Allen on Sketching
Definition: “A sketch is a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object or scene and often made as a preliminary study or draft.”
I began sketching at a fairly young age, with no thought of continuing with art. I even made a to-scale sketch of Christopher Columbus’ ship, the “Santa Maria.” Sadly, none of my pre-high school art survived to this day.
I started sketching again in September 2019 after a forty-year retreat from that skill set. I consider my sketching style to be “whimsical impressionist” art. I enjoy sketching palm trees, but I am slowly branching out to other tree varieties. That said, I am still seeking my own version of the perfect palm tree.
I am not under any timeline to sketch. When the mood strikes me and the weather is kind, I sit on our patio and sketch. I've done 80 sketches to date. I use 507 different color pens and pencils to create the art, including glitter, florescent and metallic pens. On occasion, I will look at actual trees or photos of trees before I sketch. Often, I just start sketching with only one tree variety in mind. I never sit in front an actual tree when I sketch, since I am creating an impressionist image. I use a wide variety of colors in each sketch. I am not trying to duplicate nature. My goal is to create fun and pleasing art - eye candy if you will.
The original sketches are one-of-a-kind. These sketches are so untouched, that occasional artist smudge marks, that might occur during the drawing process, have not been eliminated. The original sketches are just as they were the day that they came off the drawing board. *
Certain sketches that are selected to be turned into commercial prints are photographed and digitally cleaned before they are sent to the photo lab to have prints created. We offer the prints for sale, and I also upload prints of the most popular sketches onto the 2 websites I use for selling my art products. Most of the sketches I created in my early years have been gifted to close friends and family. I still have 2 sketches from my art school days, which were class assignments at the time. I also have my sketch pad containing sketches of hands and feet from drawing class. I borrowed my neighbor next door to my college apartment as my hand/foot model. Most of the rest of my art from college was sold at the time to pay for class art supplies
Most sketches are 9” x 12” in size. Once our new website is live, you will be able to see a number of sketches all in one place.
One thing you’ll notice ~ I love color!
PS * I do not use a "Mahlstick" when I paint or sketch. It breaks my train of thought. I have used one when I was painting signs with my Dad at a younger age. I no longer even own one. A mahlstick, or maulstick, is a stick with a soft leather or padded head used by painters to support the hand holding the paintbrush.
“Blue Palm” sketch
