This very fast sketch was done as a demo to show a student how to block in a sketch and quickly add color. I tend to work faster with students since they haven’t yet developed the patience needed for a prolonged study.
As simple as the sketch is, I used it to demonstrate how to dirty up the colors, mixing ochres and greens or adding red to the dark greens to neutralize the color.
This day was spent at the Mennello Museum sketching around the property. We did several sketched. I usually spend two hours on a sketch but these were done much faster since my student would finish and not know what other details to add.
We live in a fast paced society. Movies and TV only allow for a shot to last one or two seconds before cutting to another shot. Many beginning artists seem to think that art should happen just as fast.
I might do a sketch at an event and someone will be shocked saying something like, “You did that here, just now, you must be so fast!” However the sketch was done over the entire course of the event which is usually 2 hours. Most events are paced to last as long as the average movie. After that people start to loose interest.
I am loosing vision in my left eye or that vision is being distorted. I am having surgery next week to try and repair the damage to my retina. I have always tended to close that eye as I sketch. I thought it was to help flatten my view but perhaps the damage to my eye was there much longer than I was aware. Right now if I look at something, I see multiple versions of it. It is sort of like the cliche drunken vision shown in movies. Perhaps my sketches will start to embrace this warped view of the world. Right now I correct to draw what I know it must look like. Even as I type this there are twice as many words on the screen than I need to see. I close one eye to actually read what I have typed.
