Here are some sketches from a trip a few weeks ago, up to Point Reyes and parts further North in Marin County. I should have done much more drawing on this two day outing but the weather was so beautiful in Point Reyes that Julia and I spent all our time taking in the scenery on the first day of the trip. When I have been to Point Reyes before, most times it is either overcast or, if the sun is out, the landscape seems parched. This time there had been several weeks of rain prior to a spectacularly sunny day, so the land around the point was saturated with greenery.
Another major distraction from sitting and drawing was a spectacular parade of grey whales past the Point Reyes lighthouse. As each whale surfaced and spouted, there were great cheers from the assembled throngs of onlookers at the point. It was like a Whale Pride Parade. We heard that there was a record number of whales sighted that day. This was a happy accident for us; we had only planned to go draw. Everyone ELSE had planned to see whales, as we found out that it was the absolute height of migration season.
So, it seemed appropriate to bask in our good fortune that first day and enjoy the show put on by Mother Nature. So, drawing had to wait until day two. Possibly inspired by the vivid colours around me I tried a little watercolour on this sketch trip, which I don’t normally do.
The paper in the sketchbook is beautiful so i will try to move out of my comfort zone (which is line sketches in pencil and ink) and do more colour studies until I fill the book.
nicey!
These were done in the book YOU gave me, Dave. I am taking my sweet time in filling that thing…
So glad it's out in the field being filled up with beautiful drawings instead of sitting in a drawer!
Why didn't YOU want to use it?
ya know, it was one of those deals where it was 'too nice' to use – I was stupidly terrified to do a bad drawing in it. Know what I mean? It's a bit self defeating – sketchbooks should be used for both good and bad drawings. And really, at the end of the day, who cares? what, the sketchbook police are going to show up and give you a ticket for doing a crappy drawing in a nice, leather bound book?
hah! You summed it up great there Dave. I have the same phobia. (we need to coin a WORD for that, by the way) Which is why I so rarely draw in the thing.
having a reason to go to Venice is never a bad thing.
the paper in the book is really nice, too. where did you get it? do you remember?
@ Julia – I'm pretty sure I got that one in Venice, Italy, which put even more gravitas (oh oh, big word, gravitas, oh oh) on the idea of doing perfect little Venice worthy Italian renaissance sketches in it.@ Jamesy – SKETCHTAPATION? BIBLIORETENTAVE?BIBLIOPHOBIA?
i agree with dave, let the bad and the good drawings live, in the end the more you draw the better you get, and stay.
ok i can understand your hesitation Dave! I actually have a sketchbook from Venice that I got in highschool and STILL haven't touched it! HAHA – the lesson – do not buy sketchbooks in Venice.
@ Julia- and now you have to go all the way BACK to Venice to draw in it, yeesh!
apparently you haven't seen 'Death in Venice'?
Doomy Armagordon says: fuck it. Let's just all meet in Venice before the world ends and sketch our little hearts out in expensive sketchbooks and drink lattes
@ Scott: no, I've never seen that movie. The title sort of gives away the ending don't you think?@ Dave; let's do it!
roadtrip!
yeah! road trip to venice! once all that oil in the gulf makes it's way to the atlantic and turns into pavement!
wait a minute, Venice, Ca?
Seriously, I would love it if a bunch of us met up some place fancy for sketching….
yeah!
Doesn't HAVE to be Venice… just somewhere fancy where we get to use these slick sketchbooks we all have lying about the place….
i would love to crack that sketchbook open and tell it whose boss!
i meant to add, it would be a blast to meet up somewhere sometime for a sketch trip!
I have had this gift handmade sketchbook from S. Africa for six years. Besides my email contact, it remains empty, yet every Post It in my studio has something scrawled on it, of course. See you in Venice!
Monaco? Dubai?