Sketching in the Garden...

It's been great to teach two workshop series this year at Descanso Gardens.  The first, in February, "Sketching on Location" focused on the basics of drawing...seeing and drawing in line and shape, and the second in June (when the Gardens are most colorful!), "Sketching with Color".  I do a lot of sketching in advance to show students examples, and I love working my way through the basics...Descanso Gardens becomes a wonderful sort of outdoor "laboratory" to break down methods...and I always love learning from that process myself!

 I start with making lots of little thumbnails with fountain pen...composing and massing shapes

Always fun to add the visitors in the landscape...

Adding some color to ink thumbnails...

A little demo to show approaches to quick sketching with a limited palette (and limited time!)...

Some "notan" sketches in the Rose Garden with brush pen...

Experimenting with Inktense pencils--the gardeners at work making Descanso the beauty that it is...

Conversations in the cafe...

I love sketching at Descanso in any season...these are from the Rose Garden in February, when things are just beginning to bud...

And a shameless exercise in color in the Rose Garden at the height of summer color...

Getting Ready...

In anticipation of teaching workshops, "Panorama in Light and Shade", I made lots of practice sketches--especially sketches that break down the process of seeing value and creating paths of light and shade across the page--easiest to do in quick thumbnails.  I bought some carpenter's pencils awhile back to experiment with--great because they practically force you to draw with bold strokes, and defy detail...so thought that would make a good workshop tool...

Sketching here at Barnsdall Park in
Los Angeles...

 ...and a few more at newly re-opened Echo Park...

Easiest to see values when working with one color, so next step was moving to watercolor washes--a good way to think shape and value, and notice the effects of atmosphere and distance on the landscape (aerial perspective!)...

 While I was thinking about panoramas, I also had to sketch interesting stories and details that suddenly appear...


I came to the conclusion that a good way to introduce color while maintaining a range of values is to think warm/cool.  I like a split-complementary palette...and look for the color I see in the atmosphere...

Sketching at Descanso...

I recently taught a sketching workshop at Descanso Gardens.  In preparing for the workshop, I did a lot of sketching and thinking about things like how to start...what's important to me in a sketch...why sketch in a sketchbook?  It took me back to the basics of choosing a subject by focusing and framing...and making lots of quick thumbnail sketches.  Also...seeing in line versus seeing shape...and how seeing tone and value is key to working with color.  So much to try and convey in a few hours!

Many pages of thumbnails....here are a few--in the Rose Garden and the Japanese Garden...and near the entrance.  

Things were constantly swooping, flying or running across my path...reminding me how a sketchbook can serve to catch those unexpected surprises--moments of opportunity!

Seeing and drawing in line...seeing and drawing in value and tone...

 Studies in value and color...

What to include, what to leave out...

More past studies from Descanso Gardens...