I’ve always loved going places — experiencing the scenes, customs, cultures, colors and foods, on-the-spot. When I started painting and drawing, I used watercolor, pen and ink, and worked in my studio.
Now the world is my studio.
Three years ago I joined the New York City Urban Sketchers, and combined my love of going places with on-location sketching. I took a small kit with art supplies with me everywhere I went, and sketched my experience. I love that it’s so do-able — You can start with no experience, years of experience, or anything in between. And one pencil, or lots of supplies.
Unusual views of buildings like the Empire State building caught my eye. Sometimes I completed the sketch immediately. Other times I started on location, adding more line and color back in my studio. I always have a living memory of where I’ve been. Seeing the world, one drawing at a time.”
This year, I’ve added Photorealism. For example, luscious cherries with shadows and highlights that look so real you want to touch them (or eat them). And butterflies with shadows, ice cream, yummy pastries, a beautiful crystal bowl of fresh strawberries. I’m painting them in colored pencils and ink.
I absolutely love the precision and detail. It’s almost the opposite of the quick urban sketches. The more I learn how to create realism, the more details I see around me. Stay tuned, and you’ll see more photorealism as I continue to learn and paint.
After doing urban sketching on location in New York (City) and the Hudson Valley, I was looking for something new and different. As the saying goes, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”. An online course came to my attention, and it was exactly what I was looking for – Photorealism.
Photorealism is very precise, detailed work – almost the opposite of quick sketching. I absolutely love it, and the precision fits me like a glove. This detailed artwork is done with colored pencil and ink. I’ll also use watercolor.
I’ll add my new projects to this blog as I finish them, and tell you more about it.
Let’s keep in touch and sketch
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