countryside

Sketching
Pen

& Pencil Techniques

Drawing Covered Bridges,

Bams, Old Mills, and
Other Rustic Settings
for

FRANKJ.LOHAN

Countryside
Sketching

countryside

Sketching
Pen

& Pencil Techniques

Drawing Covered Bridges,

Bams, Old Mills, and

for

Other Rustic Settings

FRANKJ.LOHAN

CB
CONTEMPORARY
BOOKS
CHICAGO -NEW YORK

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lohan, Frank.
Countryside sketching pen & pencil techniques for drawing
covered bridges, barns, old mills, and other rustic settings / Frank
J. Lohan.
cm.
p.
;

Bibliography;

p.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-8092-4519-1
1.

Buildings

Technique.

NC825.B8L64
743'.94 dc19

I.

in art.

'

$14.94
2.

Country

life in art.

3.

Drawing

Title.

1989
88-31773

CIP

Copyright 1989 by Frank J. Lohan

reserved
Published by Contemporary Books, Inc.
180 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60601
Manufactured in the United States of America
International Standard Book Number: 0-8092-4519-1

All rights

Published simultaneously in Canada by Beaverbooks, Ltd.

195 Allstate Parkway, Valleywood Business Park

Markham, Ontario L3R 4T8 Canada

seeing his
To Arthur
accomplishments in art and music
inspired me to strive to further develop
my drawing ability.
.

Contents
Introduction
3
Tools and Materials
Basic Tools and Materials

Pens and Inks

Pencils

Erasers

Papers

10
11

Working area
Techniques

14

15

16
17
Pencil Techniques
22
Pen Techniques
Copying, Enlarging, or Reducing Using a Grid
Overlay
28
Transferring Your Drawing
31
Basic Guidelines

Perspective Shortcuts

About Perspective
The Horizon
35

33
34

One-point Perspective
36
Two-point Perspective
37
Adjusting the Vanishing Points

40

Backgrounds, Composition, and Drawing

Techniques
41
Background and Middle Grounds
42
Pairing Subjects with Backgrounds
48
Creating a Center of Interest
54
When to Stop Drawing
56

57

Different Techniques: Practice Exercises

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

63

64

Basic Structures

The Shapes of Rocks

64
On-the-Spot Sketches
73
A Stone Quarry
77
Foreground and Background Rocks
78
Drawing Stone and Brick Walls
82
Underground Stone Chamber
95

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

Basic Structure

101

102

Drawing Rough-Barked Trees

102
Drawing Smooth-Barked Trees
109
Drawing a Pine Close Up
112
Drawing Light Barns and Dark Barns
114
115
Drawing Board and Batten Siding
Drawing a Wooden Door from Different
117
Stylized Approach
Barn
118
Distances

to

Drawing a Wooden

Drawing Lakes, Streams, and Waterfalls

Basic Structure

124

Drawing a Rocky River

128
Ocean Waves
Reflections in Water

Waterfall

Tying

it

123

126
128

130

All Together in

One Study

134

Sketching in the Southwestern U.S.

141
Basic Structures
142
142
Sketching an Adobe Building
147
Sketching Large Rock Formations
149
A Pima Indian Dwelling
151
An Old Mission
Texas Aqueduct
154

157
Using Photographs
The Alamo
159
160
Abandoned Mine Railway
162
AnOld Arizona Farm Wagon
Pencil Vignettes
165
9

10

167
Sketching Mountain Countrysides
Basic Structures
168
A Four-Tone Snowy Mountain Scene
168
1 70
The Rocky Mountains Near Aspen
Vignettes
173
1 76
A Mountain Rain Forest Scene
A Mountain Barn
179
182
Three Studies of an Idaho Cabin
185
Echo Rock, Mount Rainier
Sketching Rural North America
Basic Structures
190

189

Homestead at Cades Cove

192
The Bales Place Near Gatlinburg
194
The Mill at Glades Creek
196
A Covered Crib at Cades Cove
200
A Pennsylvania Barn
202
Old Wooden Barn
204
An Old Manure Spreader
207
A Farmland Stream
208
A Covered Bridge
211
A Unique Barn
214
A Wooden Mill Wheel
216
11

Sketching the English Countryside

220
Sketching English Gardens
223
Sketching English Country Churches
Sketching Castles
238
Sketching Stone Circles
243
Sketching at Lee Bay
247
Sketching Thatched Roofs
248

219

Basic Structures

12

Parting

Bibliography
Index
257

Word
255

251

228

>

Countryside
Sketching

Introduction
My

definition of countryside

photographed on

a trip, or sirriply a

moved you
book or magazine

sketching includes natural elements,

beautiful old structure that

such as trees, rocks, waterfalls,

streams, and mountains, along with
man-made features, such as mills, old

when you saw

bridges, barns,

farm structures and

and abbeys. Yes, castles
and abbeys also, because one chapter in
this book is devoted to sketching the
English countryside. Other chapters
cover sketching in the American
Southwest, sketching in the mountains,
and sketching in rural America.
Well-done drawings of old structures
such as barns, covered bridges,
farmhouses and other hoary vestiges of
the past are universally irresistible. You
often see them reproduced on note
paper, bank checks, and calendars.
There is tremendous gratification in
producing such drawings yourself
regardless of whether the subjects are
buildings on your grandparents' farm,
fading Americana that you

great for pen or pencil drawing.

tools, castles,

rough texture of these materials seems

to flow from the pen and pencil. This

it

in a

or on a trip abroad.

