A bit of solstice sketching

[John humber]

Ok; it wasn’t the actual, for-real winter solstice but it was close—and such a bright day I had to get out.

 On the bank of the estuary, looking across the river, the sun was so almost painfully bright and fierce, and so low in the sky even though the time was only just after mid-day.

I always feel more cheerful after the winter solstice as, although there is still cold weather to come, the daylight is a little longer every day.

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

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[Yorky Administrator Ormskirk]

It will be freezing out there now.

Doug

We must leave our mark on this world

[Keith2]

They are lively sketches.

I rarely draw and paint outside in winter. This year I’ve used the TV as a source of inspiration. I record programmes which might have suitable landscapes, fast forward until I find one and freeze it on the screen. I then paint on an iPad.

[John humber]

Ahh, Keith…I don’t go out sketching very often in winter. The cold I can protect against to some degree, but the wind… I don’t have enough limbs to hold my pastels, hold the sketchbook open, hold on to the ‘ancilliaries’ such as cloths… No I don’t like sketching in windy weather.

Your alternative just doesn’t work for me—I can’t use 2d sources, especially ones that I haven’t experienced directly. I have the idea that my landscapes are very much about being in the landscape and the sketches allow me to remember the occasion in the studio.

I’ve tried the iPad and I just don’t have the patience to persevere with it in order to get through the initial learning. I wish I did as I could then sit in the car in the windy weather.

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[John humber]

Shock-horror.

On another clear, bright day recently, I went out again, to a different location upriver this time.

The sketch is how it looked on my last visit in August. The photo is how it looks now.

PLEASE how do I make these dreadful yellow things go away?

www.instagram.com/john_humber_artist
www.instagram.com/john_petty_letterform

[Keith2]

I can draw and paint from a printed photograph or a landscape paused on the screen while watching TV. The drawback is that it’s tempting to take time to paint all the details. This can make the finished picture look over painted.

If you paint outside, you’re more conscious of time and changes in the lighting and the sky. Somehow the eye and brain simplify what you see and you end up with a more attractive painting.

[DMSS]

John:

I really like your drawings.

--David

[Author]

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