Old Burl Tree

Old trees are rich in textures.  Unusual growths such as burls and trees in various states of decay can create marvelous maps of grains, bark and areas of organic abstraction.   Afternoon shadows curve across the trunk adding three dimensional form.

Old Burl Tree

5”x7”

Graphite

Minimalism Art Sketchbook

Shadow Lake Outlet

With some assistance from a wonderful artist friend, Vince Whitehead, I tweaked a couple of areas and really brought depth to the drawing. Added darker trees to the lake edge and added some highlights to the water, and lightened the mountain as it touches the sky. Vince is a talented pen & ink artist, http://www.rural-route-one.com/, and we share a common interest in rural landscapes.



Strong pencil strokes and and negative drawing carries this drawing to completion. Keeping the entire composition loose with minimum detail helps to emphasize movement and energy.



This is another from the Yosemite series. I started this drawing a bit differently than usual as I wanted to block in the foreground rock bluff on the left. (Since I'm a lefty, I typically start in the background and work my way right to left).

I then roughly sketched in the trees behind the rocks. These will get much darker as I work my way through the scene. I'm not getting too detailed as this is more an exploration of composition of light and shadows..... but then isn't that true for any drawing?

Whenever you are using reference photos, try various crops. The brush in the foreground is too dominant. By just cropping a bit of the right and bottom off, the central focus of the scene pops out.

Tehachapi Mountain Park - A Bit of Paradise

Tehachapi, California is a wonderland of different landscapes. This little rocky area in the park is an artist's dream... I could spend days exploring all the possible rock and tree groupings.

The rocks are rough with lichen and moss covered. But I concentrated on the shape of them. I opened the path up just a little bit.

Enjoy!