Fat (and Sugar) Tuesday

2/21/23 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood

Fat Tuesday was a good excuse to have a donut. The Wedgwood Top Pot was almost as quiet as the last time I was there, but I didn’t mind: The one patron who stayed long enough to sketch was beautifully backlit by the large front window. A high window on his right side complicated the lighting on his back, but I enjoyed the challenge.

I wish I could have worked on this guy
more, but he got away too fast.

An apple fritter and colored pencils... does it get any better?

This sketch also became a lesson in using watercolor pencils. As my primary color medium for going on seven years, watercolor pencils should be second nature to me by now, and yet they still present surprising challenges at times. I knew I wanted to leave the color on the man unactivated because I prefer the subtle gradations I can get with dry pencils (like that subtle shift on the back of his head). But to make the slivers of backlighting stand out on the left side of his face and shoulder, I had to intensify and darken the background bookshelves. 

When I activated the books with water, though, they stood out too strongly, so I had to go back in and intensify everything with more dry pigment. Ultimately, I think the whole sketch improved with my being “forced” to add more color, but it was one of those humbling moments when I see that I am still not a master of my medium and always have more to learn.