Burney Falls, plein air pencil sketch

I guess I have been a little obsessed with waterfalls, but spring time is the best time for it. I have had McArthur-Burney Falls on my bucket list since first moving to Northern California over 25 years ago, and finally last weekend, I was able to see them. It was worth the wait. It is quite a phenomenal waterfall with water not only coming over the top of the cliff, but from inside the cliff as well due to an underwater river within the volcanic rock surronding the area. Here is my attempt to sketch the falls from the vista point above the falls.

Model sketching, pencil

I have not sketched from a model in quite some time, so when the Rancho Cordova city hall offered an evening of drawing, I took them up on it. Victoria Smith has been doing an amazing job heading up this great organization, RCAFE: Rancho Cordova art for everyone. For this event, there were two clothed models that I alternated drawing with 15 and 30 minute poses. The sketches are far from being a finished product, but I am quite pleased with them considering the amount of time I had and how long it has been since I have worked from live models. I think my proportions came pretty close. The skull was just a prop for the models to use and I sketched it while the models were taking a break.

Optical illusions in pencil

I was being drawn to do some geometric art. Back when I was young, I loved geometry...not so much the theorems and postulates, but how lines worked together to create forms of all sorts. While researching ideas, I came across a page of optical illusions, so I have recreated them here.
The first one is a blivet (who knew there was an actual name for it?) or "the devil's fork". The other drawing is a Penrose triangle or "impossible triangle". Both are very reminiscent of M. C. Escher, one of my favorite artists. I may continue with some more...maybe some tesellations?

American river plein aire, Untitled

Many artists that I have talked to do value studies with a quick pencil sketch before they start a painting. I usually just throw a couple of pencil lines down on my watercolor paper to help with placement but don't really think a whole lot about values. So I decided to give value studies a try to decide if it is a value-able use of time and effort :) 

This pencil sketch only took 5 minutes and I can see how important it would be if I was going to take the painting back to the studio to work on it. Instead, I finished painting all on location and found that it was easier just to refer back to the real scene than my sketch. I did find that some of my artistic choices were thought out ahead of time with the sketch instead of while I was painting.

Since I was experimenting with value studies, I decided to do another sketch that I will take back to the studio and see how that works out...

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., pencil sketch

I always slip into my comfort zone when I am feeling artistically blocked...and that would be pencil sketching. It's very forgiving.
Since I had the day off in honor of Martin Luther King, I decided to go online and find one of his many stock photos. Not having a printer readily accessible, I  traced a few simple lines right off the computer screen to get started.

 I know that there are all of these amazing ultra-realistic drawings out there, but some how it just doesn't do it for me...I want to see some brush strokes, pencil marks...some remnant of the artist. It also allows me to leave the "perfectionism" out of my work.

Ball point pen sketch - The Men's Group

Quick half hour sketch of the men's group drinking coffee while listening to a speaker. I was using what I had available: lined notebook paper and a very bad ball point pen. Since I missed my usual 2nd Saturday portrait practice, this was the next best thing. It looks like a rather somber group but we really do have fun!

Pencil portrait practice

Here's a couple of pencil drawings that were in my notebook that I had done this past year. My focus was on simplifying facial features.  The first one was copied from a picture on the wall in a Starbucks...I need more practice simplifying the hand. 

This second one was from a picture online with stark lighting.