Juicy Pear

Pear, acrylic on canvas board, 8"x10"

Just doodles



Sketches with ballpoint pen on office paper. Every bit of practice helps!

More sketching

Not much to say about this plain sketch of a bunch of bananas. I found that the shape of bananas makes it a bit hard to avoid making it seem like they are floating in space. With both ends rising upwards, the shadows are the only way to create a sense of form anchored to the ground.

Bananas was done with charcoal pencil on paper. I have tried to minimize the blending to convey a sense of roughness and energy. Of course, this limits the tonal variation that can be achieved. But then it is just a sketch!

Bananas, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Odd Composition?

For some reason asymmetric composition draws viewer interest a lot longer than complete evenness. Design elements with odd-number components suggest more movement and engage the viewer. Even or symmetric numbered elements are perceived as static and quickly quench interest.

There is no handy explanation for this phenomenon. Perhaps it has something to do with how the brain processes visual stimuli and its relevance for human survival. Movement in the visual field may indicate a potential prey or predator and thus holds interest a lot longer than static symmetry that quickly fades into the background and is of no interest.

Anyhow, Three Peppers uses the odd-number composition. In addition, the peppers are all different sizes too. In my opinion, this strengthens the composition even further.

Three Peppers, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Three Pears -- Hardly Original!

Pears have been drawn and painted in numerous different ways. The most frequent composition I found is three pieces of fruit arranged in a row. Years ago I recall seeing a large painting with a row of pears (maybe as many as 8-9) receding into the distance. Set against a light background with the faintest of shadows, the pears created a feeling of infinite depth.

Three Pears was quickly sketched from a digital photograph using the fewest marks possible. I subtracted some of the highlights with an eraser. The charcoal marks were left unblended to convey a sense of energy and movement.

Three Pears, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Avocado Halves

Sketching from photographs is often most convenient for me because of my business travel schedule. I can use pictures from the web (free rights$ of use, of course) or magazines. And I can carry my own digital pictures as source material. The problem is that photographs often fail to fully convey the depth and shadows which are essential to defining three-dimensional objects.

Avocado Halves is a small charcoal sketch done from a royalty-free image from Public Domain Image. The photograph is sharp and clear, but it is difficult to get a read of the light and shadows. So I just invented the tiniest bit of shadowing at the bottom so as to anchor the object. Otherwise the avocado would seem to float in space!

Avocado Halves, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Foray into charcoal sketching

In the absence of long enough blocks of time to paint, I am finding sketching to be a handy tool to exercise some discipline. So far I had only used pencil or ink, mainly because of familiarity with the tools. Charcoal had always seemed far too messy to be able to carry around and use during the pauses of everyday life.

Recently I found charcoal pencils at the local art store and these appear to be a perfect solution for my needs. The idea for this first attempt at sketching with charcoal was provided by a mundane aspect of every home -- some arrangement of knick knacks that could serve as a stimulus for still life work. The varying sizes of the three vases offered design elements without any contrivance.

Three Vases is a simple little sketch that took me one step closer to overcoming my fear of drawing. A charcoal pencil and a kneadable eraser are a small price to pay for that important step.

Three Vases, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale