Loosen Up!

Barberville Dam - Click image for larger view

So today I tried yet another experiment in my quest to understand values. I did a VERY rough sketch, just putting a few key notations in light pencil. And the working with a largish brush (just to keep things loose) I started laying in color going light at first building to the darks. This required a lot of squinting. . . .hence the lack of any real detail. I worked with a limited palette of cad yellow, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. There is a lot of stuff I would try to do differently if I were to sketch this again but I learned from this and am not too displeased. It's almost recognizable. I also have a new little paintbox which I like a lot. Very portable and since it is made of tin I glued a magnet to the bottom of my water cup so when I have the box in hand I can just stick the water cup on it an it stays there.

My tools and a lovely spot.

For those of you with a sharp eye you can determine just what kind of a fool this old fart is. You can see that I painted on the sketchpad upside down...spiral on the right..so now I have at least one upside down sketch in this book.

It's good to have sunlight

Nichols Lane, Hope Valley, RI

The mornings have been treating me well with nice bright sunlight this past week and I have been trying to capture it with ink and paint. As I mentioned in another post, I have been working on value. To me it has been an illusive dance between light and dark so when I get this strong morning light I can work out the values a bit better. Likely still making the darks too dark but I felt that I succeeded in the two ink sketches pretty well.

K. G. Ranch / Arcadia Road, Exeter, RI

So I wanted to share a few of images and am open to comments and criticisms, it is all about learning what works and what doesn't. So if you have a comment, please leave it below.

On Mechanic Street, Hope Valley, RI

I read recently that a work is done when you feel like you have accomplished what it was you were trying to say. These are close. . . . and as a side note, the color painting was purchased by a fellow employee when she saw it on my desk after I had scanned it. woohoo!