Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Approaching Storm, Culpeper County


On the way home from central Virginia I saw spectacular huge clouds on the western horizon, bringing with them darkness and an abundance of rain. There was no place to stop and make a sketch so this rendering is from memory. Drawing from memory is less verboten than drawing from a photograph. Also when you're doing a scene from memory, you are the God of the image world so you can add or remove anything you want from it. I added a vineyard, naturally. The place I am remembering here is close to the "Old House" winery near Culpeper, which needs a visit from me as I missed it on my way past that area. 

From the look of it you'd think this was a watercolor but no, it's done with markers. The alcohol-based markers include Copic, Prismacolor, Pantone, "Touch," and Chartpak. They can blend on your page and look just like watercolors. They come in hundreds of delectable and natural-looking shades. The only problem with these markers is that their colors are all fadeable and so cannot be used for final art pieces. You have to scan anything you do in marker if you want a permanent image.

This is another piece for the upcoming second volume of my winery drawings, "Virginia Under Vine." I am hoping for a fall 2017 release date but that is tentative. Winery drawing is not as easy as it used to be for me though I take the opportunity to go when I can.

"Approaching Storm" is markers on sketchbook page, 11" x 7 1/2", August 24, 2016. Clicquez for larger view.

No comments: