Far too often beginning artists are pulled into drawing only from photos. Now there is nothing wrong with that, but exclusively, it limits what you actually see in terms of light and colour.

With the summer here for most of the western world, its a perfect time to try out your plein air skills. Take your favourite sketchbook, pencil, pen, watercolour, whatever you like to use and get outside to capture what is in your garden, your neighbourhood, your world, just do it from life, not photos.

You can be as detailed or as loose as you like, but you will be rewarded with a sketchbook full of memories of your summer.

Right now I'm drawing trees for a challenge with some other artists. You could try that. Look at the bark, the shape of the trunk and branches, the leaves, the spaces between the leaves, the colour. Go for sketches of large areas of small details of something.

Show us what you see!

This is a sketch done on a walk back along the road where I live. Some maintenance had been done on the road and they had created some little stone bridges over the culverts with rather appealed to me, so I stood there in the warm sun and drew it in pen and ink, then took it back home and added some colour.

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that is really pretty too jeanette

I love sketching outside Sadly, I have very little time to do it these days, but when I do, it is the most satisfying time! These are some sketches I started in June with a new sketchpad (A5)



I don't think any of them took longer than 10 - 15 minutes, but very relaxing, very satisfying.

wow..those are great, i shall have to give it a go someday

Hello! I love how the artists on this website are so encouraging. It's awesome. I loved the drawing you did on your walk that was great! I think what happens sometimes is that real life can feel threatening to draw but it doesn't have to be. Like you said just go out there and draw what you see. I love what Steve did below because like he said they took only 15 minutes but there is this great satisfying experience with it. I want to make a much bigger effort to go outside and draw!

Wear a funny hat, it keeps everybody away!

Those are great sketches Steve. And yes, you can do very quick ones or plonk yourself down and do a full drawing.

You'd be amazed at how little people do pay attention to you, but there can be some interest, but don't let it put you off. I'm usually drawing in rural areas so have little if any observers, but I do draw in crowded places too and find people mostly tend to leave me alone or if they do comment its generally positive.

I really would encourage everyone to draw from life. Go out, enjoy summer, even if its only in your own garden - draw something! The deck chair, clothes on the line, the fence, the sky, a tree....just draw what is in front of you.

As always - inspiring ideas from you guys! Good idea on getting out in the fresh air and leaving the photos behind. It's a great way for beginners like me to build up some courage. My goal for today is to drive for 5 minutes in some direction and find something to draw. I'll post when I get back. We're supposed to have temps in the 90s today, so I'll be looking for shade too.

And kids, when you go out into nature, don't forget your bug repellant! I made the mistake of forgetting mine a few days ago - went out into a nice grassy field, squatted down to get a photo of a gorgeous doe, came away with a bad case of chigger bites. (Re-read the word "squat", you can guess where they are ). Remember the DEET when you grab your sketch pad and pencils!

As for me, I'm still itching for that great photo. (oh that was so bad....)

Yes, but very funny! Thankfully, we don't have that kind of problem here in the UK. Maybe a few midges which can give you a nasty fly by!

Is a midge anything like a no-see-um? They can drive you bananas too!

Enjoyed my lunch break sitting behind a church drawing a bean field with a dirt road. Very quiet and peaceful, nothing but birds calling back and forth. Very HOT! I'll finish it up tomorrow - maybe. Not too much detail, not too much skill either, but I'm trying! I only wish I could capture the heat shimmering off the field.

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sandy hon i think it is a very nice sketch, it is awesome the difference between the look of a live sketch and a photo sketch..

Thanks for this thread, Jeanette! I have really missed those "sketch from life" topics.

Great sketches, Steve and ncgirl!

I did this yesterday in a few spare minutes. Those people went away very fast. At least the tree didn't move...

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Your sketch gives me a real sense of being there ncgirl, of seeing what you see. As for drawing the heat shimmer, its a bit like drawing water. The illusion distorts part of what you are seeing, rather like ripples on the water. Remember to draw what you see. Break it down into sections and observe carefully. Everything can be drawn if you take the time to analyse it.

Siks, quick sketches are great to capture fleeting moments just as you've done here. I've found that drawing moving people is a challenge but if its a crowded area, people do seem to make similar movements over and over, so you can get the basic lines of the first person, then complete it from others who take their place.

ncgirl, it looks like nc country to me, maybe let a few beads of sweat drip on the paper...

NancyB, that would get the shimmer effect for sure! Lucky for me there was a shady spot to sit in, but I still had to stop by McD's for their big dollar drink (lots of ice!). I don't know how I survived summers here as a kid - we didn't have a/c back then! I'm getting soft in my old age.

Good to hear from you again!

I've been working in a lovely little village today. Thatched cotteges and horsey type place. I managed to sketch this before I drove away from the job. Very quick this one, about 5 - 6 mins.

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Then pulled up here to eat my lunch. This took about 15 minutes. Then off to the next job. It's been a lovely day here in south Devon!

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Nicely done! You have inspired me to add some living things to my sketch (no people out there, but there's a few cows).

Steve... How do you do that in only a few minutes? I can't even imagine that.

