Happy Trees

5/27/20 Across the street

Even as I walk daily through my ‘hood, looking for fresh ways to sketch familiar scenes, I admit that I often overlook the views that are closest. It was a beautiful, warm afternoon. Although I usually make most of my on-location sketches while standing, the sunshine seemed to invite a more leisurely stance. I dragged a kitchen chair out to our front porch landing and decided I would sketch whatever I could see from that spot. Across the street, our neighbors have a few small trees that looked as happy as I felt to be sketching in the sunshine.

A leisurely sketch on the porch landing.

Technical note: I rarely use traditional (wax- or oil-based) colored pencils on location because my favorite water-soluble ones seem faster and more efficient. But I was working on a review for the Well-Appointed Desk, so this leisurely sketch was a good opportunity to use Tombow Irojiten colored pencils. I was surprised to find that this sketch didn’t take much longer than my usual watercolor pencil approach. Maybe I’ve become more efficient myself in whatever colored pencils I use.

Stay tuned for my review at the Desk of this lovely Irojiten pencil case. I’ll update this post with a link when it’s live.

Edited 7/3/20: See the review now!