Churches

Fellowship Baptist Church, after the rain, 6/23

St. Brigid's Catholic Church, 6/26

Northwest Presbyterian Church, 6/28

First Presbyterian Church, Ada, Ohio
7/2



I find the churches in this area the most interesting buildings to draw, because architects seemed to place a higher value on beauty than with other modern buildings.

As usual, when I change sketchbooks, I find it difficult to adjust to the new paper. I liked the large Stillman & Birn Alpha I used a few years ago. The size of this Stillman & Birn A5 feels a bit cramped, and the paper doesn't take as much water as the Pentallic Nature Sketch I had been using. I used a little colored pencil over the watercolor on St. Brigid's, and a little pastel pencil on Northwest Presbyterian. (It was difficult to add watercolor layers, to get an even wash with a water brush, and to get pages to lie flat while photographing.)

I have learned from ArtTutor.com, that in order to improve my sketches, I will have to:
(1) Use heavier weight watercolor paper
(2) Give up the water brush
(3) Dedicate larger blocks of time to a piece
(4) Sometimes practice specific techniques working from photographs, where I can focus on difficult elements of a scene, over a period of time.
(5) Stay out of art supply stores; use the time to practice and improve
(6) Clear a space on my art table to actually work
(7) Get over my fear of masking fluid
(8) Become more comfortable working wet-in-wet
(9) Reduce dependence on ink lines to establish form
(10) Hold mark making tool further from the tip
(11) Try mixing more on the paper and less on the palette
(12) Experiment with glazing
(13) Consider negative shapes
(14) Try to fit sketching into a time of day when there are more shadows
(15) Draw thumbnails before sketching; consider options
(16) Experiment with limited palettes
(17) Be willing to sacrifice a great deal of pigment in the Pencil sharpener and the water jar.
(18) Work larger
(19) Use fresh paint