Sketchbook Adventures - Watercolor Pencils

New Tools: Watercolor Pencil and Niji Brush.

This great trio of trees are located at Ford Street Park in Redlands, California. It was a beautiful day to be out there painting. I believe it was just under 80 degrees, with a gentle wind. Redlands is a great city, with alot of beautiful parks.

Today was try a new tool day. I have had these black watercolor pencils for some time. I decided to try them out today.

Here are some of the pluses for using watercolor pencils:

• They give you greater control for drawing your subject,
• They blend real easy with water, making shading a breeze,
• Once wet, it stays fixed on the paper. Unlike messy charcoal, which smudges easily.
• If you use quality watercolor paper, you can also lift-out pigment if you need to.

These are great for detail work or big washes. Also, using different tools makes painting fun.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Sketchbook Adventures - Charcoal

Have Fun - Try New Tools

I've been trying alot of different tools and techniques in drawing. Why? I don't know. Maybe bored, wanting a new look. The fact is, I love sketching, and each tool that I use gives my work a different feel.

In January, I drew this while looking out my window. A big storm was brewing, and I had to get this down quickly. So I opted for a charcoal pencil.

Charcoal works really well to get something down as fast as pie. With the angry clouds and the lighting on the clouds changing rapidly, I knew charcoal would work best.

Other drawings, I use a ball point pen. I just start drawing with it with no pencil outlines. Why? Because I can micromanage a drawing to death. A pen keeps you from making a perfect drawing. A perfect drawing lacks spontaneity. It has stiffness. Using a pen gets you out of the bad habit of constantly erasing.

The other day, I bought 10 cheap mechanical pencils. I completed 3 house studies with them quite rapidly. The mechanical pencils are great. When I want to be mobile, and I go from house to house, sketch to sketch, a mechanical pencil is the way to go. No need to bring sharpeners, sand paper, etc. Just push the eraser, and more lead is let out. Oh, and no need to bring an eraser, it's attached. I found a set of 10 cadoodles at an office supply store for 2.99. What a bargain. I can do quick studies, and with the magic of cross-hatching, I can add shading.

If you haven't gotten into the drawing habit, I implore you to try. Keep it simple. All you need is a good mechanical pencil, a ruler and cheap cartridge paper. What are you waiting for? Go draw a tree!

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Sketchbook Adventures

Bloom Where You are Planted!

In keeping with my theme, I try to have many sketchbooks at my beck and call! Some sketchbooks have charcoal pencils, other pens, some regular drawing pencils.

Why? Because life can take you in so many directions! Wherever the day takes you, it takes you. I think that one of my favorite quotes is: "We make plans and God smiles". Or laughs. I don't know who said it. But it seems to have a ring of truth.

That 9:00 Dr's appointment, well somehow the office got backed up, and he will see you at 9:45. (Don't get angry, get sketching).

Your spouse was going to pick you is 15 minutes, and it's been 40 minutes? (Don't get angry, get sketching). How about you are all ready to watch your favorite show, and it is either a repeat, or some politician has a Very important message. (Don't get angry, get sketching).

Really, I have a saying, When life serves you lemons, well perhaps we should draw them?

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Draw Every Day

Here is a page from my sketchbook.

It is a drawing of a tree in Redlands. It was done using a watercolor pencil. I enjoy using watercolor pencils. Why? Because you can draw with it like a regular pencil, then for shading, just add water with a brush.

I really enjoy daily drawings like this. It gives me a chance to observe nature up close. It didn't take alot of complicated tools. Simply my sketchpad, pencil and sharpener and a Niji brush. (A niji brush is simply a brush that has a reservoir filled with water.)

I draw every day. Not only is it fun, but you do improve over time with practice. Drawing is alot like sports. You can learn the basics in a couple of hours, but to draw really well, takes lots of practice.

I never set out in the morning knowing what I am going to draw, nor paint. I guess I should plan my time better. I like spontaneous art. I feel like sometimes subjects ask me to draw or paint them. Maybe it is just my subconscious mind settling on a subject. I don't know. All I know about art is to make a great painting, simply listen to the voice inside dictate the direction to go. It sounds strange. But, my best works of art have been made this way.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Live Oak Canyon Redlands

It does not get any better than this!

Right now is the perfect time to paint at Live Oak Canyon. It's right off the 10 freeway, in between Yucaipa and Calimesa.
Now, they say that it is going to rain this weekend. GREAT! It only makes this place greener and greener. But I caution you, once we are through with our rainy season, these hills go back to there golden brown color, and the green is gone.
Now, I usually sit and sketch in my car. Yeah, I just pull over on the side of the road and start sketching. Sometimes I actually jump out of the car for some fantastic photos. This area is absolutely beautiful. And the best part is, it is right here, in our own back yard, in beautiful, sunny Southern California.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Yucaipa - Flaghill Park

Flaghill Park -
Yucaipa, California

Welcome to Flaghill Park!

This park is extremely unique. It is dedicated to those men and women in the armed services who served during war time. As a veteran, it was a wonderful experience.

Though this park is small, maybe a few acres, it offers alot of unique opportunities for the artist in all of us.


Want to draw something different? How about an artillery cannon? I thoroughly enjoyed trying to get some good angles for that.

Drawing a cannon requires using alot of different skills. Should you use contour line, mass drawing or negative space? I accomplished my most accurate drawing by using negative space.

Now this park does have picnic tables under oak trees, complete with grills. They have a childs' play area and restrooms, but be forewarned, you can't shut the doors to the restrooms. So anyone can peek in and seeing you doing your business. Yuck!

