Demo: Julie Herring - Using your Sketchbook to Paint Better Pictures
Julie Herring gave us a very jolly evening reminding us how to make our sketchbooks work for us.
She reminded us that a few minutes of preparation can make all the difference to the success of a project. Art is full of decisions; landscape or portrait, how to frame the composition, how to decide the angle of the light, how to work out the perspective. A few quick thumbnails will support decision making.
Her advice included:
Tonal sketches help you to work out light and dark areas
Taking a photo helps you to edit the landscape view, shutting out distractions
Decide on a focal point but don’t put it in the middle - think about dividing your picture into thirds
Find the horizon at eye level and draw in a few initial lines to break up the space
Think about perspective (imagine a tiled floor with each line converging on the vanishing point). This will help you to scale objects as they recede.
Consider the mood of the picture - what time of year is it? The season will affect the strength and direction of light. Remember, strong light means strong colours and dark shadows with high contrast.
Use some diagonals to break up the horizontals and lead the eye in.
Use the direction of the brush or pencil strokes to indicate undulations in the landscape.
When working in watercolour, it helps to mix colours in 3 different strengths so that you can indicate distance (further away = fainter - usually!)
Julie’s workshop is 24th June. Bring your sketchbooks, some images/photographs and whatever medium you fancy. Expect a lot of expert advice on developing your ideas - and a lot of laughter as you go.
Email Jen and Sally if you would like to join us.
