Journaling on Main Street - A Hit!

Saturday, July 9th, a group of us painted in downtown 
Salt Lake City a la plein air (French for "painting outdoors"). 

We met at the TRAX station and rode into Exchange Place; 
a historical site in the business district.

I introduced the group to two books about illustrated journaling: 

"An illustrated life" and "Urban Sketching."

We talked about how to make the title page of each 

sketchbook unique and special.

Each student filled a page in their sketchbook with ink line 

drawings of things they saw around them. We then washed 

over the line drawings with loose washes.

Diana

Richard and Judy

Olga

There was even a creepy life-size statue of 

an old woman just a few feet away from us.

Yikes!

The sketches were fresh and fun!

Next, we focused on negative and positive space. When we painted our subject, we were painting positive space.  

When we painted the space around our subject we were painting the negative space. Painting both negative and positive space in your artwork can add variety to your illustrations and make your journal more interesting. 

These are examples that demonstrate painting negative space.

Judy

Richard

Diana

Olga

During our lunch at Maxwell's we found out that Judy (at the age of 16) 

went on a date with Elvis Presley! They went to a Bobby Darin concert 

and to the Congo Room at the Sahara afterward. This is the kind of 

thing that is great fodder for a journal entry!!!

After an enjoyable lunch at Maxwell's East Coast Eatery 

we walked one block over to visit a "Grafitti Wall,"

an excellent example of urban artwork.

It was a perfect day for sketching; good weather, adventurous 

artists and plenty of time for us to paint!

Summer in the City

Want a great way to spend a Saturday morning?

Illustrated Journal (watercolor)

Susan N. Jarvis, instructor

Plein Air on Main Street (Salt Lake City)
Saturday, July 9, 2016
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
$50 for 4 hours
(bring a sack lunch and water)

Our group will meet at the TRAX station on
2100 South and ride TRAX downtown to the
Gallivan Plaza Station. Then we'll walk one
half-block to “Exchange Place” where we can
set up for painting.

We will be journaling the sights, smells and
sounds of the morning.

Click here to sign up.

Quiet & Calm: Does It Get Better Than This?

After a week of rain, we got lucky and landed a sunny day for our "Illustrated Journal" workshop. Nine of us hiked to the far side of Silver Lake in Brighton, Utah and prepared for a morning of plein air painting. 

I had scoped out the area the week before and knew exactly where I wanted to set up, however when we arrived, there was a fisherman there (Dimitri). "Will all of you be staying here in this spot?" he queried. Clearly his hopes for fishing in solitude were dashed.

In a heartbeat I said, "Yes, but we will whisper so that the fish will not be disturbed."
He seemed to like that solution and kept on fishing and we began to paint...quietly.

Judi gave a demonstration about using watercolor pencils and I provided a demo for painting asymmetrical trees.

 

 

 

The lake was a busy place and we often had people stop to look at our work or strike up a conversation. There was a young girl who vocalized her distaste for fish.  We could hear her coming from a distance because as she marched along the trail, she was saying (in a loud voice) things like, "I hate fish! It's bloody and disgusting with all those guts and stuff on the inside. I won't eat it...EVER!" Ha-ha! She was cute and had a big bow in her hair. 

 

 

 

 

 

During our lunch break, I reached into my backpack and pulled out a peanut butter sandwich. I set it on the log in front of me. As I turned to grab my water bottle, a squirrel ran across the log and tried to take the sandwich. I hissed at him (remembering to not disturb the fish) and waved my arms. He scooted away. I picked up my sandwich. He ran up the left side of my chair. I barked at him! He took off. Then he jumped onto the right arm of my chair and I instinctively struck him with my sketchbook and sent him flying.

Never saw the little critter again! 

 

 

 

 

We learned that the "Tour De Utah" bicycle race was on the same day and that the canyon would be shut down from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.  Our workshop was supposed to end at 1:00, however in light of the circumstances, we decided to end at 12:15; allowing us time to walk around the lake and get down the canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the early departure, we didn't get as much time as we wanted to write in our journals. Hopefully the students will write about their experiences when they arrive home. Even without the writing, I felt like the student illustrations stood on their own merits and depicted the Quiet & Calm of Silver Lake successfully!