Natural

is

why

wood and

stone textures are

The

old barns, covered bridges,

wooden

or stone structures and ruins,

and other old buildings are some of my
favorite drawing and painting subjects.
I love sketching them for pure
relaxation, and I will show you in the

pages that follow

by

step,

how

proceed, step

from the composition drawing

to the final sketch for different types of

domestic and foreign subjects. When

you see and understand how I achieve
certain effects, you will be able to
apply the same techniques to your own
subjects.

Before you cook something from a

new recipe, you must have the

Countryside Sketching
ingredients and the utensils on hand so
you can properly follow the steps of

the recipe. This

is

similar for drawing:

You must have the materials and tools

(pens, ink, pencils, paper, etc.), and an
adequate work space before you can
properly begin. The first few chapters
of this book cover these preparatory
matters and describe the necessary
materials. This knowledge is vital to
the successful translation of what you
see in your mind to an image on the
blank white paper
strongly

in front of you.

recommend

that,

even

if

you

already sketch, you at least read

Chapters 1-7: Tools and Materials;
Techniques; Perspective Shortcuts;

Drawing

Rocks and Stone Walls; Backgrounds,

Composition, and Drawing Techniques;

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things; and

Drawing Lakes, Streams, and Waterfalls.
Then you will better understand the
terms and instructions that I use later
in the book. If you have not done much
prior sketching, it is essential that you
understand the material and terms in
these chapters if you are to properly
follow the step-by-step instructions for
the

many demonstrations

have

included in these and later chapters.

To help you get to the hands-on

sketching as soon as possible, I have
included some preliminary practice
exercises

where appropriate

in

Chapters 1-7. These exercises will give

you an early chance to practice using
the techniques you will need in
working along with the later step-bystep demonstrations of more complete
compositions.

lot of

pure relaxation can be

derived from sketching. Only those

who

have tried it understand how

totally absorbed you can become. Time

ceases to exist as you concentrate

completely on your work without

realizing that the world, for a little
while anyway, is going on without your
help or concern.

Hours disappear,

after

which you find yourself completely

refreshed and with a marvelous sense
of accomplishment.
I

hope that

this

book helps you

achieve the same kind of personal

satisfaction

from your

efforts that

have been enjoying for years from

mine.

1
Tools and Materials
Basic Tools and Materials

Pens and Inks

Pencils

Erasers

Papers

Working Area

Countryside Sketching

Basic Tools and Materials

I

did

all

the exercises and step-by-

step demonstrations in this

book using

pen and ink or graphite drawing

The

pencils.

will

need

materials that beginners

in order to follow all the

instructions and demonstrations will

not be expensive. For instance, the

replaceable nib crowquill holder and a
point for it should cost about a dollar
plus some change. Five or six drawing
pencils in a range of hardness including
6H, 2H, HB, 3B, and 68 should cost
perhaps three dollars or less. Paper
suitable for

drawing with either pen or

anywhere art
supplies are sold. So for well under ten
dollars, you can be set up for years of
pencil

is

available

sketching with both pen and pencil.

Should you

really

become

pen and ink sketching, you can

upgrade to a technical pen or an artists
fountain pen, or both. Each of these
implements is in the ten- to sixteendollar range. Again, your level of
continuing interest will determine
whether you invest in Bristol board or
parchment paper rather than just bond
or regular drawing paper. You will
make these decisions based on how
deeply your interest in sketching
develops. You can do a lot of very
credible sketching, though, with just
the basic tools and materials. I will
in

describe a full range of pens, pencils,

inks, and papers in this chapter,
however, since I will be making
reference to them throughout the book.

interested

Pens and Inks

pens can be used
for sketching. One important factor
that all suitable sketching pens have in
common is the ability to produce a

Quite

a variety of

consistently

narrow

line.

The

this regard are the crowquill

best in

pen and

the technical pen. These have metal

points that

wear well on the abrasive

paper surface and that do not "mush

out" and become broad from the
pressure of using them hour after hour
as some felt-tip or fiber-tip pens do.

