I went for a walk in the woods last Sunday.
I took my sketching supplies with me…
along with Buckley…
and Buddy.
I dressed in my new spring finery…
(Hey, I can’t worry about how I look when I’m even MORE worried about deer ticks crawling up my legs!)
I decided to do a 5-5-5 Sketch Challenge: I would walk for 5 minutes, draw for 5 minutes, and paint for 5 minutes until I had filled a page (or two) in my sketchbook.
Come along with me and the boys, and see how a blank sketchbook page develops, step-by-step, into a complete sketch!
These pretty violets caught my eye as I walked down the hill through the field, headed for the woods, and I decided to make them my first subject. I sat down in the grass, pulled out my art supplies, and did a quick 1-2 minute pencil sketch in one corner of a page. Since I knew I was going to add more elements as I continued on my walk, I drew a rough circle frame around the little violet, so it wouldn’t get lost amid the larger sketches to come. I let some of the leaves spill over the edge of the circle to make things more interesting and add some depth.
I inked the sketch with my Pitt pen (size S) using a light touch. I didn’t want any harsh, heavy lines.
Next, I grabbed my water brush and palette and did a first wash of color then dropped in darker, richer color on the flower petals to deepen the values. I was frustrated with the limited color selection in the small palette I was using, though. I missed having Opera Pink or Permanent Rose, which would have given me the brighter violet I wanted.
My composite page was off to a good start!
With one sketch under my belt, I grabbed my stuff and walked on to the woods. Instead of walking for a full 5 minutes, I stopped at the start of the trail to sketch some of the daffodils that my son and I had planted the first autumn we lived here, more than 21 years ago.
Buckley came to see what I was doing.
And then Buddy had to come over to see what Buckley was doing.
They were both a little confused as to why I was sitting on the ground instead of striding down the path.
I switched to the right side of the two-page spread for my daffodil sketch and made the drawing the full height of the page. I like to include a range of image sizes in a composite sketch, and the long lines of the daffodils would act as a frame for the page.
I blocked in the basic shapes with a pencil, just to position the image on the page, then I drew the flowers and a few of the leaves with my pen.
I had to work very quickly on this drawing to stick to my self-imposed 5-minute time limit. I just relaxed and had fun as my pen danced across the page.
I dashed on some color, added some deeper tones, then my time was up. Time to move on down the trail. This painting step may have overshot the 5-minute limit, but not by much!
I was wishing by then that I had brought along my folding stool. Sitting on the ground was messy and uncomfortable, and I was a little paranoid about ticks crawling up my legs and back. But I was trying to pack light, so I had left it at home. Note to self: Next time, bring the backpack and stool!
Next stop: Bluets!
Bluets are sweet little wildflowers that pop up in early spring in our woods. I just love how dainty they are, and the periwinkle blue of the petals is one of my favorite colors.
The pencil drawing and inking of this simple sketch only took 2-3 minutes to complete…
then it was on to painting, which only toook another couple of minutes.
By this time, I hadn’t made much progress down the trail, and the critters were getting impatient. Buddy was rubbing up against me, urging me on, then dashing across the flowers in front of me, as if to say, “Follow me!”
Buckley tried to help by framing the view for me…
At one point, I was sitting in the leaves, balancing everything on my lap and fumbling for my ringing cell phone, when Buckley, who must have been thinking, “Oh, come on, I’ve had enough of this!”, stomped right on the bluets I was sketching. 🙁
At that point, I figured I should take the hint and get moving. I picked up my sketchbook and moseyed further down the trail and deeper into the woods. The boys were so happy that I was walking again!
I was making progress with my page, but I thought it needed something tall on the left side…
Luckily, there were plenty of tall things to draw!
The trunk of a beech tree nicely balanced the daffodils on the right side of the sketch.
At this point, I took stock of what I had so far and gave some thought as to what else I wanted to include on the page. The spread was filling up, and I didn’t want to keep adding things without a more definite plan.
I decided to incorporate a paragraph of text and put it inside a box. The text box would connect several of the elements on the page and make it feel more cohesive.
I tested the idea of making it a bit wider, so I could connect the daffodil on the far right to the text box. It looked good either way, but I decided to go with the wider box.
