SKETCHER DEMO
LAUGHTER – AN ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR SKETCHING IN PUBLIC Painting in public takes some courage; I’ve had passing folks make comments that can seize up the whole process. “My cousin paints, too…now, she’s a real artist,” the man tells me. Humor works both ways, though. It helps us artists survive. Not long ago, I had a woman ask if I actually saw those ‘wild colors’ I was putting into my sketch. “Yes, of course,” I said, “but that’s how things look to those of us that stood too close to microwave ovens when we popped corn as kids.” Then – after a few blank seconds – she and I both cracked up laughing, having bonded in some ancient, existential way. 34 drawing attention
Follow the shadows URBAN SKETCHER AND ART TUTOR JIM CHAPMAN SHOWS HOW YOU CAN KEEP THINGS FRESH IN YOUR WORK BY FOLLOWING THOSE RICH, JUICY SHADOW TONES.
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ecause it’s challenging to sketch outdoors with moving subjects, burrowing insects and often curious people, I have adopted a ‘one-stroke’ style of watercolor that – by focusing on shadows – is fast and suggests detail without actually providing any. I have found it ideal for urban sketching and I’d like to share the technique with you, using this black and white reference image (above). I used a Fabriano Studio pad paper 11” x 14”, tube watercolors and a No. 8 flat brush. The finished sketch may not look so much like my subject, but it sure feels like that moment the cool autumn air and sunshine illuminated him – and that was what caught my attention in the first place. Experiment. Above all, have fun. Your way will be the right way.
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