Sketching on the Farm
I recently had an opportunity for on-site sketching at the lovely farm of fellow illustrator Sara Slocum.
One of the lovely views from Sara’s farm.
This special event was put together by SCBWI Rocky Mountain Chapter. (Check them out if you’re an illustrator in the area looking to attend creative events and connect with other illustrators.)
It’s been a while since I drew from life. (I forgot how hard it is to capture moving animals!)
But regardless of how challenging sketching from life proved to be, I had such a good time that I wanted to share some of my sketches with you!
Below are some of my pencil drawings and color sketches, and I’ve also included a few “finished” sketches I spent time on back at home.
But first, let’s talk about what art supplies I took.
Art Supplies
As an artist, I find it hard to pare down to essentials—I want to bring ALL my art supplies!
I find that a solution to this is to select a color palette before I go sketch on-site.
A few days before the event, I experimented with some color palettes I thought I’d like to work with.
In the end, I settled on an assortment of:
A few of my color studies
I packed everything into my pencil bag and took my Talens sketchbook because I love the creamy off-white pages and the smooth texture of the paper.
My sketchbook and pencil case (and border collie hair that refuses to budge).
On-Site Sketches
I was really rusty at first!
Capturing moving animals is challenging, plus I also started with probably the hardest animal to draw—a horse.
My horse sketch which I quickly bailed on.
I felt like I was just wildly scribbling at this point trying to capture an animal in a pose (and get comfortable working from real life), so my work felt messy.
My messy sketches of a sheep and goat.
It took me a while to feel confident enough to use color media instead of a pencil.
For my first drawings, I tested out how to add color to my sketch, so I did a quick pencil drawing and then added some color.
Some chicken sketches testing out different mediums.
Then I felt like I had found my groove.
I pulled out my Tombow marker and started sketching chickens.
Chickens felt easier to capture because even though they were constantly on the move, there were so many of them.
I could switch over to a chicken that most closely matched the pose I was drawing.
Plus, I’ve always felt like I make confident, energetic marks with brushes instead of pencils (probably from my oil painting background). Using the Tombow marker helped me capture the quick, strutting movements of the chickens.
I think I got some stronger sketches out of this approach!
Chickens drawn with my Tombow marker.
Photos
While I was sketching, I also made sure to take pictures of my furry (and feathered) subjects for later reference.
Saying hello.
The fluffy white chicken was my favorite!
This little guy tried to sneak some nibbles on my notebook.
At-Home Sketches
Later at home, I looked at my strongest drawings (and my photos) and did some longer sketches of the chickens.
I think this is where all the previous exercises and work really paid off with some beautiful chicken studies.
And finally, I made one last illustration of the flock.
More on the Horizon
This was such a delightful outing! I had so much fun connecting with other illustrators, seeing their amazing work, and sketching adorable animals.
And now that the weather is nicer, I hope to do more on-site sketching.
If you’d like to keep abreast of that work or see what I end up doing with my chicken sketches (I’m thinking of prints or putting them on tea towels, etc.), sign up for my newsletter or follow me on Instagram.
