Our three-day camping trip earlier this month to Caledonia State Park near Chambersburg, PA, was a spur-of-the-moment getaway. Just finding an open site at any campground is a challenge these days, so we were lucky to find a spot in the heart of central Pennsylvania just a few hours from home.
While we were there we visited Gettysburg (read about it in this post), but we also really enjoyed our time at Caledonia, just going for walks, reading, and relaxing. Seems like I have to get away from home in order to really unwind.
The last morning we were there, we heard a loud BOOM and suddenly all the lights went out in the trailer, and the AC went off (yes, we have air conditioning while we’re roughing it!) A huge oak tree had fallen across the park’s main access road, taken down a power line, and blown a transformer.
So I decided to go sketching!
I headed down the road, past the fallen tree, to the day use area where three smaller streams merge to form Conococheague Creek. I found a shady spot on the banks of Rocky Mountain Creek and pulled out my camping sketchbook to do a little plein air sketching. Please forgive the poor quality of the images – I just snapped pictures with my phone while I was sketching. You all really seem to enjoy seeing process photos, though, so I think they’re worth sharing.
The photo above is the scene I decided to draw. I started off with a light pencil sketch to get my composition down on the page.
Then I did a more defined ink drawing with my Sailor Fude fountain pen. I like the line variation it gives me. Notice how my ink lines don’t retrace the pencil lines exactly, and I don’t try to draw every detail. For a sketch with lots of foliage, like this one, I let the paint do most of the work rather than the pen. The ink lines are just a framework to build on.
When I’m on location, with a sketchbook on my lap and a brush in my hand, I have a tendency to paint in a looser manner, with brighter colors, and lots of wet-in-wet washes that flow into each other. I don’t fuss and fret. I’m so focused on what I’m doing that I paint fearlessly and don’t let niggling worries about the painting intrude on my thoughts. Positive energy seems to overcome all my usual insecurities. I feel like I’m “in the zone”, and I love it!
After the ink was dry, I sloshed yellow paint over most of the page to infuse the painting with a warm glow that would shine through the subsequent washes. I wanted to draw attention to the sunlit areas I saw in the scene.
I remembered to snap a photo so I could refer back to it if the lighting changed substantially before I finished painting. Then I mixed up some deep, dark, muted greens and purples for the shadowy woods in the background. I stroked the paint onto dry paper, placing the darkest colors at the bottom and switching to lighter yellow-greens toward the top of the page. This gave me an interesting variegated background wash where colors softly blend into each other yet still retain some of their individuality.
After painting most of the dark background and some of the upper canopy of leaves, I moved to the bushes in the foreground. Notice how much variation of color and value was achieved in the foreground bush with just one variegated wash of color. I started with the lightest yellow-green at the top and worked my way down to the bottom where I dropped in a mixture of of Sap Green + Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna to indicate shadows. This is a perfect illustration of the advice I give to my students, “Start strong!”
FYI: My Watercolor Essentials video course has an entire section devoted to variegated washes and how to use them.
I used a large size 10 round brush for this early stage of the painting to prevent me from getting too detailed too soon.
Next I painted the distant bank and grass, leaving bits of yellow showing to suggest highlights on the rocks and sunlight filtering through the trees. I made it brighter than it was in real life, because I wanted to have a path of light leading the eye from the foreground, up the stream to the background.
At that point, I had to pack up my things and head back to the campsite. It was time to break camp and get ready to head home.
A few days later, I had a chance to finish up this sketch in the comfort of my studio (after the trailer was unpacked and the laundry was done!)
These are the steps I took to finish the painting:
- Painted the grass on the left side of the sketch using a yellow-green underpainting for the brightest sunlit area. When that was dry, I painted the deeper blue-green shadows.
- Painted the dark shadows on the right side of the stream.
- Added color and darker tones to the left side of the stream.
- Painted a grey base wash on the trees, then brushed on darker tones later to indicate shadows and bark texture.
