Pea Soup for Breakfast

 

12/4/24 Maple Leaf neighborhood, about 8:45 a.m.

This is the time of year for sketching fog. Often it starts to burn off by mid- to late-morning and thins even earlier. If I want to sketch it, I have a relatively narrow window of time after full sun around 8 a.m. and whenever it may dissipate. Since I know it may begin lifting at any time, there’s always a bit of tension, which I relish. It was already fading by the time I finished this sketch shortly before 9 a.m.

I’ve tried different media to sketch fog, including watercolor (way back in 2013!), water-soluble graphite, charcoal and white colored pencils, but my favorite is graphite. In years past, I’ve often used a blending stump to soften graphite for a diffused, foggy look. The risk, though, is that the stump will darken graphite slightly, and it’s already challenging to apply graphite lightly. For this one and the one I had made the day before, I resisted the stump and challenged myself to draw as lightly as possible (and still be visible).

I’ve been using a Field Notes Streetscapes sketchbook, which has a lovely, mild tooth that I enjoy with graphite, but it might still be too strong a texture for soft fog. Next time I’ll try something smoother.