Piute Mountain Series II

Here is the completed drawing. I worked on the movement of the branches in the tree. I attempted to keep the area between the branches more open, leaving more of the sky and background visible. The area on the bottom left had me stalled for awhile. But I decided upon added a few rocks to keep the area simple allowing the focus of the drawing to be in the middle plain.

Here is the completed drawing. I worked on the movement of the branches in the tree. I attempted to keep the area between the branches more open, leaving more of the sky and background visible. The area on the bottom left had me stalled for awhile. But I decided upon added a few rocks to keep the area simple.

The tree branches are a challenge. I am trying to make sense of the tangled branches. Using caution not to be too organized but still control the flow and direction of them. The rocks behind the tree still need some work. The two dark ones next to the tree need a bit of adjustment as they ended up being the same size and look like two eggs instead of rocks.

Doing a preliminary sketch first and then sketching out the scene for the final drawing is providing me with an extra opportunity. This allows me to exaggerate limbs or slightly alter the placement of objects freely on the paper. Something I rarely do. This drawing is approximately 7 x 9" and is again on the mellotex paper.

The sky is done by laying down a light crosshatching of "F" .5 mm pencil, then chamoising smooth. The next foggy layer was done with a dirty tortillion and the distant pines are done using a 2B .5 mm pencil with short strokes and a tad of blending with a tortillion.

The rocks and tree are boldly shadowed by 4B .5 mm pencil - something I rarely use right off to bat but seems to be working well.


Continuing on with my nature studies, here is the reference photo. This is another view from the Sequoia National Forest in California. We visited our son and took a day trip through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Below is a sketch I did to get a feel for the scene.

Piute Mountain Series I

I have darkened the rocks on the left and lightened the black 'halo' around top rock. I have also darkened the foreground and gave more definition to the foreground rocks.
This drawing is 7" x 9-1/2".

I have adjusted some of the rock edges. Making them a bit less straight and more angular. I extended the path all the way to the top of the ridge and I 've been working on darkening the path.

Is this a retake of a previous drawing? Well in a sense. I am trying out a new paper - Mellotex created in England. It is an ultra-smooth, ultra-white paper with a matte finish.

I think I may have overworked some areas but this is really giving me a great opportunity to play with textures. It has a wonderful flat matte feel to it that I enjoy. I can layer and layer and layer. And I can create the mid-tones easily, which is something I have always struggled with.

I still have a bit to do with this scene yet. The foreground and the path needs some work yet.

Enjoy!