Late summer studies and pocket sketches

 I read a book about the American Golden age of illustration and made master study of Charles Dana Gibson's iconic pen-and-ink drawing. A fraction of a millimeter makes a difference in such a delicate profile.

My summer job is over. I used every chance to draw from life when I could. These pocket sketchbooks were really handy. Drawing from life is like doing push-ups for the mind. I used the Reilly method to capture gesture from moving figure and then  relied on memory more or less.

Open air sketching

 

Gas station at Järvenpää. Watercolor on sketchbook.

Watercolor on sketchbook. My brother and I went open air sketching at Ainola, the home of the national composer Jean Sibelius. The importance of observational drawing and painting from nature cannot be emphasized enough.

Thumbnail sketches at Itäkeskus,  Kellokoski, Jokela and Purola. A bit rough but it's all about the experience, keeping the skills up and recording color scemes for possible later assignments.

Motorcycle WIP

Oil on primed A4 illustration board.