Afternoon at Huntington Gardens

We were at the Huntington a few Saturdays ago, and as usual, I brought my small Aquabee sketchbook just in case. I was rewarded with a few sketching opportunities as you can see here.

These were all very quick studies, done in ten minutes or less, with a Sanford Uniball pen. I tried to capture the big picture - the main shapes and values, without regard to any details. I find it is easy to get wrapped up in the little things, and miss the primary inspiration.

I took a few reference photos, although I really didn't need to as I was able to remember the colors easily. I added color to all of the sketches later in my studio. This was a good time of practice: eye/hand coordination; sketching on the go; value; composition; and painting technique.