I continue my online class with Oliver Hoeller on design elements in sketching. Last week I worked on fusing elements in my sketch. This involves not putting hard edges on some items and letting them fuse with another item. I sketched in Stillwater and did several small sketches— a paddle boat smoke stack, a pile of old bins on wheels, and a lion statue and umbrellas outside of a restaurant. My biggest challenge here was remembering to let some edges fuse and not draw a line!
I next drove to Hastings, a beautiful river town with a large bridge. I sketched in their downtown area and chose a green brick building. A man came out of theater a few feet away with a small hairy dog on a leash. He kneeled down and lit a cigarette, I quickly sketched him. Then as I was contemplating how to include the dog in the sketch, an iHail taxi pulled up in front of me, obscuring the view, and he climbed in. A while later when I was sketching the house with the large tree, he returned, climbed out of the taxi, and disappeared with his dog into the theater entrance. I like the flow of the sketch and the elements fused together.
Finally, another element designed to pull individual objects together is to use a rectangle or other shape behind the objects. I tried this while at a very deserted Woodbury Lakes outdoor mall. I sat in my car in an empty parking lot and drew the sign, then drove to another area to do the mannequins and the people sitting in Adirondack chairs. Later at home, I put in a large rectangle. I may try a lighter color shape next time, but it was a good first attempt!
