Landscape Compositions at Art & Story Blog

Landscape Compositions

Published August 20th, 2006 in Field

I went out to the Angeles National Forest yesterday for a day-long landscape class with Karl Gnass. We moved very slowly along the Switzer Falls trail, with no intention of making it to the falls. Instead, we strolled along the trail that runs alongside and criss-crosses the creek, stopping about every quarter-mile or so.

I got a chance to break in my new Moleskine Watercolor Sketchbook, Japanese Water-Brush Pen, and Windsor & Newton Sketcher’s Pocket Box of Watercolors. It had been a while since I’d used any watercolors, and it was my first time using the Water-Brush Pen, so there was a little bit of a learning curve. Needless to say, there are a few that I won’t be posting on here. The above watercolor was my last of the day. I really took my time with it, and in fact, stayed after everyone had left, so I could finish it. I wanted at least one pretty picture out of this!

Below are some sketches from earlier in the day, before I broke out the paints. The sketch of the snake is the real deal. We were all sitting by the creek, when this snake slithered casually by the feet of one girl in the class. She was about 5 to 10 feet away from me when it happened. We thought maybe it was a rattlesnake without the rattle.

15 Responses to “Landscape Compositions”

Feed for this Entry Trackback Address

1 johnny hong kong Aug 20th, 2006 at 4:09 pm

Snakes on a Sketch!

Man, you weren’t kidding. I would have flipped out is a snake slithered “casually” by my feet. Just thinking about that send shivers down my spine. I guess that’s one more forest I won’t be venturing into.

But as we know from SoaP, snakes only attack when provoked or when they smell special pheremones.
2 Chris Battle Aug 20th, 2006 at 5:02 pm

Nice one, man! Always wished I could make the watercolor magic happen. You’ve got a gift! Thnaks for the linkage.
3 The Doodlers Aug 20th, 2006 at 7:01 pm

That’s some nice painting! There is a real feeling of the place in it. Co-incidentally, we just purchased Moleskin watercolour books too, and hope to use them shortly. Thanks for the inspiration!
4 Lee-Roy Aug 20th, 2006 at 9:31 pm

Wow, guys! Thanks for the comments!

Johnny — Indeed, I was thankful that there was a low likelihood of encountering pheremone-soaked leis, but actually I was surprised by just how jumpy I wasn’t. Maybe because I was just so certain I was going to see a snake, that it wasn’t a surprise and also because the scenario of SoaP was just so extremely far-fetched, that it made my reality seem fairly tame. Of course, I wasn’t the person whose feet it slithered past. Still, I was very careful to make sure I didn’t inadvertently piss of any motherfuckin snakes!

Chris — Thank you! I appreciate the kind words, implying that I’ve got “watercolor magic.” You should see the earlier ones. More like watercolor tragic. Anyway, you’re welcome for the link. It was a no-brainer.

Doodlers! — Thanks!!! I guess we’re trading inspiration now, because those watercolors on your site were a bit of inspiration for me as I was on the trail. You’ll love the Moleskine book. It’s the perfect size to paint on the fly and just has a really nice feel. I’ll look forward to seeing some of the filled pages!
5 The Doodlers Aug 21st, 2006 at 7:34 pm

Cheers again! We added you to our links. So’s we can visit more often.
6 Lee-Roy Aug 21st, 2006 at 9:00 pm

Woo-hoo! Thanks!!!
7 Jamie Aug 21st, 2006 at 11:22 pm

You’ve captured something really poetic with the watercolor. Frame-worthy, in my opinion!
8 Lee-Roy Aug 22nd, 2006 at 12:18 am

Jamie — Thanks, love. Poetic is a high compliment coming from you. …Earl’s, perhaps?
9 Randy Aug 23rd, 2006 at 1:43 pm

very lovely. Snakes on a Sketch!
10 Lee-Roy Aug 23rd, 2006 at 11:53 pm

Thank you, Randy. Yesss.
11 I-Ching Sep 2nd, 2006 at 9:35 pm

This is indeed a beautiful watercolor painting. For the 10 years of commissioned calendar paintings I’ve done, I’ve used a cheapo watercolor palette I bought at some place like Rite-Aid, augmented by 2-3 tubes of good Winsor & Newton paint which I asked for as a Christmas present one year. I love seeing your artistry on here!
12 Gerald Sep 10th, 2006 at 1:27 am

I think your watercolor skills are very good. The layout was very nice. The branches did not get lost in the greens and i love the the way your leaves sillouette turned out. I always get a few nicely shaped leaves then they turn into blobs of green. I should probably work at a larger scale or get a really fine brush. Thanks for sharing - looks great! Keep it up.
13 Lee-Roy Sep 12th, 2006 at 10:50 am

I-Ching — Thank you! Hey, whatever works, ya know. Those cheapo sets can be alright, but I murdered the things when I was a kid. I’d be a little more patient with them now.

Gerald — Thanks very much for your recent comments! This wasn’t a very large format, but the water-brush pen does come to a pretty fine point when it’s new. To get the leaf shape, I would just touch the side of the brush tip against the paper and voila. Though the surface has to be thoroughly dry to get a defined edge. Of course, some other parts are blobby, but I like it. Happy accidents. And happy little trees, too. (Ode to Bob Ross)
14 kristian antonelli Sep 13th, 2006 at 2:08 pm

beautiful,
i love the trunk on the far left framing the composition. great palette too. i can feel the sunshine. wonderful!
15 Lee-Roy Sep 13th, 2006 at 2:57 pm

Kristian, thanks very much!

About Lee-Roy

I’m a Storyboard Artist and Illustrator currently in Los Angeles, where I live with my fiancée, three cats, and several colonies of ants. My earliest memory is as a three-year-old, drawing a picture. About three decades later, the picture is still being drawn. It’s one I never want to finish.