Sketching at Sturgeon Creek

I am just itching to get outside and begin sketching and painting. Winter has dragged on particularly long this year and temperatures remain quite cool. My Sunday plans changed and suddenly I found I had a completely free afternoon. Despite the fact it was overcast and snow was beginning to fall, my husband and I set out to scout the Sturgeon Creek area near the Grace Hospital as a potential sketching, painting location. I took my "sketch kit" with me and my camera.

I was not disappointed in what I found at the creek. I am very attracted to interesting patterns of light and dark shapes and came across a beaver dam on the creek. It was very difficult to do a sketch as my paper was continually covered with large flakes of snow that made it almost impossible to work. I did however take several photos and learned something about just what I needed to wear for my next outing. I had my normal winter outerwear on except for my boots. I chose to wear my high rubber boots which just weren't warm enough for this time of year. I also discovered that standing just under the bridge gives you a lot of shelter and a good view down the creek so next time I go back, I will choose to set myself up there. It's a great time of year to be out as there is not the normal traffic of cyclers, runners, walkers, etc. coming down the path so you are free of distractions.

Below, I have included a photos of both my sketch and the scene. I was so excited by this scene, I will probably do a pastel painting of it. It was very interesting to see the difference in the colors that I actually observed as compared to the photo. The photo just didn't capture some of the warm colors that were in the scene. I'm already convinced that you need to work from life but this just confirmed the inherent problems with using photographic reference alone.