changes can create new and interesting challenges.

Familiarity enables us to tame, control, and ultimately forget the mystery.

~John O'Donohue~

Anam Cara

sketchbook :: Bass Lake

We took advantage of last week's warm, spring-like weather with a quick outing to Bass Lake in nearby Blowing Rock.

I made two very fast sketches in watercolor only. The late afternoon light was fading fast and the air quickly became cool.

These were both done in a Stillman & Birn Beta, 7 x 10 inch sketchbook. I am nearing the end of this book. It has been mostly filled with notes and compositional scribbles for planning paintings. I will be happy to move on to a new sketchbook, one where I actually do more sketching!

sketchbook :: the winter view

My sketchbooks have become more working sketchbooks and less illustrated journals. Lots of notes and scribbles with painting plans, compositional studies, and working out motifs fill the pages. Yet every now and then I feel the need to capture a moment. I have been making an attempt to record the varying color of the sky during these winter months, which is what I set out to do yesterday. It was late in the afternoon and the light was fading fast as I sat at the table looking out our back door. With my previous sky sketches I edited out the trees, but yesterday I included the ridge on the horizon and some of the trees in our yard. Our yard is wooded with an understory of rhododendrons. There are so many trees that it is impossible to identify them all. We are used to looking through them, to see the light on the hills beyond.

Both sketches are watercolor only in a 7 x 10 Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook.

sketchbook :: there was this feast

Thanksgiving at our house involves food, yes, and many hours spent sketching and painting with watercolors. It's a routine we fell into many years ago and one that has stuck around ever since. Our table holds an array of items used in still life, paints, palettes, and brushes, until it's swept away to set for a meal. And all the while food is being prepared for the big feast. As I worked on the sketch above I had to relinquish the cranberries for making the sauce before I was finished painting.

The day following Thanksgiving we make our annual visit to a nearby Christmas tree farm to select our tree. This year was quite warm for late November but the light still betrayed the season. I love the softness of November's colors and the long afternoon shadows.

There were more sketches done over the long weekend but these two are my favorites. I enjoy looking back through my sketchbooks and seeing all of the Thanksgiving sketches done each year and remembering the wonderful time we had and the delicious meals. These were both done in watercolor only in a 7.5 x 9.5 Strathmore 500 series mixed media art journal.