Thanks, ncgirl. Good luck with the cows. And don't forget to show us the result

you guys are doing awesome, i am taking my pencil now outdoors, thank you steve for identifying one for me and see what kind of mess i can create..I will share it, no matter the outcome..

here it is..my sketch is soo light, maybe i should take charcoal out with me instead. I took like maybe 2 mins for this, is time a factor? Am I supposed to speed thru or take my time..

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I try to simplify everything. The first sketch of the thatched cottages was a lot of guess work. My aim in sketching this scene was to see if it could work as a painting. The actual scene was full of vehicles parked in front of the buildings to the right and left. So some of the scene you see is made up from what I imagine is there. The second sketch of the boats was better executed. I sat and ate my lunch whilst looking at the scene. Again, I simplified it somewhat by removing elements that I felt were non essential. The actual scene contained several other boats which I felt distracted from what I imagined in a painting. So I concentrated on the main focal point. If I decide to do a painting of this scene, I shall go back and take some photos and more sketches.

Kay.
I would say that the longer you can spend on a sketch/drawing, the better. You must realise that I did these sketches whilst doing a days work. I would love to spend more time out with my drawing materials, sadly! I never seem to have that much time. Always going to the next job. As a self employed tradesman, I just can't afford to let people down! I think your sketch looks great!

Steve - awesome drawings, and thanks for the pointers! I too am impressed by your ability to set down a scene in just a few minutes.

Great job Kay! I didn't set a time on mine - drawing fast is not one of my skills - just decided to see what I could do during two lunch breaks. It is a challenge to get the "feeling" of the scene and not get bogged down in details. I'm enjoying this! There was some relief from the heat this afternoon - while I was sitting there a big rumbly thunderstorm came up with a nice breeze.

Here's my final drawing of the bean field - next week -- a corn field! (Don't want to get boring on you guys!)
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This is a great drawing! Nice perspective, good recession, I'd be pretty pleased with this had I drawn it. And I bet you enjoyed just sitting in the shade drawing this? I love being out there. I always carry some drawing equipment with me at all times. Just in case I get a few minutes to myself.

Nice sketch, Kay don't limit yourself on time. Spend as much as you think it's necessary. Some sketches are made in a half of a minute and some are only done in a few hours. The time taken depends on how detailed you want your drawing to be.

Splendid, ncgirl! Although it looks a bit gloomy. I guess it's because bad lighting when you took the photo

thanks guys, I am not so good at all under pressure and super quick sketches, but if i can take my time i can do much better, I cant get out for the next several days by the looks of the weather report. we'll see.

Kay that's a great little sketch for 2 minutes. And no, don't restrict yourself to time. Just do what you want no matter how long it takes til you're satisfied.

And if its raining, draw what is outside your window or if you go out in the car, draw from inside the car. As long as you keep drawing and keep drawing from life, you'll move ahead in leaps and bounds.

ncgirl, nice finish to your sketch of the bean field. It has depth.

Thanks to all for encouragement! I do enjoy sitting in quiet places (in the shade!) and drawing - the everyday world disconnects us from nature so much, it's nice to reconnect sometimes. Steve, I do the same as you - wherever I go, the "art bag" goes with me! You never know when a few free minutes will pop up!

I know this belongs into the thread drawing from life rather than plein air but I can say is a plein air close up
Maybe I should do this more often as you see my perspective, proportions and symmetry are off. But this is it :30 minutes chinese lamp in my patio.CP silver, sanguine pencils.No eraser.

Elena, that looks pretty good! If you think the perspective is slightly off, try it again from the same position! I do this all the time. As with the sketch of the fishermans hut in the weekly challenge. The first attempt was way off! So I started again! The second attempt was much better, but still not how I would want it. I am intending to do a watercolour of that scene, so I need to have it right! So I'll do it again.

What happens, Steve is that I know exactly where I went wrong but I had no eraser at hand so I had to keep going that way. Thanks for advice.

That can be so annoying can't it?

Yes and no. Look at so many famous french artists who painted like 5 years olds.

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and here is my screen house.

and here i tried to do my own house

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Looks like a nice small house... Just perfect to live in!

thank you audrius, with the kids grown we sold the large farmhouse and purchased this very small home, this time I went for land instead, as last time i had a huge house and no land at all, basically what the place set on, and I wanted yard, lots of it, and plenty woods between me and neighbors so no one can build directly on top of me.

What's a screen house? Love the house. Both very nice sketches. I'd love to see a sketch of the surroundings with the house in a focal position.

this is my screen house, on good days i can go draw outdoors and not get chewed alive..this pic was taken early early morn, but as the sun comes around it makes a great art shack


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Elena and Kay - great sketches! Isn't it nice to be outdoors? No sketches from me this weekend - I was holding a camera instead of a pencil. We went out for a photo shoot at 5:30 a.m. yesterday. Came home with very wet feet, a couple of average photos, and a new appreciation of dry socks, hot coffee, and sausage biscuits.

A very good drawing! Congratulations!

view of my patio hydrangea.Crayola markers.Done while having my morning coffee outside.

Here are two quick life-sketches from my yesterday's short trip to the mountain.

I'm kind of sad that this wonderful challenge has been abandoned - here are my freshly drawn lifesketches from another three days trip to the nearby mountain.

Abandoned?

Some more.

These are lovely sketches sveta!

Thank you - you're being very kind.

very lovely Sveta, for quick sketches, I love the flowers in watercolor and wish that medium wasnt so hard for me
kat