2/23/23 Maple Leaf neighborhood |
It was 31 degrees and overcast on trash day. I had no intention
of sketching outdoors, but on my way home from an appointment, I pulled over in
the neighborhood to make this sketch from my car. Here are a few things I
muttered about to myself that day:
Values: When I scanned the image (below), I realized that my darkest values were a bit wimpy. After those experiments in January, I had sort of forgotten about using a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Brush Pen as a color-based “grisaille,” which I think would have helped this composition without strong lighting or shadows. But it wasn’t too late: I got out a dark violet Pitt pen and darkened a few spots in the sketch, and I think it’s better now (top of post). I have to remember to use it when I need to.
Wimpy values (without the Pitt pen).
Sketchbook size: I’ve made only a few sketches in it
so far, but my new A6 Hahnemühle sketchbook is giving me a lot more freedom
to use color spontaneously because it stays with me in my small fitness-walking Rickshaw bag. I tend to take the small bag almost everywhere now, not just
on walks, because it’s so much lighter and slimmer than my long-time daily-carry larger Rickshaw. In other words, my fitness-walking bag has become my daily-carry.
The only times I still use my larger Rickshaw are when I plan to use my A5 Hahnemühle sketchbook. If it weren’t for that, I probably would have switched to the smaller bag full-time long ago. I’ve enjoyed using the A6 book enough so far that I’ve started wondering if it could become my full-time sketchbook? An A6 page spread opens to the size of an A5 when I want more space (though I’d have to contend with the gutter, which I don’t enjoy doing).
A6 vs. A5: Can I stand the smaller real estate full-time? |
Whoa, switching full-time to a pocket-size sketchbook would be quite a shift for me. I guess the only way to find out is to carry only the small A6 the next time I think I would prefer my larger A5 and see how it goes.
I'll be interested to see if you continue using the smaller book. It sounds like it should work well for you.
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