Across the Street, 6:35 a.m. (and Updated Night Sketch Kit)

 

12/8/21 Maple Leaf neighborhood, 6:35 a.m.

I sketched this house about a year ago, probably at about the same time of day. This time I tried a more vertical format and included a car. These neighbors never put up holiday lights on their house. The soft illumination of their porchlight is comforting on these darkest of mornings.

Looking at last year’s post reminded me that I showed my nocturne sketch kit then. I’ve simplified it this year. I’m still using the ever-handy Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 book light, of course. I kept the white Sakura Gelly Roll and white Derwent Drawing Pencil, chose just a few warm and cool near-white Prismacolors, and took out the rest of the colored pencils. My recent use of limited palettes has taught me that having fewer choices is better. Besides, when sketching in the dark, I can barely distinguish one near-white from another!

However, anticipating sketches of holiday lights, I also added a fistful of Kuretake Zig Fudebiyori metallic brush pens (my review at the Well-Appointed Desk).

Metallic brush pens in; lots of whitish colored pencils out