Beach Sketch

pencil with watercolor wash

This was another little sketch trying to capture the masses of people on the beach. I think it was busier this year than last. More and more people are discovering the gorgeous white sands on Siesta Key. I think its owing to it appearing in more than one "best beaches" list.

I found the watercolor made it quite easy to "suggest" people. Just a dab of the brush. But what I'm really aiming for with this kind of sketching/journaling is like what I see on the Sketchcrawl site. "They" have organized worldwide sketching days and have lots of good suggestions about materials (I need to find the right pen and book/paper) and you go solo, or with others, to just go out and observe and sketch the community around you. I have yet to join an official day for this as I've had conflicts since I learned of it. But NEXT time! Though I "crawled" during my whole vacation and have pencil sketches from home, the airport, roadside views complete with billboards, seagulls and sandcrabs, and my brother-in-law building one of his very cool sand sculptures (he took that sketch home with him.)

I think that my increased sketching and observing have made me a better artist. I carry a sketchbook everywhere now. Its just small and fits in my purse. I was always a doodler; now I don't need napkins. One less thing to float around my studio.