A Walk for a Walk's Sake

 

I spent a few minute feeling my hand without looking at it. I noticed how bony all the joints felt, and I thought about the injuries and effects of work. Then I drew my hand without looking at it. It turned out very skeletal.  In this drawing of my hand I was trying to observe all the different colors I saw -- blue, green, red, yellow, and orange. I noticed that I didn't see any "peach" or "tan" or "skin-color," but rather, a whole host of colors all interacting.  In this drawing I was looking at the lines in my feet. I wanted to observe the bottom of my foot, so it was quite twisted. I drew it with pencil, but it was pretty messy, so I went over the most important lines with black paint to emphasize the lines and simplify the drawing.  

It was a good challenge to draw water. I used pens and watercolors and in this drawing I tried to capture the layering and transparency of the glass. For this drawing I tipped the bottle on its side. It was a different viewpoint to have the water more horizontal. This felt more ocean-y or like a river to me. It was difficult for me to focus just on the colors I was looking at. I tried to think about the shapes each color made. This resulted in an abstract drawing that I liked a lot. In my final drawing from this session I tried to capture the colors, transparency, and layering of looking at things in jars in water. The refraction of the objects onto the water surface was really satisfying.  

A drawing of my face from memory. I used washable markers and a paintbrush to blend the inks. I was trying to draw a neutral or happy face, but the eyes look worried. I guess a global pandemic will do that. I did a few blind contour drawings looking at my face in the Zoom meeting screen. I let the lines get really crazy and overlap. I went back later to emphasize the shapes with different colors. I was thinking about the format of Zoom and the perspective, always kind of looking up at peoples faces. I used colored chalk for this one, trying to capture the Zoom-screen effect.  

This week I worked on a couple of watercolor paintings using color in different ways. It’s easy to try to do too much, so my focus this week was to not get overly involved.  In the first painting I really simplified the shape so I could just focus on the ways color interact. The red was a risk, but in the end, it’s my favorite part.  In this second painting I really limited the colors to monochromatic values. I wish I’d used better paper, but trying this in the sketchbook first made it easier to jump in. I wasn’t sure I’d like this one, but I like it well enough to want to try again on better paper.  I also revised my first tree painting. It felt like a good background, but I wanted to add something that would be a focal point. The opaque watercolors I used dissolved pretty easily so that I could add this bark beetle. There are a few more changes I’ll make to the foreground trees (to make them more Ponderosa-y) and I’ll add more detail to the beetle. 

We stopped for a picnic and a short hike today. It was a beautiful day in the mountains with a cool breeze and fresh air. We even did a little bit of drawing outdoors. The trail leads to a nice overlook. We’ll be back another time for sure.

A Father’s Day walk...

This week's walk through color...