Shades of grey
Posted: January 4, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized 22 CommentsThere’s been no sun in Montreal for many days. We had rain and a big thaw on the weekend, and what’s left of the snow is mostly piles of greyish ice. Not very pretty to draw, but I really wanted to do some car sketching so I went out anyway.
On days like this I circle around in my car, waiting for something to catch my eye. Sometimes I stop at three or four places until I find the right spot. It’s not easy to get excited by the monochrome landscape. There’s hardly any colour and no shadows. The only thing I can hope for is some contrast, which I finally found down by the lake. The breakwater at the Pointe Claire Yacht Club is a subject I’ve painted often in the summer, and sometimes in the fall. I love the pile of rocks, the scraggly trees, and the view of Mount Royal and the Oratory in the distance.
Today this scene had two things that made it interesting as a subject: contrast and reflections. Those remnants of ice at the edge of the water, set against the dark rocks, gave me the bits of light that I always love to include in a focal point. And it’s not often that I get to paint reflections and moving water in winter, but on this warm day it was a treat trying to capture this scene with ink pen and diluted ink washes.
Shari Blaukopf's Sketchbook 
Wow! You can do so much with so little! The saying is so true: it is not the tool, but the hand!
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A pretty scene indeed, even on this glum day. Thank you for finding it and sketching it.
Alison
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Still a fabulous image I actually like these rainy misty days. ( Not as much as good weather ) but they hold mystery. Here in Hamilton it’s supposed to stay rainy for the rest of the week. So I am hoping to get to your water rocks course. Always amazes me how much time everything takes…
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Great! Your work reminds me of one of my favorite wc artists, John Yardley.
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Bill, that’s the nicest comment I could ever receive. John Yardley is one of my favourite artists too. He makes it look so simple, and he’s a master of the “one stroke of watercolour that describes so much”.
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Absolutely. I have a VHS tape of his from a long while back lol.
Getting old I guess, but he’s older lol.
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WOW ! Beautifully done. Pretty gray here in Washington state too! You have inspired me to car paint during these dull days. Did you start or end with fine lines? Do you have a recipe for “gray “ in the winter?
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Thanks Linda. I know you have lots of grey there too!! I started with fine lines and added diluted ink washes on top of that. This is de Atramentis Black ink, diluted.
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Shari, I absolutely love this! The monochrome shades work so well in this scene. What ink did you choose?
This really is lovely! Thanks!
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Ginny, I was using De Atramenis document ink in black. It’s one of my favourite inks.
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All that rain means spring is going to be beautiful!
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I sure hope so!
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I need to do monochrome tonal sketches! On a practical note, Shari, how do you use diluted inks when drawing outdoors? Do you fill waterbrushes with various strength pre-diluted ink?
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That’s exactly what I do. I have two water brushes, one filled with a light grey and one with a darker grey. And I’m using de Atramentis document ink which is really nice.
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Neat, looks like you enjoyed the challenge and I have never used watered -down inks. I need to try doing stuff with all my equipment I seemed to accumulate over time. Thanks for your inspiration.
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You’re the only person I know that can find beauty in a dull grey day!
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Nice painting of the tree, yes it has been awfuly grey. I think its been 9 Days since I’ve really seen the sun. I really like how you used monotone grey in this, and also your inclusion of the pen lines.
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Lovely monochrome landscape Shari.
I have a question regarding the “desk pen”
You have used in your classes( Sketching Markets). I love fine line pens and this nib is very nice but the ink cartridges I ordered are filled with water soluble ink. Do you fill yours with DA Document ink, and if so how? This sketch looks as if the pen work is with non water soluble ink unless you added the lines last after the washes were dry? Thanks
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HI Linda,
Thanks for writing! Apparently the cartridge that the desk pen comes with is water-soluble. But if you buy more cartridges, as I do, then they are permanent. I’m not sure why that is. Here is what I use: https://www.gouletpens.com/products/platinum-carbon-black-ink-cartridges
I never have a problem with these.
I hope that helps.
Shari
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Thanks so much. Amazon only sells the water soluble ones. I will go to your suggestion!
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Good Evening dear friend Shari,
Excellent work as usual.
Blessings
Uma
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Thank you Uma. It is very nice to hear from you again.
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