Resistance is Futile

Resistance is futile. I succumbed.

No, I didn’t buy another set of special-edition bicolors. I mean AI. All this time, I had resisted downloading ChatGPT or another AI app because – well, for a million reasons. I don’t think I need to tell you what they are. But one compelling conversation with Janet about how she was using AI to help her learn how to improve her sketches pushed me over the edge.

As an example, she randomly fed ChatGPT one of my sketches. ChatGPT spat out a critique – and my jaw hit the floor. Using friendly, constructive and articulate language, the detailed critique was both accurate and surprisingly helpful.

I didn’t want to toss it more random sketches; I considered carefully how I could learn from this tool. I chose one recent sketch made at Volunteer Park that I really like to see if it would agree with me. I also chose a recent sketch at Green Lake that I thought had a poor composition. Below are ChatGPT’s critiques, both of which I think are spot on in most ways, although it rated my crappy Green Lake sketch much higher than I would have. It never even mentioned composition! It’s important to remember that while AI can easily and quickly distill all the “rules” or conventions of art, it has no taste. [I've added a few of my own italicized comments in brackets like this.]

It was a fascinating exercise, but the novelty has already worn off. It would be most helpful with a sketch that had gone wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on what would make it better. When that happens, I’ll share the results.

Volunteer Park 

This is a lovely plein air-style sketch. It has a strong sense of light, and it captures the feeling of a sunny day more than just the literal appearance of the scene. Here are my thoughts:

What works especially well

The light is convincing. The dappled sunlight across the lawn and the cast shadow beneath the foreground tree immediately establish the time of day. The values feel consistent throughout.

The greens are varied. Landscapes can easily become a single mass of green, but you've introduced warm yellow-greens, cooler blue-greens, and darker evergreen tones. That variety keeps the foliage lively.

The layering creates depth. The foreground tree, midground shrubs, and background conifers separate nicely. The gazebo roof peeking above the trees is an effective focal point because it's only partially revealed. [I was amused that Chat thought the water tower was a gazebo. . . seems a bit tall for that.]

Soft edges suit the subject. The foliage has an airy, natural quality rather than looking overworked.

Areas to push further

Give the foreground tree a stronger structure. Right now the canopy is beautiful, but the trunk and major branches could do a bit more to communicate the tree's architecture. A few carefully placed darker branch masses would anchor it.

Increase the value range selectively. The deepest darks occur in the shadow beneath the tree, but adding a few more near-black accents inside the evergreen masses and where foliage overlaps would increase contrast and make the sunlit leaves sparkle even more.

Vary the lawn texture. The grass is rendered fairly evenly. Introducing slightly broader strokes or subtle changes in texture as it recedes could strengthen the sense of distance.

Strengthen the focal point. Since the gazebo is such an interesting shape, you could either:

• reveal just a touch more of it through an opening in the foliage, or
• increase the contrast around it so the eye lands there more decisively.

A small compositional thought

The foreground tree sits just left of center, which works, but it competes a little with the brighter shrub on the right. If your intention was to make the tree the star, slightly darkening or simplifying the right-hand shrub would help guide the eye.

Overall

I'd rate this around 8.5–9/10 as a field sketch. It demonstrates excellent observation, restrained color, and a convincing sense of atmosphere. The next level would come from emphasizing the underlying structure of the trees and being a bit bolder with your darkest darks and sharpest accents. Those small changes would make the sunlight feel even more luminous.

This has the look of someone who spends a lot of time sketching outdoors—you've captured the experience of the place, not just its outlines. [This sentence made me happy!]

Green Lake

This sketch has a different character from your previous one [Notice that it compares my previous sketch to the one I uploaded afterwards. I didn't ask it to do this]. It's bolder, more graphic, and relies on the contrast between the luminous trees and the dark architecture. It's an ambitious subject because you're balancing organic forms against strong geometric ones.

First impression

The rhythm of the trees is what immediately catches my eye. The repeated vertical forms create a pleasing cadence across the page, and the bright yellow-green foliage communicates intense midday sun.

What's working well

The value design is strong.
The dark building provides a solid backdrop that makes the illuminated trees glow. That's the strongest compositional idea in the sketch, and it succeeds.

You simplified effectively.
Rather than describing every window or every leaf, you've reduced the scene to large masses. That's exactly the right instinct for location sketching.

Color temperature is convincing.
The cool blue notes in the building contrast nicely with the warm greens. That temperature shift helps separate the architecture from the landscape.

Areas to strengthen

1. Give the trees more individuality

Most of the trees have nearly identical silhouettes and spacing, so they read as a pattern rather than individual forms.

Try varying:

• height
• canopy width
• edge shape
• trunk angle

Even subtle differences would make the row feel more natural.

2. Clarify the building planes

The building has strong dark values, but the planes flatten together.

A slightly clearer distinction between:

• the sunlit face,
• the shaded face,
• and the roof

would reinforce its three-dimensional form.

3. Ground the trees

Several trunks appear to sit on top of the ground rather than emerge from it.

Adding:

• slightly darker shadow at each trunk base
• a few horizontal ground strokes connecting the trunks
• subtle cast shadows

would anchor them much more convincingly.

4. Control the brightest greens

The yellow-green is beautiful, but because it's used on almost every tree, the eye doesn't know where to settle.

Consider letting one or two trees become the brightest while muting the others slightly. That would create a clearer focal hierarchy.

One thing I'd experiment with

The white foreground occupies a large portion of the page. If this were my sketch [That made me snicker! Chat is trying to sound like an instructor or fellow artist], I'd try suggesting just a little more of the pavement with a few broad, cool gray strokes. Not enough to finish it—just enough to tie the composition together.

Overall

I think this is a successful value study with a clear design. Compared with your previous sketch:

• Previous sketch: stronger atmosphere, more nuanced depth, and a greater sense of place.
• This sketch: stronger graphic impact and bolder value organization, but less variation within the forms.

If I were scoring them, I'd put the first at about 9/10 and this one around 8–8.5/10. The first feels more resolved because it has greater variety in edges, values, and shapes.

One thing I notice across both sketches is a consistent strength: you seem to think in masses rather than outlines. [I appreciated that observation because it's something I've been consciously working on for several years.] That's a hallmark of experienced landscape sketchers. As you continue, I'd focus less on adding detail and more on introducing selective variety—varying edges, values, and shapes within those masses. That will give your already strong compositions even more visual energy.