These points are completely

different from the wider ones for
1-1.)

calligraphic pens. Points

This
are

is

narrow-pointed ones, are not really

suitable for sketching.

work with crowquill

many

There

kinds of crowquill-type

points, each with a different

name,

such as "drawing," "Spencerian,"

"hawkquill," "mapping," etc. (figure

Any

ink will

pens, even the

superbly black, heavily pigmented India

inks that I would never put in my
prized technical drawing pens because
of possible clogging of the very fine

ink-feed mechanism.
of the advantages of the

crowquill point

a replaceable-nib pen.

for

calligraphy, except perhaps for very

One
Crowquill pens

made

is

the ease of keeping

You simply wie_it off with a

paper towel oratissue, dunking it in
watenf*necessary to help remove any
clean.

dried ink.

really

bad case of dried

ink can be fixed by soaking the point

it

Tools

water to which some

ammonia has been added. Eullow the
soaking with a gentle washing in waJCjn

overnight

in

water
type of pen point will perform
consistently well only when it is clean.
The ink in conventional pens is fed to
the paper by the very tiny slit that
runs up from the point to the hole that
acts as a reservoir. If any ink d ries on
the top or the underside of the nib, as
shown in figure 1-2, t he f low of ink
during sketching will be erratic and
unreliable. Wh en I sketch with my
crowquill pens, I subconsciously w ipe
the point dry with a pape r towel qu ite
frequently asT'sit back to consider
what I want to do next on the sketch.
This wast es a surprisingly small
amount of ink and ensures reliable ink
flow when I need it.
I do not recommendjiiupig-^+lT^
s oa^py

Any

IH|\Hiumiumiiiunuiii
"'"'^^^^^^iguumiiiviHiniiiiiiiiiii^

and Materials

crowquill into the narrow-mouthed

bottles of ink to load t No matter how
i

you are, the rim of the bottle

will pick up some ink, which then gets
on the holder and subsequently on
your hands, clothes and, worst of all,
on your drawing. Although it appears
to be an annoyance at first, I
recommend that you use the
eyedropper style filler that usually
comes as part of the ink bottle to place
one or two drops of ink on the inside
curve of the point. Then wipe the
outside of the point toward the tip with
ink. Figure 1-3 shows what I mean. If
you wipe the point clean frequently
enougti and ceep bothsi des of the slit
in the point wet with ink, you should
have no ink flow problems as you

careful

sketch.

Be ca reful not to pu t too much ink

on the crowquill. You may think more

Z2

uiuiniMwii,i.,|.

Figure 1-1

Crowquill holder and

typical points.

tuiiuiKiiiiiiiiiimiiifiiii

Figure 1-2

Dried ink on crowquill

points makes the ink flow

Figure 1-3
Inking a crowquill point
with the eyedropper-style

unreliable.

filler

from the

bottle.

Countryside Sketching
ink will

let

you do more sketching

between wettings, ^butjj;. often lets a

nice big drop of ink fall on your sketch.
I know: I've done it often. It hurts to
have to start over or to take a lot of
time to try to save the drawing by
soaking the ink up and trying to erase
it

when

it

dries.

The

final result is

most often unsatisfactory.

If you like to use the crowquill and
you want to di p the point instead of
using the eyedropper to wet it (which I
admit is much easier), try what some
of mystudents thought of years ago.
They poured the ink into a shot glass
at the start of class. At the end of
class, they poured the ink back into the
bottle and washed up. This way they
dipped, wiped excess ink from the nib
on tlie side of the glass, and had no
problems with ink getting on the pen
holder.

Crowquill points are flexible (except

for some of the very stiff ones like the
hawkquill) and allow you to modulate
your line width somewhat; that is to
produce a varying line width as you

draw. A thicker line is produced by

bearing down on the point a little bit
to spread the two halves of the nib
apart.

Such

lines are

shown

in figure

1-4.

Artist's fountain

The

pen

point on an artists fountain pen

(figure 1-5), resembles the crowquill

point in that

it is

split.

The

ink flows

from the reservoir to the paper along

the slit. Having an ink reservoir, this
pen does not require dipping. This is a
considerable advantage, since when you
want to sketch you simply take the cap
off the pen and go to work. This
makes sketching with ink in the field
quite practical.

The

depending
on the brand, is filled in one of two
ways. With some models, you dip the
point into the ink bottle and work a
plunger mechanism by screwing the
back of the pen one way and then the
other way to fill it. With others, you
screw the back of the body off and
artists fountain pen,

remove a small plastic container, which

you then fill from a squeeze bottle or
an eyedropper-style-ink bottle. Figure
1-6 shows a spouted ink container that
is sold for this type of pen, and the
way to fill the container. Some brands

Figure 1-4
Lines produced by
crowquill points.

have pre-filled cartridges of ink that

you simply load into the pen,
eliminating all handling of ink.
The artist's fountain pen allows you
to produce a full range of line widths
by controlling the amount of pressure
you use as you draw. Typical line work
is shown in figure 1-7. When I do not
expect to use my fountain pen for a
few weeks, I usually empty it and flush
it with warm soapy water.
These pens are usually available in
larger art supply stores, along with ink
that the manufacturer recommends for
them.