There is also a wonderful monument to the veterans who served. During the right time of year, along the paths to the memorial roses bloom. What a great experience it is to walk up to the memorial, along the fragrant smell of thousands of roses blooming. This is a tribute to veterans done right!

Now, let's talk about the hiking paths!There are a couple of beautiful hiking paths. I saw quite a few joggers/walkers enjoying them. It spirals around the park at a few different levels.

Right now, is the right time to visit this quaint little park. They have so many different types of flowers blooming.

From California poppies to these beautiful daisies, from wild flowers blooming all of the place. It's the middle of March, and with the rest of the country buried under snow, well, I'm quite grateful, that I can go out and appreciate this wondrous park, located here, in beautiful Yucaipa.

Now, in a few days, I will be out there painting these wonderful scenes. I spent my whole morning here taking these gorgeous pictures. Can't wait to start painting the mountainside with the beautiful wildflowers in bloom.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Redlands, California

A
Inspired at Oakmont in Redlands

This is one of my favorite places to paint. Lots of Oak trees. Can't wait to go back, when it is a bit warmer.

Oakmont, I believe, is a little slice of heaven, maintained by the Redlands Conservancy. Lots of beautiful little things to paint. Pictures this, the sun is rising over the wonderful progression of mountain ranges. Meanwhile, I stand ready to paint under the gorgeous protection of a beautiful oak tree.

Long winding country roads, beautiful brush, and thankfully, whenever I am out there painting, no bugs! It doesn't get any better than this for a plein air painter. Oh wait, it does, next week it will be 80 gorgeous degrees.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Getting ready for the Iris Festival

Yucaipa Iris Festival

Every year, the small city of Yucaipa puts on a huge Iris Festival. The dates are May 15- through the 17, 2009. It will be held at the Yucaipa Community Park at 34900 Oak Glen Road in beautiful Yucaipa.

To the left is one of my Iris drawings. It is done with charcoal pencil on charcoal paper. I just completed this last week. I am thinking of turning this design into notecards. I love working in black and white. Color can be quite distracting at times!

Anyhow, last year at the Iris Festival, they had award-winning iris's, an art show, and a few other fun activities.

Now, if you need more information, they have an e-mail address. It is: yucaipairisfestival1@verizon.net

Well, the sun is shining, time to go out and draw or paint a palm tree or two,

Live, love and paint,

Terry

All Paintings have problems to solve!

All Paintings have problems to solve!

I had 2 BIG problems while painting this painting. It is a small 6x8 watercolor of a Palm tree in California.

So what were my two big problems? No time, and I was facing backwards to the tree.

No time? I had one hour. It takes me 15 minutes to set up, about 15 minutes to come up with a composition that I like, and about 30 minutes to paint. That's it. But I wasn't going to let the day go by without creating one painting. Especially this painting. What makes this painting so special? I knew that it was in me, and it had to come out. I knew exactly what to do, and where I was going to go with it. In the art world, that's rare. But somehow, I knew that it was going to look like this before I ever started.

Problem #1 - NO TIME: Sometimes I feel like I need to block in large chunks of time to complete a solid painting. NOT TRUE! Alot of artists feel that way. However, my favorite paintings paint themselves, very quickly.

Problem #2 - PAINTING BACKWARDS: My desk and chair were not facing the open window. It would have taken alot of time to rearrange the room, so that I could view the elements properly. I didn't have time. My girlfriend came up with a great solution. She put an 8 X 10 mirror on the table. Genius! This way I could get straight to work.

This is one of my favorite subjects. I've done quite a few palm trees in oil. This one is in watercolor. I consider it done en plein air, since I was usualy the outdoors as my model, and not working from a photograph.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Getting Ahead in the Art World

Sometimes it is hard to have a dream in this world!

Seems like sometimes the Universe is conspiring against you. Well, why not put the universe working on your side! Can you really do that? Yes! Every day, I get a positive message from the universe via e-mail. It is branded in humor, and makes the journey, ever so much more rewarding. The link is: www.tut.com

The second link is about one of the leading instructors in art. Tony van Hasselt is not only a great artist, but also a great teacher. Years ago, I was turned onto his book, "The Watercolor Fix-It Book", cowritten by him and Judy Wagner. This top selling artist let me in on a little secret. His artwork hadn't always sold so well. It wasn't until a top selling artist told him about the book, and he started applying the principles of design to his artwork that his paintings started flying off the shelf.

Anyhow, I don't like to read, so not only did I buy Tonys' book but also the companion video. I think Edgar Whitney said it best, "Design like a Turtle and Paint like a Rabbit". Great words of wisdom.

Now Tony has put some great little videos on his website. http://www.tonyvanhasselt.com/paintingtips.html

If you enjoy them, I implore you to either buy and study his books or videos. There is not alot of solid advice out there on design and composition. But Tony has put these keys into logical steps making it easy for anyone to follow and create solid paintings.

Live, love and paint,

Terry

Life as an Artist

Last Week was an exceptionally busy time in my life as an artist. The wonderful Riverside Plein Air paintout occurred. That is a week long event of a large group of plein air artists painting in beautiful, downtown Riverside, California.

I went there on Saturday to witness the quick draw contest. About 30 artists participated. The artists had 2.5 hours to sketch, compose and paint an entire painting. Talk about the pressure.

Now, my expectations at the beginning were low. What could an artist possibly paint in 2.5 hours, and it look halfway decent. To my amazement, masterpieces. Nothing less that brilliant masterpieces. artwork.

Congratulations all who participated.

Live, love and paint,

Terry