Today I practiced sketching the figure in the landscape at the UC Davis Arboretum in Davis CA, in hopes of finding inspiration and a good composition.
The Arboretum was in spectacular form this warm February day. People, shrubs, trees, grasses, texture and color at an almost overwhelming rate! After a few warm-up sketches I began to see and understand what the sun’s rays had to show me. My hands were warmed up and my graphite pencil moved quickly over my page to capture the gesture of the forms in front of me. You can still see the lines underneath my “sketch”. Unless I making a “drawing” I leave the gesture lines alone. I feel they add life and motion.
I’d like to thank my wonderful models that allowed me to study the relationship of the figure in the landscape. UCD students Josie & Lizzie, History and Environmental Science majors respectively, your awesome!
Rita Alvarez 