Travel Sketches

On the way home from Maine, I stopped at various towns and cities that are historic and scenic.  I always keep my easel and paper on top of my suitcases in case I want to take the time to do a painting.   But sometimes that's not possible.  So I break out my sketchbook to record the scene.

In the case of this sketch of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, it was a rainy day.  The Old Pier has always attracted me because of the variety of shapes in the buildings.  But painting watercolors in the rain is not a viable option.  I thought the solution was to record the shapes and values of the structures in my sketchbook.

My favorite two graphite pencils for sketching on location are #2 H for designing the shapes and describing the lighter areas and a #3 or 4 B for the darks.

One note:  I used the figure placed on the third to break the line created where the pilings met the beach. Behind the figure is also where I placed the darkest value to emphasize the focal point.