Urban Sketchwork

Sunday, I drove downtown early and parked for an hour before an event to sketch while waiting to go into the venue. So, with a sketchbook, pencil and pen, I worked in the car...something I've not done before.

The basic sketch was rough (see photo below). Given the available work time, it had three light poles, a sidewalk outline, three building starts and a couple of Palm Trees.

Yesterday, I added more content--much of it from memory. (Working from memory is something I don't normally do either.) Today, I finished by adding color and more detail (see finished photo). The tools used were pencil, Muji pen, watercolor and acrylic paints.

In looking at the finished image, it appears that the cars are facing downhill with a rise just beyond the first light post as the pavement curves to the right. The opposing lane could be viewed as downhill from this roadway. In fact, the scene that I was sketching was on level ground. So I have to figure out how to draw that. An exploration for another time.

Overall, I like what I did because it 'reads' as an urban area, and I feel brave for having tried this, because it isn't the genre I usually work in. Yay!

Comments

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Cay Denise

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