Road Trip Sketching

Theses are a few sketches I did during a recent roadtrip from Seattle to Yosemite and back north along the coast of California and Oregon. Whew! These were all done from the passenger seat as the scenery whizzed by at 60mph or so (that is whizzing in an '85 VW Vanagon). Lots more on Flickr! I became a bit addicted to these fast and minimal sketches.

This drawing is done with Faber Castell Pitt Markers in a Strathmore Gray Toned hardbound journal. I have been using the markers for a while now, and I have used Strathmore Tan Toned journals before, too. I like both very much. But this is the first time using the two together, and I have found it quite a challenge to get a good scan of these drawings. The transparent marker colors look quite vibrant on the gray paper, but turn dull in the scanned images. I have resorted to tweaking the Contrast and Hue Saturation in paint.net to get them to appear anything like the original.

I have not gotten out much to sketch lately. Luckily, Plumpernickel is always willing to model.

Sketches from a weekend camping trip at Lake Takhlakh. These sketches were done with a water soluble marker on lightweight paper.

Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi in Volunteer Park, Seattle.

More Sketches from Olympic National Park

I had the most fun with the sketch of Madison Falls. Started with my lightest marker and kept building up darker and darker layers.

Pen and Ink Sketches from Olympic National Park

A camping trip in Olympic National Park turned up a some "urban" sketching opportunities. A few years ago the hydro-electric dams on the Elwha river were removed in hopes of restoring the former salmon runs on the river. I did these quick ink sketches of the dam and the area that used to be Lake Mills. The remains of the dam at Lake Mills on the Elwha River have been turned into observation decks from which you can see the whole area of the former reservoir being restored.