A step-by-step street scene
Posted: November 3, 2017 Filed under: Uncategorized 77 CommentsA few weeks back someone asked me how much of a scene I draw in pencil before I add paint to my sketches. I haven’t had much time this semester for any instructional posts, but today I took some quick phone shots of the process so I could illustrate the steps.
Lately I’ve been finding places to sketch right near my school so I can paint as long as possible and then scoot over to class. This is the type of scene I often sketch on the way to work. Time spent sketching in the car for this one: about an hour. Time spent adding details at home: about 15 minutes.
The first step is to add some quick pencil lines. I chose this scene because I like the way all the utility poles on this street are leaning to the right. I don’t draw in a lot of details that I can add later with a brush such as writing on the street signs or details on the buildings. Just a general placement of things on the page.
The first wash I put down is the sky and the road — both grey this week. I didn’t have time to draw in a full double-page spread but I did go over the middle of the book a little bit.
The next step is to add in the middle values, using a limited palette of Burnt Sienna, Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Green and Quinacridone Gold (for that late autumn warmth).
After that I frame the little white building in the distance with some good darks, and I try to vary them as I go — gold to green to red to brown. I use a bit of blue for the trash cans and house shadow, and I start to add in some of the finer details but realize that my rigger brush is at home, and my class is about to start.
After school, I add in the details with a finer brush: the wires, the signage, and a few details on the buildings. Sketched in a Handbook Journal, 8 x 8″.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
A wonderful lesson. Thanks, Shari!
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Thank you Christine!
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Thank you for documenting this. Love it. You’re great at using every available moment. Hope u weren’t late for class.
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Thanks Dottie. I made it to class on time!
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Thanks Shari for showing step by step how you create your paintings. It’s really helpful for our practice and improvement🙏🏻💋
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Glad you liked it Romy!
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Super helpful, thank you Shari! I see how much the first grey wash lightens as it dries…
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I’m so glad it was helpful!
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I like how your paint puddles at the end of some strokes, and your sense of composition. Thanks!
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Thanks Leslie!
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Thank you!
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Thanks for writing Helen.
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Thanks so much. Really apprciated seeing your process.
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I’m glad. Thanks for commenting!
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Thanks for letting us see your process, this is important stuff!
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So glad you liked it David!
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What kind of paper exactly is in a handbook journal? Lovely sketch!
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It’s pretty good watercolour paper Dee. Not sure if it’s 100% cotton, I suspect not, but it can take a beating.
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Love this, I always add too much detail to the pencil drawing and then have to erase, or hope the paint will cover it. thanks for the step by step.
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I’m glad it was helpful Sue. Thanks for letting me know.
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And yet another, thank you! And,” this is important stuff.” Your step by step is most helpful.
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Thanks Holly!
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Thank you, Shari. This helps a lot!
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So glad you liked it Helen.
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This was fantastic, Shari. For a minute (just a minute!), I was thinking ‘this looks easy enough. I should try it.’ What was I thinking?! 😀 I will keep trying, but thank you so much for the step by step. It really helps me to have it broken down into little sound bites.
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I’m glad it was helpful Lois!
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Being the “someone”, thank you Shari for this illustration! Never even thought of using a rigger brush. I use pen after the watercolor is put down, but I find the sketch becomes less spontaneous. Excited to give this a try. 😁
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Well thank you for reminding me to do this Belinda. It seems to have been quite popular!!
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You are so generous to share. Some of your painted sketches look so ambitious, and now to see this step by step, it makes more sense. I especially appreciate that you included the amount of time it takes. This has been extremely helpful – THANKS!!
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Glad you liked it Mary!
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Amazing ! So much time and dedication for your sketches. Thank you for sharing your process You are such an inspiration 🤗
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Many thanks Agnes!
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Thanks, Shari, I enjoyed this! Question: do you take a photo to remind you of the details when at home?
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Hi Marina, I did take a photo of this scene, but in fact I never looked at it again. I had enough info in the pencil drawing to complete the sketch.
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Thanks! Interesting 😊
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An excellent tutorial.
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Glad you liked it Doug.
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Thank you for taking the time to give us explicit examples of your painting from start to finish. You have a wonderful gift of sharing so that we may better understand and follow.
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It was a pleasure to do this Bernadette!
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Just marvellous. It’s great to see how little you put in with pencil and bring it all together with confident washes and bold strokework. Your work is always a real treat to view. Thank you for sharing this.
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Thanks so much Ros!
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Thank you very much – a brilliant lesson
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Glad you liked it Anne! I love to do these but don’t always have the time.
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Thanks for the lesson, well done , It is allways a good a reminder of how to do it properly.
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Many thanks Andre.
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I can only add another thank you for this lesson. You always get such good darks without overdoing. Learned to vary color from your Craftsy class but still working on this.
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And I can only send another Thank You your way. Always great to hear from you Judy.
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Love your unique style. Your brush strokes are instantly recognizable. I know it’s a Blaukopf without even seeing a signature.
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That’s a good think Kevin, because most of my sketches aren’t even signed. I only sign the bigger watercolours. Thanks for writing!
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Just exactly what I wanted and needed! Thank you so much!
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Thank YOU Ren, for letting me know.
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Thank you for this tutorial! I’m curious…how do you scan your work from your sketchbook? Your photos look so good.
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HI Deane. I scan my work on an Epson Perfection Scanner and then do a few adjustments in Photoshop, mostly to add the contrast back in and to whiten the whites. I try to match the art as best I can, and the scan is usually a bit flat. Of course in this series the first four images are iPhone photos and the final sketch image is from a scan.
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Thanks so much for this Shari! VERY helpful.
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I’m glad to hear that! Thanks for letting me know!
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Thank you so much for the detailed information. Just what I need!
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Glad it was helpful Connie!
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That was very cool! Tim
>
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Many thanks Tim!
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That was so helpful! I eas able to see how you preserve the whites ! Please do that more often 🙂
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Thanks Chrissa. I will try!
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love this!
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Thanks Gil. And I just looked through your Italy paintings. So beautiful!
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Wow thanks for that Shari, what an amazing place that is!
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I love this…u are amazing..keep it up
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Thanks!
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Shari, thanks for showing your steps! I loved seeing how that very grey sky was toned down after you added the tree color. This is lovely!
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Yes, the sky seemed dark at first, didn’t it. It was interested for me to see that too.
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Appreciate the step by step tutoring, as I tend to add way too much detail into my sketches. This is helpful.
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I’m really glad to hear that April. Thanks for letting me know.
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[…] via A step-by-step street scene […]
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Wow, that was really helpful – thanks!
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I’m glad that was helpful Gina. Nice to hear from you and I hope all is well.
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Very well, thank you, and in the process of moving back to Montreal.
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Thanks for sharing your technique, Shari. Its always helpful to see how someone develops their sketches. Occasionally do you use ink instead of pencil? Or would you use ink for fine details in the final stages?
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HI Michael, Thanks so much for writing. I often use ink instead of pencil, but I am much more comfortable with a pencil in my hand than a pen. I don’t often use ink for final details because I find that they black ink just sits on top of the watercolour. Instead I prefer to mix the darkest colour I can with watercolour. If I combine Alizarin Crimson and Phthalo Green that makes a black that is dark enough and yet seems to be more harmonious with the rest of the sketch. I learned that combo from taking an oil painting class, but it works well with watercolour too. I use a finer brush too when I add in those very dark details. I hope that helps. Shari
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I like it best in the stage before last when everything is blocked in but there are holes. It makes it feel like it has area behind it and that the grey day goes on forever.
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