On January 16, 2023, I spent time just wandering around the garden, taking pictures of the snow on all the dead stems of weeds, flowers and grasses. I had my very small field kit bag with me, determined to do some kind of sketch.
My husband took some pictures of me, showing how bundled up I was! Two hats on my head, my dad’s old Woolrich hunting coat and thick mittens! I ended up standing in the back of the garden and did a small sketch in my little sketchbook. When it’s cold outside I like to use a small sketchbook so it forces me to keep it simple and quick.
Above you can see my little homemade sketchbook, it’s small enough I can also tuck it in my coat pocket. I used a permanent ink pen to do the drawing outside and then took my frozen fingers inside and used watercolor pencils to color it. I looked at a photo I took with my cell phone for reference to help me finish it. You can see the waterbrush I used too. You’ll notice my pencils are all short; I cut them all in half and carry them in a little pouch for taking into the field. Reducing weight is always key to me.
There is my little sketch finished and you can see the pencils tucked into the little pouch I made for them.
I’m happy with how that came out. In my photo you could see our oil tank on the left, I just left it out, artists choice! I tried to simplify by leaving out little things laying around, pots in the garden etc. I had fun playing with the purples in the shadows of the greenery.
I hope you enjoyed this little study, and encourage you to keep sketching. Small quick studies from life, not photos, are good practice and it helps keep your ‘eye’ trained.