Instruments of Torture

There is always a mixed set of emotions for me when I come to change notebooks. It means that I stop carrying around pages and pages of ideas, impressions, sketches, and other things from the last few months that I can accidentally stumble upon. Instead, I start a whole new blank book that does not connect back to anything. I must fill new pages (which I love doing) that will become those favourites I will look back on. So I always like to start off with a drawing that I’ll like to look back on. It helps set the tone for the pages to come in the many months. (See an earlier post about this matter here.)

Yesterday gave me a nice opportunity. I took my mum (who is visiting for a while) to the beach in Santa Monica and we walked together on the sand for a little while. I then sat on the sand and did a sketch while she continued walking and looking around. My focus was the Santa Monica pier, and I wanted to capture the little cluster of items from which there were yells and screams emanating periodically. I laid out the large shapes roughly with pencil first (to get the proportions and geometry right) and then changed to a micron pen and later the set of Inktense watercolour pencils that I don’t use enough, followed by a water brush. (I finished the colours at home, as we needed to get back.) And yes, the colours (which did not scan so well here) on that part of the pier are actually that simple and flat. An interesting holiday scene…

-cvj