Make the setup easy
Choose a comfortable sheltered position and a short session. Keep the kit simple enough to pack quickly. If the conditions are unsuitable, draw from a window or another welcoming indoor place. There is no extra artistic merit in being miserable while trying to close a zip. A ten-minute study you can finish comfortably may be more useful than a long plan abandoned before the first wash.
Use a small vocabulary
Begin with line and one tonal mixture, or use dry media if water is impractical. Capture the low sun, a bare branch pattern or the contrast between a warm interior and a cool street. Winter is not one palette. Observe the particular light and avoid treating every shadow as a compulsory blue. A few well-placed marks can record the season without covering the page.
Record the decision for later
Write a note about the light or colour you could not fully develop on location. If you continue the drawing indoors, identify the later additions when that distinction matters. Keep the original observation visible. A small winter page can be the start of a useful seasonal series from the same viewpoint, with changes in use and light as well as foliage.
Your turn · 10 minutes
Take it to the page.
- Choose a ten-minute subject from a comfortable position.
- Use one drawing tool and, if practical, one wash.
- Record the date, light and one limitation of the session.
Look back: What did the short limit help you notice first?
Sources & further looking
Close-looking observations and practical exercises are this publication’s interpretation. Illustration credits are shown beside each work.
