Landscape Studies in Graphite -332

[@LaoZi2023]

This is exactly what I needed to see. My wheels are spinning, and I am finding my motivation lacking. Getting back to the simplicity of the drawing builds everything...motivation, self-imposed projects that can be used as assignments that can be put forward into starting of a painting.

[@88hHoward]

These are delightful drawings. A very enjoyable "ride" indeed around the Williamstown countryside. I have lately been watching (on You Tube) how Ian Roberts uses small graphite value studies to organise the design of his oil painting compositions, but you connected this process to the light > dark watercolour approach and that makes perfect sense to me. I'm a recent starter in watercolour and have quickly discovered that, of all the balls you have to juggle, value is amongst the most important.

[@querenstewart9944]

Hi Paul Thanks again lovely to see the studies and the importance of values and composition in the thumbnail images Thanks again Sheila

[@NickNicometi]

Nature can be daunting, and these small graphite studies encourage simplicity that is necessary for the breadth required in regular sized pictures. A fine process description of some wonderful studies. Thanks, Paul.

[@gnostie]

I'm plagued by a bronchitis from hell, but the worst is behind me, and this lovely new video is yet another sign that things are headed in the good direction.

[@celsoteixeira252]

Beautiful and lovely drawings!

[@issamasali9770]

Very informative peace of information as usual, and that reflects the enthusiasm of the artist and dexterity. Thank you.

[@DrawingFromImagination]

What a lovely exercise! Once the weather turns nice I'll definitely have to take a trip up to the mountains of Virginia to give this a shot. With the elevation above the cloud line, it would certainly be an interesting challenge.

[@Ilya-woodenlipstick]

Hello, everyone and thanks Paul and Mr:Producer for the great output - the topics are great and it's time to catch up on all the videos I've missed!

[@sketchartist1964]

They are lovely drawings. I was wondering if you were attempting to match the values exactly, or were you just basing your drawings on the scenery but also relying on your imagination to pull the whole thing together?

[@The_Supernatural_Life]

This was a very enjoyable video, Paul! Yes, your early landscape studies were really good! I love the subject matter, and the tonal values you established. Especially on such a tiny scale! The only part I'm still not clear on is exactly how you used your framing device. Did you say that you made marks on your frame? And then brought the frame down to your paper for transfer purposes? Truly understanding that process might require a demonstration/ tutorial. Thanks!

[@KpxUrz5745]

I like the idea of composing with thumbnail sketches. One of the best at doing this was van Gogh. His letters are full of such wonderful sketches, mostly intended so that his brother could see the main composition and idea behind the painting. However, and I think really important, is the need to ensure that even probative compositional sketches are still works of art. This incudes awareness of line quality, etc. The problem I see in the sketches shown in this video is that they mostly employ a lot of mundane repetitive 45-degree angled shading. I have found that the best artists usually work quickly, think meaningful ideas, and do not take time to do much rote shading. So, to me, this indicates a conceptual weakness that perhaps can be remedied by remembering that the purpose is to create Art. Even a quick rough planning sketch should fit well within the artist's work, and not be something that lacks quality to be seen and maybe even framed for viewing.

[@kevinrice6245]

Nice studies. A real treat to see. This is off topic but I have some questions pertaining to doing a second skin on a painting. How do you decide what area to work on in that session? Do you usually go over the whole thing again or just certain areas? If just certain areas then how do you decide precisely where to end creating a wet on dry joint? What’s the best way of making such joints as seamless as possible? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer on this topic.

[@TheRickurb]

Nice work Paul! I think these landscape comps may be my new thing. I'm learning how to control tone for figure, so this would be a great learning tool. If I decide to use charcoal instead of graphite do you have any suggestions?

[@geraldskinner63]

Fantastic compositions! I do similar with watercolor studies using just ultra-marine or sepia. Curious? did you stand or sit when you were drawing?

[@bencampbell6431]

Hi Paul, Great video. Thank you! Just to be clear, your viewfinder and your drawings were the exact same size (a 1:1 ratio), correct? Thanks again

[@allenvoss7977]

Would this be considered thumbnail sketch’s? I am interested if you use an eraser ? Could you cover the subject a Portraits in the same way ? please and thank you.?

[@queenria7]

He mentioned using a kneadable eraser to create lighter shapes.