Continuing to work with tan paper, on a handy 5.5 x 8.5 inch spiral-bound sketchbook that fits snugly into one of the pockets on my “gardeners’ vest.”
I like to stick with black and white as much as possible. The Farmers’ Market sketch benefits from a dash of color.
Here are some sketches created during a choral concert. Some lines were done “blind”, that is, without looking down at the paper. That is a great method for practicing eye-hand coordination.
Once a month, throughout most o the year, there is an outdoor Antique Market at the Civic Center complex in San Rafael. It’s a great place to find a wide variety of objects, artifacts, vintage bits and pieces to draw! Working with tan paper, using a thin pen (Micron 08) and a Brush Pen, along with a Prismacolor white pencil. I had a white gel pen with me, too, but it had dried out.
When working with toned paper, I like to stick with black-and-white as much as possible, but sometimes the right color can make quite a difference. A bit of yellow ochre pencil helps to sketch the brass objects.
I had the opportunity to practice working on toned paper at a birthday party for a fellow sketcher. Several other urban sketchers were guests, and we all enjoyed drawing each other in the dim light of the Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel. The tropical umbrella drinks may have helped!
The San Rafael Thursday sketchers had their first session working with toned paper. After a warmup at the Rileystreet Art store, we went on location to Knimbles, a resale shop that features clothing, shoes, jewelry and a wide variety of ornamental objects. The challenge in working with tan or gray paper is to allow the paper color to be the mid-tone, while using black for darker areas and white for highlights. Choosing an appropriate subject is also part of the process.
Here are some sketches on tan paper, from several years ago. Using black ink and a white Prismacolor pencil (or white gel pen) works well to create highlights and shiny bits. I apologize to my students for the symmetry of the sketch with a fountain! I keep telling them that “symmetry is for sissies!”
I prefer to omit color and stick with black and white. The color of the paper provides the mid-tones. I added the Strathmore Toned Tan sketchbook 5.5 x 8.5 inches to my materials list for workshop students.