- Added midtones to some of the rocks in the creek.
- Defined the grasses and flowers with smaller brushstrokes and deeper values.
- Added short strokes of paint to the bushes and tree foliage to suggest leaves.
- Spattered dark green on the grass.
- Added a touch of white gouache to highlight the water ripples and sparkles.
Then it was time for the reveal! I love peeling off the painter’s tape and seeing a nice crisp edge on a sketch. I don’t use painter’s tape very often, but I knew from the start that this image had a lot going on, and I thought it might benefit from having some breathing space around it on the page.
But I didn’t want to leave it as it was, with that wide, plain, white border. Since this sketch is in my camping journal, I felt it needed some identification, to document where I sketched the scene, so I ended up bordering it with a single drawn line and an inset title. The lettering was done using a dip pen fitted with a pointed calligraphy nib.
Overall I’m happy with this sketch. I really like how warm and sunlit it looks. And the path of light leading into the picture seems to have worked out well, too. Of course, I see things that I wish I had done differently, but I’ve closed the book on this page. We’re about to head off on another adventure, and my sketch kit is packed and ready to go. I’m looking forward to four leisurely days with nothing to do but enjoy myself.
Why not give plein air sketching a try? What do you have to lose? After all, it’s only a piece of paper, and the only way to get better at something is to practice. So head outside, enjoy the sunshine, and sketch as only you can sketch!
30 Comments
You’ve captured the bright dappled sunlight so effectively. And you make it look and sound so easy! I always mean to, but never quite make it outdoors to sketch. (My excuse is that the humidity is crazy high in the morning, and thunderstorms rule to afternoons here in Florida during the summer.) But your encouragement and daily inspiration are widening the gap between ‘want to’ and ‘let’s do this’!
Thanks for another beautiful albeit vicarious trip to open skies! 👏🏻❤️
But, oh, those big cloud-filled skies in Florida are so tempting to paint, aren’t they? And, just think, all winter long you can get outside to paint when I’m in PA shivering in my Cuddleduds and turtleneck sweaters. I’m glad the gap between desire and action is narrowing for you. One day you’ll be ready. For now, maybe sketch the view from your window? Or when you’re sitting around the pool? Every sketch helps to build skills that will benefit you when you DO start sketching outside.
It turned out beautifully Leslie. There was a lot going on for sure in that scene but you painted it in a way that brings it all together in a serene way….Love the stream and the light and the tree branches especially……
Thanks, Beverlee. It just flowed from my brush when I was there on location. The finishing up at home is the more challenging part for me. That’s when I tend to get too fussy. I need to know when to quit!
What a gorgeous sketch! I really like that you stopped to snap photos of the process as you painted. You really captured the scene!
I’ll try to remember to do that more often. It’s always hard to remind myself to do it when I’m busily painting away.
Seriously, it’s amazing to watch your process and know it would take me too 10x longer or more to do what you do.
With practice comes experience, confidence, and skill. And speed! 🙂
I love Caledonia park—every other Friday this summer a watercolor group I paint with has been meeting at Caledonia. I’m so glad you were able to enjoy a trip here, though sorry to hear about the fallen tree and loss of electricity.
It’s beautiful down there at the base of the hill, with streams going in every direction. I loved watching all the kids messing around in the water. I was wishing my grandkids could have been with us.
I’ll try to remember to get in touch with you if we go again. Maybe I could join your watercolor group. Wouldn’t that be fun?
I wish I had been sitting right next to you as you painted and washed, layered and glazed!! Your fastidious instructions are such a help … as I sit 3,000 miles from you! Thank you for the inspiring work. Going to give it a try today.
Too bad I don’t have a way to film while I’m painting outside. I don’t think Fred would want to stand, looking over my shoulder and filming for an hour and half while I paint. LOL
I just added a caption to the photo saying that it’s okay to download it and use it to paint along with the step-by-step commentary. Have fun! You’re brave to try it – it’s not an easy scene to paint. There’s a lot going on there.