Luckily, there’s no right or wrong way to do any of this, just choices. And decisions to be made.
By this time, the wind was picking up and the sky was darkening, so I didn’t take the time to paint the tree, but my page layout had been finalized, so I could proceed with confidence, knowing I just needed one more sketch to fill an empty area at the bottom of the page.
I walked a little farther (Buckley and Buddy were so happy I was moving!) and found this sweet white flower at the base of an oak tree.
My friend Teresa identified it for me later, since I couldn’t find it in my wildflower book. It’s cut-leaf toothwort. I never knew there was such a thing! See how much sketching can teach you? 🙂
I did a quick pencil rough-in…
then the details were drawn with ink.
I painted the groundcover and toothwort leaves first…
The white blossoms needed nothing more than a touch of lavender shadow color.
By the time I was finished, Buddy, who usually lags behind, was up ahead giving me a look that said, “What could possibly be taking you so long?!”
As we finally hiked up the hill and headed out of the woods, Buckley dashed ahead…
while Buddy resumed his customary position bringing up the rear.
So, this is what I came home with after about an hour of walking and sketching. It was a good start on a page, and I had a vision for what I wanted to do to finish it, but that would have to wait until the next day.
It was time to feed the critters and make some dinner, call my mom, and talk to Fred, who was away on a trip. Then, I needed to spend some time on new house stuff that was waiting for me (answering emails and such) and maybe do a little work on my video classes.
My walk in the woods with Buddy and Buckley was a peaceful respite from all the craziness in my life these days. Time for sketching and blogging is scarce, because each day seems to be filled with pressing matters that are time-sensitive, things that need to be taken care of NOW.
But I need to feed my soul, too. I need to stop and see, really see, the spring wildflowers bravely pushing up through a carpet of last year’s leaves. I need to enjoy the daffodils in our woods one last time before we move to our new place, and I need to spend time with our old cat and dog who love nothing more than a walk in the fresh air with me.
It’s tough finding the right balance, but I’m managing, and I know this busyness is only temporary. I’ll get through it. And I’m promising myself that I’ll make time during this season of my life for the fun stuff, too.
Tomorrow, I’ll show you how I finished up this sketch back in the studio. See you then! (Read it here.)
8 Comments
What a beautiful day trip and drawing time for you and your two little pals! And – to me – it felt great to follow you on your trail and, almost, see with my own eyes the beauty of the nature there! This was a lovely post, lots to learn from – especially how you organized your drawing time 5-5-5 and the layout of your pages! I truly loved readind every line and looking at each photo! Thank you 🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Mihaela. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post. Maybe you can give a 5-5-5 Sketch Challenge a try the next time you go out for a walk. 🙂
Haha – your companions had me giggling!! (they are cute, even if impatient!). I leave all companions at home and take my roll-up camp-chair with me, then I”m a happy camper!. This turned out so lovely!! I like the flower vignettes with the big tree to hold them all together!
Yes, I’m glad I added the tree, even if all the page elements aren’t in proportion to each other. I just love the beech trees in those woods. The smooth bark sometimes looks grey and other times looks almost yellow-green. And some of them are huge! We transplanted a small one to our front yard when we first moved here, and now I’m thinking I might dig up another one and plant it at the new house to take a little bit of Summerhill with me.
I have never done this. And now, I must. I think on my next walk down to the pond, I will take my sketch book and a few bits of paint and try a 5-5-5. (Or maybe a 5-5 and paint at home). I need to do more from life. I’m so wired to photos because my drawing isn’t grand. But it won’t get any closer to that if I don’t actually do it. Thank you — I needed this right now.
Leslie, this was simply delightful – thank you!! I also love the 5-5-5 strategy. Arlene and I are off on a group nature journaling jaunt on Saturday. I would love to try weaving this in, even if it happens after the group part is over. As always, you are an inspiration!
Have fun, and be sure to send me a pic of your nature sketches if you give the 5-5-5 challenge a try.
This was such a lovely morning read for me. I love seeing your animals and how they fit into your sketching and painting walk. So happy to have found your blog. Love your style!