I’ve been finishing up some of the sketches I did while in Maine earlier this summer, and it’s been a lot of fun reliving that special time that I shared with my mother and five students. Three of them flew all the way from California to be there!
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| All sketches were done in a 9″ x 6″, Stillman and Birn Alpha series hardbound sketchbook |
I added this year’s sketches to the sketchbook that I started last year in Maine, but I gave this section its own title page. (See the 2015 sketches here.) The design was drawn with five different colors of Sakura Gelly Roll pens on a prepainted watercolor background. The lettering was done with watercolor.
Primrose Cottage, where we stayed, is such a beautiful old house, with lots of character. This year I sketched some of my favorite details. A tiny sketch of my students during their first walk on Crescent Beach rounded out this composite page nicely.
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| Ink and watercolor |
Our first outing was to Birch Point State Park, where I did a sketch with watercolor pencil then painted it with watercolor while several of the students sketched alongside me. It was a cool blustery day, and by the time we finished, everyone was ready to go back to Primrose Cottage for a hot cup of tea.
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| Watercolor pencil, watercolor, graphite pencil, and Pitt pen (for the lettering) |
I used self-adhesive mesh drywall tape to make pencil guidelines for my vertical stripes. After I painted the blue stripes freehand with a brush, I decided not to erase my guidelines. I like the way it gives the look of a ticking stripe. Usually I use the mesh drywall tape horizontally to make straight guidelines for text, but using it vertically gave me a new appreciation for the versatility of this tool. I always keep a piece of it handy, stuck to the Coroplast board that I use as a lap desk.
You’re going to love tomorrow’s post! I’ll be sharing a step-by-step tutorial showing my process for painting a stand of beautiful purple irises on location at Merryspring Nature center in Camden, Maine.
2 Comments
amazing!!!
Beautiful sketches Leslie. I hope to join you there one day!