Monday 16 May 2011

Pause for thought

I pass this wonderful statue on my way home from work .. well that's if I decide to go through the town centre for a bit of shopping, rather than the quick way home. I bought a new sketch book and a snazzy collapsible biro in town and so, armed with my new purchases and fancying a little break before I made my way home, I sat in the market square and sketched the war memorial in front of the old Court House and Mayor's Chambers. I must be getting more comfortable with plein air sketching now - I just ignored any passers-by and got on with it! I added coloured pencil at home., some from memory and some from reference to photographs on the web.


THE THINKING SOLDIER, HUNTINGDON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE

5 comments:

  1. Lovely sketch and so brave to do some en plein aire.
    Would you consider fading the windowed wall out a little, to make the statue stand out more?

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  2. Thanks Pat. I'll give your suggestion a try later - putty rubber will probably do it. On the other hand I could deepen the tone of the statue - I couldn't get it as dark as it actually is without using black :)

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  3. Great sketch! And indeed brave to sketch en plein air!
    I agree with Pat, rather than darkening the statue, but I don't like to use black, so who am I?
    I am struggling with a painting with also a window in it and I have a similar problem.

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  4. I LOVE this sketch! I love the coloured pencils and I am so envious that you can sketch in public without a second thought - Unlike me who has a melt-down if someone happens to notice!

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  5. Thanks Judy. I don't like to use black either if I can help it so I'm going to try lightening the background a little and I'll probably post the result here for comparison :)

    Thanks Sandra. Nobody really noticed or approached me so it's probably the longest I've gone without panic setting in! It's just a matter of practice and I'm sure you'll be fine and get nothing but compliments anyway :)

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