Afternoon and Morning

8/22/20 across the street

Sketch the same view at different times of the day: That was the USk Talks Challenge that Shari Blaukopf had offered sketchers when she gave a USk Talk way back in May. I liked the idea and kept it in the back of my mind all summer, but I kept forgetting to do the same scene at a different time. Then a few mornings ago, I looked across the street at the shadows cast by our neighbors’ planters on the lawn, and I suddenly remembered that I had sketched the same view in the afternoon a few weeks ago. It was an ideal opportunity to finally respond to the challenge.

Above is the scene in the afternoon, and below is the one I did in the morning. The afternoon sketch was leisurely on a lovely sunny day, but the morning one was quick: The air was still hazy with smoke from wildfires in distant parts of Washington State. I used violet and yellow to capture light and shadow as well as to evoke the strange color of the sky.

9/9/20