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.