Learning about Notan with Mitch Albala

Well, I have been a blogging slacker! But, in my defense, I have been pretty busy since getting back from Costa Rica. I have been taking classes and teaching classes, and trying to keep caught up with everything in between.
In February, I took a two day workshop with landscape painter Mitch Albala. The focus was on exploring composition through the Japanese principles of notan. We did lots and lots of composition studies in simple black marker, worked up to gray scale marker sketches and finally did a small value study in acrylic. I noticed that my best sketches looked very abstract - I had to stop thinking about the "what" that I was drawing.



Drawing notans is somewhat addictive, but MUCH harder when you don't have a master peering over your shoulder and suggesting you crop that shape a little more, or make this one a little bigger. I will be posting more of them soon, but anyone who finds this intriguing should get their hands on a copy of Mitch's book, Landcape Painting. The section on notan is short, but once you get it, you can clearly see how it works in all his paintings.

Tropical Ferries

Taking a ferry trip in a tropical climate is not the same experience as getting on a ferry in the chilly Pacific Northwest. It's hot! Everyone is crowding into the shade! Except the tourists from the chilly Pacific Northwest.

Getting Around in Costa Rica

I know it has been more than a month since my last post and my only excuse is I have been too busy sketching to blog. Three weeks in Costa Rica, sketching every day. So now I am playing catch-up. I will start with a few of the many modes of transportation we used while traveling around this beautiful country.





All sketches done with my new TWSBI Eco Fountain Pen and Faber Castell Pitt Artist Markers. In an effort to keep my supplies light, I only brought 5 colors on this trip. They served me pretty well, although I was getting a little tired of them by the last sketch.

Grayscale Marker Sketch

Starting a new sketchbook often prompts me to switch out my drawing tools. In this case, I am using broad brush tip markers in a Moleskine Sketch. The water based markers like Tombow and Faber Castell Pitt work well on this paper and do not bleed through. In fact, the surface coating of the Moleskine Sketch paper keeps these markers from absorbing instantly and gives you some time to blend, blot or smudge the color. I think I have a little preference for the pigment based ink in the Pitt Big Brush markers.

Sketching in Mexico

I got a break from Seattle's winter weather over Thanksgiving. It is funny how a certain place seems to call for different materials, colors, even a pared down style.

Fast Sketches at the Mall

I am getting behind posting sketches, so here are a couple of the ones I did when the Seattle Urban Sketchers met at Westlake Center a couple weeks ago. The food court there has some great views of downtown Seattle, but it is also a great place to practice sketching people.

Click on the Flickr link in the sidebar to see the rest of the sketches from this trip.

Top Pot Donuts on Alki!

One of my favorite things is settling into a cafe, pulling out my sketchbook, and unobtrusively drawing some of the characters around me.