LOADS OF VIEWS, REVIEWS & EVENTS |
It’s been too long between Wheelbarrows, and I apologize for that. Lots of events got in the way (see below), but the main reason? I really needed to put aside “me” time to paint, which I happily managed to do, alongside my other commitments.
But now I’m back at my desk and glad to be here. You’ll notice that I’ve updated my wheelbarrow sketch (above) with a double portrait of my trusty old one and its new friend, which I inherited with the new house we moved into. I hope to sketch them again soon.
Other events that kept me busy: In September I gave a workshop in North Norfolk, England. It’s been years since I’ve been to London, so en route we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum to see a small exhibition of Lucian Freud etchings, as well as “Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection.” (Did you know Elton and David have amassed one of the great photography collections in the world?) We also squeezed in a visit to the British Museum, where we caught “Contemporary Collecting: David Hockney to Cornelia Parker,” a fantastic exhibition of works on paper.
Oh, and did I mention that I also launched a new online course, Design Ideas for Your Sketchbook, and recorded a demo for Sketching Retreat 2024. More about those below.
Phew. Glad to be back without deadlines for a while.
While out exploring my new semi-rural neighbourhood one day, I discovered miles and miles of cornfields. The corn had been harvested but the dry, rustling stalks were still standing, and as the morning sun filtered through the foliage, it created a strikingly abstract pattern. I thought it would be a fun challenge to do a painting without any focus — simply a repeating pattern of contrasting colours, lights and darks.
Since there was no shoulder on the road for my easel, I snapped some photos and retreated to my studio to paint. That’s when I thought of doing a step-by-step.
Step one: Pencil drawing
I taped a quarter-sheet of Arches 140 lb cold press paper to a board and, with a mechanical pencil, did a rough drawing of the stalks, making sure to include some of the floppy leaves.
Step two: First washes
For the sky, I began with a light wash of Cobalt and Ultramarine Blue. Then made a diluted wash of Raw Sienna and Raw Umber for the stalks.
Step three: Corn foliage and stalks
Plenty of gorgeous colours in the corn: deep reds in the stalks, bright yellow-greens in the leaves, golds and browns in the decaying foliage. To convey all that, I used lots of Hansa Yellow, Hookers Green and Ultramarine, and then added Alizarin Crimson for the red stalks.
Step four: The darks
I really wanted to contrast the tasseled tops of the corn against the light sky, so I used Alizarin Crimson, Hookers Green and a bit of Ultramarine.
Step five: Final painting
At this stage, with all the lights and darks in place, it’s time for the details. I added dark veins on the leaves and lots of small shapes between the stalks, to suggest further layers of leaves and stalks.
Koh-i-Noor 5340 Versatil, All Metal 5.6mm Mechanical Pencil Clutch Lead Holder
I spotted this oversize mechanical pencil in a small shop in London and picked it up. Then I couldn’t put it down. It just felt so satisfyingly heavy in the hand. Sturdy, too, because it’s made entirely of metal.
Oh, and I forgot to add: it’s also great for value sketches and graphite drawings. It does need sharpening now and again, but not as often as a wooden pencil, because you can use the edges of the lead to cover large areas, as I did with these grapes on my windowsill, using a 2B lead.
There’s a built-in sharpener at the top, but I prefer the tiny brass one in the photo — also heavy and satisfying in the hand — that I picked last year at the Sennelier shop in Paris. It’s made by Mobius & Rupert.
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Britain's Buildings | Places & Spaces
by Ptolemy Dean
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This handsome book was a gift from my UK friend, Tony, while we were in London. I had never heard of Ptolemy Dean, but he’s something of a minor celebrity, having appeared in at least two BBC series on British architecture. He is an award-winning architect known for restoring heritage buildings and for designing new ones within their historic context.
Dean’s squiggly, idiosyncratic line is not what I would have expected from an architect. And yet the sketches throughout Britain’s Buildings: Places & Spaces (2008) seem to pulse and shimmer in space, perfectly complemented by Dean’s subtle, just-right colours and shadows, conveying volume and space.
Dean’s observations are as idiosyncratic as his line. Since he’s devoted his life to celebrating and preserving heritage architecture, the captions are often scathing about “improvements” and “updates” to beloved buildings, streets and neighbourhoods — as they should be.
I love his subtitle, too, “The Unseen in the Everyday.” It’s a great piece of advice for every visual artist.
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SKETCHING RETREAT 2024
October 22-27, 2024
50+ Free Online Video Workshops on Architectural Sketching & Drawing
This is the first year I’m participating in Sketching Retreat, a free six-day online event featuring more than 50 workshops (mine included!) on architectural sketching & drawing, using both traditional and digital media.
I’m excited to be among the more than 50 amazing instructors in Sketching Retreat 2024, where I’ll be sharing my demo, “Inside and Out: A Shop Facade in Ink and Watercolour.”
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Reflections on Water
Once again Artists Magazine asked me to submit an article, and once again I was honoured to do so. “Reflections on Water,” in the current September/October issue, is about my love of painting all things watery — oceans, lakes, ponds and rivers, together with their boats and shorelines. I illustrate the article with eight sketches and paintings, and point out the various techniques I use to capture fleeting reflections, movement and light. Look for it on newsstands and online now.
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Design Ideas for Your Sketchbook
Maybe because it’s a little different — as I’ve based it on my career as a graphic designer — but the work people are producing in this course is outstanding. Nearly four hours long, it focuses on using basic design techniques to give your sketchbook pages unity, variety and visual pop.
It includes design theory, two full-length demos, a section on lettering (which really leverages my background!), plus a 25-page PDF of samples from my own sketchbooks. I hope you like it.
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Tucson, Arizona
Now that cooler weather is approaching (fellow northerners know what I mean!), thoughts turn to sunny desert vistas. So join me this coming January for an all-inclusive week with Madeline Island School of the Arts at Tanque Verde Ranch. We’ll sketch together the desert’s untamed beauty, its subtle colours and distant mountain peaks. A great escape from winter!
January 20–24 and January 27–31, 2025
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Hudson Valley, New York
As it’s my first time teaching with Hudson River Valley Art Workshops, I’m excited to join you in discovering the historic architecture and landscapes of upstate New York. Weather permitting, we’ll combine studio and plein air work, focusing on telling a story through the choices we make in composing a scene — elements that together evoke time and place.
September 7–13, 2025
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First-Ever-Mighty-Fine-Workshop-On-The-River-Rhine with three workshop instructors: Brenda Swenson, Shari Blaukopf and Suhita Shirodkar!
This is a pretty unique riverboat cruise on the historic river Rhine, because French Escapade has chartered the entire ship! So, apart from crew and travel companions (if you bring one), it’s only sketchers, bow to stern. I am especially delighted to be teaching alongside two great artists and teachers, Brenda Swenson and Sunita Shirodkar. You’ll get two days of sketching instruction from each of us, and our journey takes us from Amsterdam to Basel, with stops that include Cologne, Mainz and Strasbourg. All aboard!
July 3-10, 2026
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Thanks for reading.
