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6/22/22 Green Lake Park |
During my first couple of years of sketching, I often opened
up my sketchbook and sketched across the full spread. That wasn’t a choice
based on the composition or subject matter; I did it because I had difficulty
scaling down to a small page, so I thought it would be easier if I gave myself
as much space as possible. It took me a long time to realize I was approaching
the solution backwards: I know now that small pages are much easier to
compose (not to mention fill in less time).
For years now, I’ve rarely gone larger than an A5-size page.
It’s usually only in workshops when the instructor recommends or requires it
that I ever go larger. (Since it’s something I avoid, it probably means I need
to give myself a 30-day challenge to make myself sketch larger! Did I say that
out loud??)
One of many things I’m learning (or reinforcing) during my
current 30-day composition challenge is that my typical thumbnail size –
usually around 2 ½ or 3 inches – is a wonderful size for finished sketches as
well as studies. They are fast to complete, but more important, they are much
easier to compose.
Several examples came up last week. With less than 10
minutes to kill while waiting for a friend at Green Lake, I made a thumbnail
study from my parking space with a blue pencil (below, left). That was all I was planning to
do, but I still had time left. I added magenta and yellow from primary triad 3 to the study (below right), and a few minutes later, my 2 ½-inch sketch was done. Even
though it was tiny, it felt like a “real” sketch since I had made the thumbnail
first (and the thumbnail had done its job of identifying values and
composition)!
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Voila -- the study is now a sketch! |
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6/22/22 study for sketch at right. |
Later at Green Lake when I had more time, I decided to walk
to a house I have admired and have thought about sketching for years, but its
complexity is daunting. Painted blue, green and beige and with a hexagonal
turret, round windows and other unusual architectural details, the unique house
turns heads on Green Lake Way. (If you follow Steve Reddy, he made a beautiful drawing of it several years ago.)
I first made a thumbnail from a near-elevation view (below), not so
much as a composition study but just to learn more about it. I didn’t like that
view, so I walked a few yards south, where I found an angle I liked better. Since
color is an important part of this house, I added a little. My intention was to
make a larger sketch eventually, but by the time I finished these thumbnails, which
took a lot of concentration, I was too tired! I think I’ll be ready the next
time I go back, though, because it was informative to study the house on a
small scale.
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Thumbnail 1 |
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Thumbnail 2 |
Needing a rest after that architectural ordeal, I looked
around at Green Lake Park and spotted a couple of picnickers under some trees –
a relaxing subject! I could have gone full-A5 page for this one, but I was
still in thumbnail mode. I used only the top half of a page, so this is about 4
inches square (top of post).
Size matters, and small is easier.