Sunday Painters. Line Up

Okay, guys. Here's an assignment for you Sunday painters:
Speed sketching with an overhead viewpoint. Compose within a small format. Zoom in or zoom out?

1. Choose a spot outdoors or in the house with lots of natural light.
2. Use the sidewalk, if outdoors, or spread out a white pillowcase or sheet on the ground. If indoors, use the white pillowcase or sheet of watercolor paper on the floor for your background.
3. Lay out a row of similar objects. Uneven numbers are best.
4. Trace the outline of a business card or credit card several times on your sketchbook page or watercolor paper to create frames for your sketches. Orient some of them vertically and some horizontally.
5. Now, with your subject viewed from above, sketch one group at a time within it's own frame using graphite, ink, markers or line and wash.
6. Include the cast shadows and highlights.
7. Give yourself a 5 minute time limit per sketch.
8. See how many you can do in 30 to 45 minutes. Ready, set, go!

Here are a few ideas to get you started, but please try to work from life instead of photos. What do all these objects have in common? Answer: roundness.

 

Tips:

• For the best shadows, make it early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
• If you finish before the timer, reset and start another sketch. Don't fiddle.
• If the timer goes off before you're finished, stop. Go on to the next one.
• Look for variation in your line of objects. Don't assume they are all alike. Embrace the differences!
•  Repetition with variation is the principle to keep in mind

Challenge: Make a composition of even-numbered objects. As Tim Gunn would say, "Make it work!"