Build WORKSHOP
STAGE 3
The third stage in the waterscape involved shaping the large
slab of landscape rock along the left side of the river. This
colorful area, although simple in structure and appearance,
features an interesting mixture of random color patterns,
shapes, crevice lines and small pieces of foliage debris. Once
again, the process for interpreting this landscape rock began
with a graphite sketch of the shapes and lines, and then an
application of light colors (pale sage, limepeel and yellow
chartreuse) in and around the shapes. Touches of bright hues
(peach beige, seashell pink, greyed lavender, moss green, pale
vermillion) and a brush of earthy hues (rosy beige and clay
rose) rounded out this sequence of colors (see stage 4 image).STAGES 1 & 2
The first couple of stages in this drawing were devoted to
constructing and illustrating the jagged rocks along the right
and left sides of the cascading water. The process began with
a quick graphite sketch of the shapes and shadows, followed
by an application of light gray tones (10% and 30% cool grey)
and then a gradual shift to darker colors (50% and 70% cool
grey) blended into the landscape rocks.
I then began adding colorful hues into the individual rock
formations as I continued to develop the rocks. My colors
included light peach, seashell pink, beige rose, clay rose, and
touches of burnt ochre, chocolate, dark umber, terra cotta and
mineral orange.STAGE 4
My approach to depicting cascading water started with
a string of graphite pencil strokes carefully woven through the
fl owing currents. A key step was to identify areas that recede,
lift upward and appear to shift or contain shadows—all critical
in shaping movements and adding depth to the pockets of
cascading water. After hours of experimentation, I settled
on an approach that began with using light cool-gray colors
(20% and 30% cool grey) to form and shape irregular patterns
along pencil lines. I then used a series of supporting colors,
starting with cream, sand, bronze and hints of sky light blue
and cloud blue, to help defi ne the movements of fl owing water.
I treated areas along the stream shoulders with an aggressive
application of medium and dark gray hues. I formed the
droplets of suspended water and splashes of highlighted water
with a combination of fi ne pigment-ink liners and black colored
pencil. I rendered the areas along the dark rocks that suggest
the appearance of soft shadows with light applications of
greyed lavender and touches of rosy beige and clay rose.28 Artists Magazine December 2019