Boats, South Waterfront PDX

My multi-media sketchbook doesn't take near as much abuse as my Arches watercolor block, but that's ok. Keeps me from getting overly precious about sketches. The whole point of "plein air" is training in observation and editing. You can't possibly reproduce nature, and anyway that's boring in the age of ubiquitous smart phones with ever improving cameras.

This is the 2nd study I started on March 20th, my outdoor easel's maiden voyage. (First one is here.) Now it's a bit different in that I've got my learner's permit & I'm obliged to drive at least most of the way there, like to Riverside Cemetary on my 2nd outing. 

Happily I've just discovered that google maps gives you a highway avoidance option in the maps directions. Fantastic! It's only been a couple weeks. We started around the neighborhood. I've driven downtown the last two times I did my office cleaning job. Baby steps. It's been decades since I've driven after all.

Composition sketch #illustration #pencildrawing

This is a work in progress, what will be an illustration for a hybrid Middle Pillar ritual, one that combines hermetic & yogic meditation practices. At the beginning I was thinking it was going to be black & white, ink wash & ink pen. But now I think I might use a limited palette and some metallic inks. (The latter don't translate well to digital, especially when you're just snapping a picture with your iPhone, but they lend some special flair.)

I was thinking I might even make an animated infographic out of it with Adobe Illustrator & Animate... 

Mahindra Carpets Catalog, converted from Quark to InDesign

Hawthorne Bridge, study 1 #illustration #watercolor #landscape

I finished my first study of Hawthorne Bridge, from my maiden voyage painting outside with my new, fancy easel in downtown Portland! I might do a larger version with a slightly different composition entirely in the studio, so I can get a more finished version of the bridge and intense colors. I have a second view to work on, which I'll probably get to on Friday. This was the first view I chose. After that I picked something with easier levels of distance. It's all good. If I want to get paid to render historic architecture I've got to practice, practice, practice.

I also want to do some parks and graveyards!

This is funny but I was just looking at the 10-day forecast for my zipcode to try to figure out when I should try to get back out there.

Ummm.... Looks like Thursday is probably my best bet, so I should take it just in case things don't improve. You do often get breaks in the day here even when the forecast isn't promising, but you can't be sure it'll happen.

I'll have to think of how I'll adjust for mildly rainy weather. Perhaps I'll be able to accommodate that if & when I start working with oils again. The thing is, if I'm trying to show the beauty of this area, some of my work has to include some rainy, ominous, murky and sublime.

Well yay! Both of the sketches I started yesterday, down at the waterfront, are worth of some more drawing and attention in the studio. Of course I snapped a picture of both spots I chose. The first one was the harder of the two, too complex and all in the distance. I was attracted because of the perspective study I just recently started.

Charlie dropped me off and I was set up in my first spot right around 1:30pm. I lasted until 4pm. It's tiring! Drawing and painting are intense meditation exercises: observe, respond, assess, keep going and don't waste time. And I've more often done still lives, often with a sort of "fixed" lighting situation, in the past.

I also had some good news this morning. A final of my latest logo project was chosen. I'd expected it to be a much lengthier process! I'm so into the subject matter¹ & drawings that I'm going to continue to work on one of the concepts that wasn't chosen.

C-2-3

I can see why C-2 wasn't chosen. She's looking very 1920s, with shades of my more illustrative logo for Upward Goddess. But... I'd been starting to play with different brushes and line treatments in both Illustrator & Photoshop while drawing her. I want to continue and make something vectorized. I can add some color too, if I want. I'd been keeping things really simple - just black & white - for the logo because it needs to be easily printable. Every yoga studio needs a t-shirt!


¹ The moon. Yoga. The subconscious. Gabriel and Yesod.

Today's going to be the maiden voyage of my Sienna Plein Air easel! It's not that easy to assemble (just so) and disassemble without looking like an idiot, but I've practiced a couple times already.

Packing List

Knapsack

1. pochade box (that's the easel part that goes on top of the tripod) with watercolor palette within
2. 19 colors 
   
3. 2 water bottles and 2 collapsable water cups, 1 water sprayer
4. paper towels and q-tips
5. 1 watercolor block, 2 sketchbooks (1 med & 1 small), scrap paper for color testing.
6. brushes
7. drawing supplies for pencil sketch: mechanical pencil, sharpener & extra leads. Various erasers. Ruler
8. credit cards, concealer, hankerchief & lip gloss. 

Might not seem like it, but this took a lot of thought! And obviously I decided to start my new blog today in honor of the occasion. I'll set up the links & crap later on, when I've got time.

Was just considering whether or not to pack my selfie stick into the tripod bag. Was just showing off my organizational skills to Charlie & realized I didn't have a mahl stick included. That's for resting your hand on when you've got wet media on your surface and need a steady hand, like a bridge in pool.