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| Great Egret
I love quick sketching ... and slow sketching on location. Both have their time and place. And I also like to pencil in the field and refine the sketch at home when I can look at my photos, then finish it -- but I don't consider those true field sketches.
I think I grow fastest when I switch back and forth between working directly in ink and at other times working in pencil. The first helps me grab the essence quickly; the second hones my eye for important detail.
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| Canada Geese |
Switching mediums is good practice too. The egret was inked with a fountain pen. I used a ball point pen with the Canada geese.
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| Green Heron |
I keep watercolors and in the car too so I can quickly add color when I want.
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| Great Horned Owl "Evening is coming to the Klamath Basin. Sheepy Ridge is dark. The deepening sky glows with the last bits of color. It's a clear night. It'll be a chilly one. Eight owls tonight!"
Much of my field sketching is practice. Practice that helps me understand the essence of each species I want to draw or paint. The practice also pays off in a wonderful way when I see something like this great horned owl at the end of day and I can capture it quickly, freezing the moment in time in my journal. I sketched this owl while my husband continued driving ... a quick sketch of a beautiful moment.
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