On any given day, cyclists, tourists, and locals alike can be found at Alexander Valley’s Jimtown store enjoying hearty seasonal soups, salads, and specialty sandwiches. Founded by Jim Patrick in 1865 as a general store and post office, the store was refurbished in 1991 by current owner Carrie Brown and her late husband John Werner. It’s hard to miss Jimtown’s mascot, a 1955 red Ford pickup parked out front, which was originally used as a county fire truck.
I love the detail, esp. the red truck! How did you start your sketch with so many interesting things to look at it? Always appreciate your use of color too!
Richard — I’ve really been enjoying your blog and your painting tips since discovering your website a few weeks ago. Your painting board is brilliant – it’s so lightweight! Yesterday I received your book on Greece, and I’ll be taking it with me on a long (and I hope, painting) weekend in upstate New York this weekend.
So keep on posting about and painting the wine country, because I’m sure I’ll want that book too.
Thanks Cathy for the comment. To start this drawing I had to think about what I wanted to go into the sketch, in this case, the entire building with a little extra space around it. So using a pencil, I loosely blocked in the building making sure it was all on the page. Then I sketched in the truck and other details to get a general idea of where everything should be place. If I don’t do this to start with, my drawings often run off the page, so this first step is important for me. Once I have the basic layout, I then draw in ink pretty much everything I want in the final drawing. Then I start in with watercolor. When I get close to finishing, I usually go back in and strengthen some of the line work. Then hit it with any finishing touches of paint it needs. Stepping back and looking at the sketch from a distance a couple of times while working on it can be a great help too!
Thank you Kerowyn! I’m glad you are making some sense of my painting tips. Although I’ve been using watercolors for many years, it’s only been recently that I’ve tried to put painting into words. I’m finding that I don’t even know my own processes very well so this is a good exercise. I hope you enjoy my book. It focuses quite a bit about traveling as an artist and how I made it work for me. At the time I went to Greece, I knew sketching in public would be difficult but it was harder to do than I thought. I found it difficult to resist the urge to become a tourist (relaxing and enjoying the view) rather than sketching. The sketching is by far the most rewarding! Enjoy your trip and if you get a chance, sketch a little!