Thank you for sharing this adventure with us! It’s been a busy summer, but I’m getting better about getting outside to paint. It was wonderful to see your step by step photos. Thanks again for your generosity.
Beautiful!
You are so great to share your step-by-step sketching! You encourage me to get back outside and paint what I see and not worry about every tiny detail. Thank you so much.
Leaving out a lot of the details means the pressure is off – we don’t have to try to make a perfect recreation of what we see. We can paint whatever we please! It’s really a lot easier than trying to copy a scene exactly. Break FREE of the big D! (details!)
What a great post! You really describe the process well! Step by step it happens I guess. There are so many steps! As a novice it’s good to see how many stages a painting goes through to be finished. I find it hard to wade my way through the middle of a painting. Your description really is encouraging. Thanks!
Yep, it takes a lot of steps to get from A to Z. And yes, I always think of that difficult middle stage as the “awkward adolescent stage” of a painting. When I get there, I try to just ignore all those thoughts swirling around in my head, like “Gee, this is hard – am I ever going to finish??? Oh my gosh, that doesn’t look right! How the heck am I going to handle that?! Oops, shouldn’t have done that!” etc. etc. It’s really just my brain trying to help me out, to keep me from messing up, but, with a little patience, I almost always get through that stage and end up with something reasonably decent in the end. We must persevere! It takes a lot of courage to be an artist.
Your picture reminds me that you don’t have to travel great distances to find a subject.
This is perfect timing for me. I sketch while my husband is fishing and I am almost ALWAYS disappointed with the the outcome. I just cannot get the background foliage to look natural or not too busy which detracts from the rest of the sketch. I was out with him on Thursday and am again unhappy with my painted sketches. I plan to sit here today with some of my unpainted sketches from that day and go step by step through your instructions. Thankyou for this lesson.
I hope the tutorial helps, Diane. Sounds like you and your husband have found complementary hobbies. I’ve been suggesting to my hubbie that he take up fishing when he retires next summer. It would be a great way to spend time together, with him fishing and me drawing and painting.
Yeah, works out well. I don’t go with him every time just to certain sketchable places. Living in central PA makes it easy to find lots of places that work well for both of us.
I love this step by step painting of the stream . I have been trying to paint our local stream where Dave and I hiked recently. You have given me some new techniques to try. The place where you stayed is quite close to where my husbands family originated from in the early 1700’s. So of course after reading your notes, we got out the map to see where you stayed.
Thanks for sharing.
Susi
I always find water challenging to paint, but I just keep trying! I think the stream water would have turned out better if I had done more vertical washes early on to suggest reflections, but in reality, all the water looked brown, so it was hard figuring out how to make it look okay.
That’s cool about Dave’s family coming from that area – it’s so pretty around Gettysburg.
Always love seeing your process! I’m glad you and Fred are able to get away for extra doses of much-deserved relaxation this summer. Sounds wonderful! Do you like working on the Pentalic Aqua paper?
Yes, I’m finding the Pentalic Aqua Journal to be very acceptable. No negative issues have come up. Paint flows well, lifting is easy and doesn’t seem to affect the texture. It’s not too rough for journaling. Pages stay flat. An all-around good choice, I’d say.
It sounds like a wonderful holiday (apart from the transformer — but then, who needs it when you are out sketching!) I like the painting very much and really appreciate the step-by-step. I have recently met a plein air group in our community and when I return from the lake this fall will be joining them. I look forward to it!
Thank you for all the photos to help guide us as we try this. I love the idea of underpainting!
Thank you for the step by step pictures Leslie. That helps me understand the process a lot better. Joam
Thank you for sharing your step-by-step pictures.
I’ve purchases several of your tutorials and have been working on the background green foliage in my travel pictures. It really helps to see the process you go through.
It’s also encouraging to see the other comments from people who are working to improve in the same areas!
Joan Veach