Me urban sketching in Tavira

In this feature photo you can see my fellow sketcher in the background using an easel to capture her Tavira scene. Traditionally Plein Air artists use easels when they paint their outdoors scenes, whereas Urban Sketchers tend to sit on the floor, a seat, or stand with a sketchbook in their hand.

Urban Sketching

One of my neighbours has started a Plein Air sketch group (on Facebook) and today we headed out to Tavira in search of a street scene to sketch.

My Urban Sketching Kit

I used a similar set up to my last urban sketch day out, and even though I took my expanded watercolour options with me, I decided to use a limited palette for my sketches today. Even though I have a double water container, I actually only used one of them. Maybe if I’d done more painting I would have needed more clean water.

Watercolour Pencils

I used a couple of my watercolour stubbies to add some texture to my foliage, but I have them in my bag as there’s no room for them on my board. I keep wondering if they’re a necessity when I go to Toulouse. I don’t use them often, but they really do add some depth to sketches. I’d sketched my foliage directly in ink, and added multiple layers of blue, dark green, and light green – and in a couple of areas the foliage had got a little muddied and lost, but by adding a few lines of watercolour it helped to redefine some edges with more subtlety than if I’d gone over those edges in black ink.

Watercolour Brushes

Instead of just relying on my water brush, I brought along my set of Princeton Aqua Elite watercolour brushes so that I had more flexibility on how I add watercolour to my sketches. The #6 brush was useful for filling in the larger area of the sky. So I think these brushes are a good addition to an urban sketching kit. Although water brushes are really convenient and quick to use, they limit your brush stroke capabilities.

Sketch Composition

My fellow sketcher was painting a complex view nearby, or some Tavira churches, but I just wasn’t feeling that scene, but then I saw this statue in the middle of a garden area. I think it’s a bit of a roundabout area. It’s surrounded by road and we have a view of two different churches.

Usually I’d just start sketching and hope for the best when it comes to creating a strong composition. But I sketched a couple of thumbnails in pencil to figure out how to sketch the scene. I wanted the statue to be the focal point, but the other elements in the scene weren’t in the right place to create a strong L-shape or V-shape. So I switched the tall and short bushes around and moved one of them behind the statue to create a bit of an L-shape composition.

The scene still didn’t feel ideal, until I added the bright red bench that was off in the distance. Not only did it create a distinct L-shape, but it helped to provide a stronger sense of colour harmony between the complimentary colours of red and green. There were also some red flower on the tall bush, and these helped to add a balance to the strong red shape of the bench.

I’ve moved elements around before, but never to this degree. I could have sketched the scene in front of me, but it wouldn’t have had a strong composition, and the focal point would have got lost. So I’m glad I created the stronger compositional structure by taking the liberty of repositioning the foliage and bench to create that solid looking L-shape, which helped to make the statue a focal point.

Sketching a Group of Older Ladies

While I was sketching an older lady in a blue dress came to watch me, and commented how quickly I sketched. We chatted a little in Portuguese and then she joined her friends by one of the benches. When I’d finished my foliage scene, I moved my little seat closer and started sketching them. They saw me, and all came over to see what I’d been sketching.

They were really excited about being captured, and flapped around me like humming birds around a bowl of sugared water. I didn’t capture much of a likeness, except for the clothing and colour of the hair. But the intent was there, and that was good enough for me, and obviously good enough for them!