Trying to make waves.

I haven’t had much spare time over the last few days to practice drawing waves. We have had family from France staying which requires, eating, drinking, site seeing and more.

I had nothing to put on this blog os I spent just 20 minutes sketching the drawings on this page, they were made using some digital pics I took last last summer. I am quite happy with the result. I drew fast trying to keep the line free easy..it was fun. It might not be quite right, but it is a good start. I am not sure if I took it to the next stage it would look more like water or not, we shall see. I actually doubt it because if I try to hard, my drawing will loose it's freshness. And I won't enjoy doing it either.

So I must stick to my aim to draw free and easy outlines of sea and rocks. And also have a go at putting in a bit of colour with a brush on the spot. Being ‘on the spot’ should help generate some energy and enthusiasm.

Coping with the wind so close to the sea can be a problem. Last summer was wet on most days of my stay in Brittany and this year seems to be going the same direction. Drawing in the rain and sea spray is not easy, graphite and water don’t seem to mix that well.

Learning how to draw water

On my holiday I hope to be doing some sketches on a rocky coastline and perhaps calm water up muddy creaks, I want to be able to indicate moving and still water.

It was over a year ago now that I last made sketches with sea and rocks as a key feature, so I need to get in some practice.

I reckon if you want to be able to easily suggest water whilst sketching plein-air, you need to have a selection of patterns up your sleeve. So that is what I aim to work out, patterns to me help suggest water.

Seawater has various motions, calm, choppy, rough and very rough. So to put things down on paper in situ fast, I will need to learn to use a set of random patterns to help give the effect of water as I see it. With inlets or creaks, water is often generally calm. When vegetation is close to the waters edge it creates reflections of light and dark. So use of white space can be key to achieving a suitable result. White space sounds easy. But to some, use of white space doesn’t seem to come naturally, and I am in that category. So like anything in life, it will take some practice to get better at it.

So far, I have had a few stabs at water and although only from Photo’s I feel I am getting somewhere. The sample here (Le Goyen à Pont-Croix) is far too tight and overworked, which is not really what I am good at. I prefer to keep my sketches as free and energetic as possible and I am sure the immediacy of sketching plein-air will help.

How do I draw waves crashing onto rocks? Use white paper to suggest the foaming sea. I am not going to worry too much about this, just aim to keep the line free like water.

So, to sum up, something to think about when drawing. One: I must let my line run free and flow just like water. Two: Work out some patterns to suggest water in different situations. Three: For rough sea I can make my lines stronger with stabbing, expressive marks, using the white of the paper to suggest a foaming sea crashing onto the rocks. It all sounds so easy!

Cornouaille

Last year we spent two weeks in Brittany with 5 days in a friend’s home with wonderful views overlooking the Baie D'Audierne. Like so many places in the west facing the Atlantic, the Baie D'Audierne has wonderful light. I have a picture taken on January the first and it is difficult to tell it wasn't taken in August; such is the brilliance of the light reflecting off the sea.

The coastline is very varied there, plenty of rocks, sand, exposed rugged cliffs and clear blue water. Super for walking. Last summer though the weather was not too good with grey days, rain, showers or drizzle. Desperate, I even tried to draw in the rain! not too successful. Soggy cockled paper and pencil sliding across the pages put a stop to my fun.

Above are a couple sketches from last year, executed between showers (Top, looking west towards Audierne and the bottom, Pors Poulhan harbour). This year I am keen to add some colour. I will have to practice to get into 'rocks and sea mode'. It would be great to learn how to portray the sea and water successfully.

Last year I bought two books by Denis Clavreul, they are full of clever but simple sketches and watercolours that seem to project effortlessly the colours and atmosphere of this beautiful area. These books provide me with plenty of food for thought. If I can produce anything even starting to approach Clavreul's ability to capture the feel and colour of the place, I know I will come away with a real sense of achievement.

Does everyone who draws find it very demanding?

The past 2 weeks have been so hot I have been unable to get out much to have a go at drawing landscapes so I have stuck to still life, not very well thought out subject matter, just a few items as they are around the house.

Is it just me or does everyone who draws find it very demanding? I enjoy what I call scribbly sketches, like William Gillies flowing drawings. In the bottom image here I have tried to be accurate, but accurate drawing is tough. I think maybe I get bored or frustrated trying to be accurate, knowing in my mind that I will never draw accurately enough to satisfy myself, so why try, just do what I enjoy.

When I am drawing I get the feeling my brain is busy telling me, "Your drawing is accurate, carry on" as if to shield me from the real truth at that moment in time. And when I come back in an hour or two, perhaps the next day, all the obvious errors look straight back at me.

One way around the problem of errors is to look at your work in a mirror, turn it upside down or take a snap with digital camera and look at it smaller. As if by magic, errors are revealed. But then, how do you fix them? I just go away and come back later, rubber in hand. I then try to fix these errors but the drawing becomes more and more over worked. I admire these people who are able or practiced enough to draw accurately and at the same time keep it fresh. The funny thing is, although I admire accurate drawing from a technical point of view, I do not get the same pleasure from it as a lively energetic sketch.

Another thing I have problems with is fitting the drawing on the paper. I stare at a landscape and think, let's plan this out, put down a rough outline, but so often I don't. Instead, I just say to myself I will start here and that should allow for the highest point and the width. But no matter how hard I think this through, without putting down a clear outline first, I nearly always run out of paper. So either I start again, or continue and put up with my composition running off the edge.

The thing is I don’t want to be restricted by the edges of the paper. I don't want to rough out the drawing to make sure it fits, I didn't do this when I was a kid, I just started and drew, so why should I start now! So what if it doesn't fit the paper! Unlike looking through a camera lens, when you see things with your own eyes (if you enjoy fairly normal vision without glasses that is), you never have the feeling of a frame restricting your view.

Bonnard knew how to handle the problem of size. He used to pin an oversized piece of canvas on a wall and then paint. He never wanted the format of a prepared canvas to dictate the layout of his painting.

To sum up, it seems to me I have 3 types of drawing activity. 1. Accurate drawing (I don't enjoy much). 2. Light careful sketch (enjoyable but not always). 3. Energetic scribble (I really enjoy the freedom with less worries about inaccuracy). So, if I struggle or am just too lazy to draw accurately, and if I want to enjoy drawing, it has to be a rough 'Energetic scribbly' sketch keeping my line free, almost painterly.

With a landscape I try to let my sketches and their lines project the energy I feel for the subject, the excitement I feel when looking at objects and their juxtaposition. I am most comfortable when my line work in the sketch seems to be searching for the right line or proportion. Only then is it fun to draw.

When lines in a drawing are free and sketchy, it hides errors, and where errors are clear to see you accept them more readily. And because the drawing is vigorous and the line work generous, you don't just look at it, you read it, the drawing taking your eyes on a journey following the lines.