I was asked by Celia of Raw Materials Art Supplies (the producer of this great event) several weeks before if I'd like to do a watercolor demo using Daniel Smith watercolors...and I thought, "sure, why not?!" I chose the Downtown Farmers Market, the last day of the Festival for my demo.
Daniel Smith very generously supplied me with my "wish list" for a good basic palette plus some of their completely unique colors, like Moonglow, Buff Titanium and the lovely Primatek mineral colors. I'm fast becoming a very big Daniel Smith fan! I had plenty to share with anyone who wanted to try some of these colors at the demo...
This was different from anything I've done before...much more informal than a workshop, and given the venue, I thought I might have a variety of people coming and going, not to mention the general bustle of the market. So, I started visiting the Sunday morning market in advance...first to just walk around and get a feel for the place...observe the light, the flow of people, architecture--the whole "vibe"!
My first thumbnails in monotone...
studying the light and deciding the best vantage points...thinking of what to include. I believe selection is perhaps the most important aspect of the sketch!
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I made sketches from the "quiet" end of the market...with a view of flower vendors and shoppers. A nice view, but I decided a liked the "big picture", so found a spot at the busy intersection at the center of the market where I could see the way the vendor stalls nestle in the canyon between buildings, and people crossing the street.
I added the palette to my color study, since that's a question that always comes up!
On the morning of the demo, I set up in my favorite (shady) spot, trying to stay out of the way of passers-by with and without carts, wheelchairs, walkers and strollers. Here are couple of pictures from the location. Again, the all-important question of what to include, what to focus on!
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I knew I wanted to focus on the market itself, and let the environment of the buildings be somewhat secondary. I liked the deep morning shadows as well...
I planned to do a second demo from a different vantage point, but I noticed how different the light was by late morning...and the market was busier with people--so that became my subject for the second demo. At right is the work in progress--I like to compose with light and shadows first...
Below is the finished sketch...
I also loved spending time at this site in the weeks before the LA Plein Air festival, just sitting on my stool sketching. I met interesting people, like the artist who brought his portraits to show me, and offered to let me use his easel...or the man who offered me a discerning critique and said "you wouldn't know it to look at me, but I'm homeless--I live at the shelter down the street". All kinds of people live alongside each other in LA's downtown core.
Here's the Daniel Smith color palette I had that day...including many of my new favorite colors! Everyone seemed to be especially interested in the colors that granulate with surprising hues, like Cascade Green and Moonglow...
I especially like the "Lunar" colors with their heavy granulation, as well as the array of Quinacridone colors that are beautiful mixers.
During the Festival I also visited City Hall to sketch from the Observation Deck on the 27th floor--wonderful views of the city! I made a quick ink and watercolor sketch looking northeast towards Pasadena...
I'd never seen Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall from a vantage point like this, and just had to take the challenge of all those wonderfully abstract reflective surfaces...
What a great event this was...I'm already looking forward to next year!
