A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of getting out of cold Minnesota and heading south to Sanibel Island, Florida. What a wonderful week! We had beautiful weather and it was lovely to see green grass, leaves on trees, and stunning sunsets. I brought my sketch kit along and did a few sketches as well!
There was so much to sketch. I used my watercolor kit, Sailor fude pen with black ink, and Gelly Roll white pen for accents.
I sat under an umbrella on the beach and sketched a few people sitting by umbrellas. You definitely have to work quickly!
I loved the palm trees with their long, sword-like fronds. Their bark is so different from deciduous trees in the north… fun to sketch! I kept pen strokes very loose.
Sanibel is known for its shells, and it did not disappoint. I gathered up some shells and other creatures, and sketched them back at the condo. There had been a storm before we arrived, and we saw many live sea urchins and other live shells on the beach. It was amazing!
My favorite sketch from this trip was of some dead crabs we found on the beach. I laid them out in the sand and did a sketch with pen, and then added color. It was so cool to find 3 species and be able to capture all their colors and textures!
You never know what you’ll find to sketch! There are always interesting and unusual subjects. What fun subjects have you sketched lately?