Views from the road
Posted: January 5, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized 21 CommentsI had my sketchbook with me on a recent trip through Vermont and did these on the road. No, I wasn’t the driver! I had this notion that I would have these mountain vistas in front of me for a few minutes at a time and I would be able to capture them before another view opened up. But I was wrong about how long they lasted. It was mere seconds and then the scene would be different. So in essence I had to take a photo in my head of what was in front of me, make a few quick pencil marks and then try to paint from memory. I could have posted these on separate days but they seem to work well as a group. Each of these probably took 5-10 minutes and it was an excellent exercise in mixing colour and putting values down quickly.
These are gorgeous! You obviously have developed a very good camera in your head.
Thanks Vicky!
That is impressive!
Thanks Angie!
Love them all!!!! Wow!!! And they came very nice!!!
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Thanks so much!
I like how the pictures seem to be in motion. Detailed enough to identify objects, but not enough to capture tiny details. Beautiful work.
-M.M.
Thanks. Yes, no time for details in these.
Great Series Shari,
I am amazed you could do that! I tried doing pencil sketches on the road and it flew by so quick I could only do gestural drawings but it was fun!
Thanks Gail. I could never do a pencil drawing but with a big brush it is amazing how much paper you can cover in a short time.
Wow! You ARE ambitious. These are so spontaneous and genuine. I did this once on a road trip from California to Oregon, but strictly black and white – my Sharpie and a tiny sketchbook. Now you’ve got me thinking: hmmmmm. Let’s see – the water bottle here, and my travel paints here and ……………
Go for it Lee. It is really fun!!
Hmmm. You are a bit strange. The word “freaky” comes to mind… this has got to be like extreme sports for painters… or do you have something even more adventurous in mind? I can’t even imagine how you did this, but the results are impressive.
It’s not that difficult Ross. First of all I am used to painting in the car, although not usually in the passenger’s seat. Secondly, this is in a small Moleskine so the paper is not that big. It really is just a few quick brush strokes. Probably one of the easiest things I do because there is no detail required.
Sorry, but you are missing the point here… I know that you can paint while sitting in a car… I know that the Moleskine is small and that it is just a few brushstrokes… but this is in a MOVING car! You must have steady hands and I think your mountain roads must be a lot straighter and a lot smoother than ours.
Actually the roads in Vermont are very smooth as compared to Quebec roads but I think I do have a steady hand because I have even drawn on the roads here. But again, these are not very precise sketches so if we did hit a bump in the road it would just look like another tree or mountain : )
These are incredible. It really blows my mind that you could do this in a moving car. I really love the limited pallet and the generalized presentations of the scenery. It gets the point across with no clutter at all.
These are great.
Fleetwood
really love the open road perspective.
Thanks so much!
Hey! These are tremendous! What a great series! that works so well , they’re like a travelogue, but a cinematic IMAX travelogue!
Thanks Marc! Definitely better than my people drawing skills : )