Peek-a-Boo View

6/11/14 Pilot Iroshizuku Take-Sumi, Fuyu-Shogun, Tsuyu-kusa and Ku-jaku inks, Caran d'Ache Museum water-soluble colored
pencils, Canson XL 140 lb. paper

Familiarity breeds contempt.

I have to say that I’m generally not very inspired by my own neighborhood and “territorial view” (as realtors call it), as far as sketching goes. Other than specific trees that I like to sketch seasonally, the trees and houses immediately around us don’t do much for me. In February when it snowed, I sketched a house across the street, but that was only because I didn’t feel like looking for my boots. And two years ago, I sketched our neighbor’s house as an exercise in perspective.

Standing on our front deck this morning, I still wasn’t particularly inspired by the houses across the street – but I was by their shadows. I even put in the tiny (“peek-a-boo,” according to realtors) view of Green Lake between the houses.

P.S. I’m having a ball with mixed media! (I find that I pay more attention to values when I'm not using watercolor, which tends to make me focus on technique.)