I notice machines. I notice construction vehicles and cars and other moving objects. As a sketcher, I sometimes take a break from buildings to sketch these fun subjects.
A favorite “small rig” that I noticed today is our neighbor’s daughter’s toy car. I’ve seen her drive it around her yard in the past, its pink and purple body shining in the sun. They acquired a new shed by their chimney in their side yard, and as it was warm enough to sit on my porch out back today, I noticed the car parked by the shed. So I grabbed my pens and started sketching, the beautiful sun rays warming my skin through my windows. I observed this little girl go play on her swing set, run over to a tree and swat a wind chime to make noise and then run across the yard. She was obviously full of joy to be outside on a warm spring day after much rain and cold!
Last week I was out and about in Lake St. Croix Beach, MN. I parked at a ball field looking for things to sketch. I noticed in the residential area by the parking lot that there was a large lemon-yellow semi cab parked in a driveway. The contrast of yellow paint, black tires, and shiny chrome invited me to sketch. I haven’t see a truck this color before. I used gray watercolors in the background to make faint outlines of the houses across the street, to keep the truck as the focal point.
So… no matter if I sketch big rigs, or little ones, I still have fun!
