Drawings from Colorado

Colorado Sketch 1, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

My recent trip to Colorado was packed with fun activities and lots of driving, this didn't keep me from getting a few sketches done. All three of these drawings were accomplished while on the move from the back seat of a Subaru Outback. I have sketched in moving trains before, but sketching in a moving car presented a greater challenge. The ride is bumpier and unexpected turns can take the pen gliding across the page making unwanted marks. The drawing above is the first one, reason why it's a bit more rough. Here I was trying to get used to the movement of the car, all while trying to capture the landscape before we passed it. Talk about speedy hands!

Colorado Sketch 2, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

The second drawing, above, is more detailed and better resolved. I had to capture the big shapes of the mountains and clouds first before missing the scene. Then I looked out the window closely and made mental notes of where there were trees and what parts were bare land. I continued working on the finer details of the landscape, by now it seems like I had better control of the pen while the car was moving.

Colorado Sketch 3, 2011, ball point pen in moleskine sketchbook

This drawing was also a quick one but the good thing was that by now we had come to a full stop. I am planning on turning this sketch into a painting, since I feel that in color this landscape was very pretty. I had set a day aside to do so painting, but it turned out impossible, not because of time constrains but because the paints I had bought were the cheapest and worse kind I have ever worked with. Let's just say I learned my lesson and I will never buy this British company's paint ever again.