Using Color in Your Sketchbook (On-line art lesson #4)

It’s January – why not “go to the beach” by doing the assignment.

Click on the above Beach in Corsica photo (that will enlarge the image). Using your choice of media, do a color study of the scene. Let your time doing this feel like a mini vacation on the Mediterranean. Work on it for a minimum of half an hour. You can work for days if you get inspired. Draw first or just begin with the color. Share your experience in the comment section below or email me an image of what you create! Lillian@Rockfire.com

Above right: 3.5″x 5″ watercolor and gouache – Corsican Beach – Tisha Wood

THINGS TO NOTE:

Tisha had never done this type of thing before this trip, but she is casual yet focused on her work regardless of the situation.
We all forget things – find a way to work anyhow. The flipper filled with seawater worked just fine.
You don’t have to stick to the facts before you – by adding the sailboat, removing the people, and darkening the sky, Tisha created a piece with an emotional tone quite different from the scene.

Tisha Wood: 3" x 5" watercolor Bastia, Corsica. Painted from the cafe just down the street from the next photo.

So, here’s the easy and casual way to start using color in your sketchbook:

JUST DO IT!!

I tore out sheets from my sketchbook and passed them around while still at lunch. Tisha Wood, Myra Balezi, and Tim Watts sketching in Bastia, Corsica

Once Tisha learned how easy it is to just begin, there was no stopping her! This trip was in 2008: Tisha is now a prizewinning working artist who shows regularly.