Harmony of Dark and Light...

Planning my workshop for the Singapore Urban Sketchers Symposium actually began many months in advance.  I've been giving a lot of thought to what makes a sketch (or perhaps any artwork) a success--and it seems to me that it's composition--a dynamic composition has the power to grab the eye and hold it!  Without a strong composition a great idea or lovely rendering just doesn't come across.

In studying composition, I began reading about Notan--a Japanese word meaning the harmony of light and dark.  There really isn't a word in English that means quite the same thing.  Suddenly a light came on for me, as I saw how well it could work as a way to create strong compositions by first seeing shapes of light and dark in a subject, and then composing those shapes on a page.

So--how does this relate to sketching on location?  Composing with Notan begins with seeing the patterns of light and dark in your subject--such as light and shadow on a building surface or foliage, but it means much more than that.  As you develop your sketch, what becomes important is the harmony of tones--how the lights and darks are balanced on your page.  In other words, you make choices of what to "push" as you interpret and compose the patterns of light and dark that you see.

My first workshop using this idea was at the Los Angeles Arboretum with its lovely Queen Anne Cottage, enormous palm trees, and a wonderful variety of birds everywhere.  I took participants through a process of 3 steps:  creating a pattern of black and white, then adding a mid-value wash to follow the rhythm of the black and white shapes and add some depth, and then the final step of adding a punch of color for fun--and emphasis.

So, here are some of the sketches that I did at The Los Angeles Arboretum...


Initially I began with line...then adding, massing shapes with a black brush pen...

With practice, I began jumping in with the brush pen, to commit to the large shapes right away...

Then, adding a mid-value wash...

And finally, adding color for emphasis--doing this selectively.  At this point, I ask--Where do you want to draw the eye?  Notice how color can become another element to lead the eye in your composition...