Tools

and Materials

"^4^(00^1

Figure 1-5

An

artist's

fountain pen.

I~

Figure 1-7

Linework from an

Figure 1-6
Filling

artist's

fountain pen.

removable ink

reservoir.

'^^^ Jiii

ff^ff((i|ii[ffin(i(ii||(iiii[fHii/li(iiiiiiii(iiiii(ini(i((ii^

Figure 1-8

Technical drawing pens

The

^srv

technical drawing pen.

technical drawing pen (figure 1-

8) does not look like a fountain pen. It

has a hollow tube for a point. Each
point produces just one line width,
which is determined by the diameter of
the tube. Inside the tube is a tiny wire
with a plastic weight on the end. The
movement of this wire is what keeps
the ink flowing through the point. A
technical pen requires a shake or two
every now and again to keep the ink
flowing. You can usually hear the wire
and the plastic weight clicking when
you shake the pen.
The technical pen must be held in a
more upright position than the
crowquill or the fountain pen. Many
people find this awkward at first, but
almost all find the result worth the
learning. Technical pens have

replaceable points.

The

sizes

range

from 6X0, a very fine line point, to 2,

3, or 4, which make broad lines. My
favorite is the 3>^0. It makes a line that
is 0.25 millimeter wide. I use this pen
about three quarters of the time when
I sketch. The extremely fine line tips,
5X0 a nd 6X0 can be come troublesome
due to clogging of the fine tubes. The

3X0

that

may

clog the point.

use works consistently well,

but I clean it out if I do not plan on
doing any sketching again within a
week. Cleaning it takes perhaps ten
minutes of shaking it under running
warm water. I only use inks in it that
state 'Tor technical pens" on the box or
bottle. Heavily pigmented India inks
I

There is no flexibility to the line

width produced by the technical pen;
each point size makes just one line

Countryside Sketching

,s

Figure 1-9

3X0

technical drawing pen linework

width. The kind of delicate line work

that

my 3X0

point produces

is

blunt.

shown

pens usually
have a removable ink reservoir that is
in figure 1-9. Technical

filled as

shown

in figure 1-6.

These

pens and the ink for them are available

in larger art supply stores or drafting
supply stores.
Inks

There are waterproof inks and nonwaterproof inks. Perspiration from your
hand can smear non-waterproof ink
lines. Any of the inks work well with
the crowquill pens because you can
clean the points easily and completely.

only use inks that are

technical pens in

my

made

for

technical pen

because some waterproof inks contain

shellac, which could really clog up the
point. With crowquill pens, a
waterproof India ink is the best choice.
Felt-tip

and

fiber-tip

pens

Every drug and department store

stationery department carries a wide
variety of very fine point felt-, fiber-,
or nylon-tip pens.

Some

of these will

produce a good, consistent fine line for

while until pressure makes them

The

lines gradually

become

wider as this happens. Still, however, it

may be worth your while to
experiment with these implements in
your earlier efforts if you want to
avoid having to wet or dip the
crowquill point, or you do not want to
invest in the technical or fountain pen
at the outset. If these pens are
relatively inexpensive, you can use one
for drawing until it loses its sharpness.
Relegate it then to letter or note
writing and open a new one for
sketching.

Brushes

Small,^harply pointed watercolor

brushes can be used to make ink
drawings also. IF the brush "points up"
very well, it can produce lines as fine
as that of the finest pen.

Pencils
Hardness

Drawing and drafting

pencils are

graded according to the hardness of the

lead as

shown

in figure

1-10.

The 6H

has a ven/ hard lead that deposits very

Tools

and Materials

very fine line of ink with each stroke,

and many strokes are required to tone
an area dark. Properly sharpened
pencils allow you to put down a broad
line of graphite with each stroke and
thereby darken an area in relatively

10

2H

6H

HB

3B

Figure 1-10
Range of blackness from

6H

to

68

6B

leads.

few

Figure 1-11 shows you how properly

sharpened sketching pencils look. The
wood is removed with a razor blade or
a

little

graphite on the paper with each

stroke; this

The

means

it

makes

get smaller.

light lines.

numbers
The usual number two

lead gets softer as the

about 2H on the scale.

The HB is a nice, reasonably soft lead
that puts down a fairly dark black on

writing pencil

paper.

The 6B

is

is

really soft

and

strokes.

sharp

utility knife, leaving a

than the pointed

lead a conventional pencil sharpener
produces. The lead is then rubbed back
and forth a few times on fine
sandpaper with the pencil held in the
writing position. The lead is then
wiped on a piece of paper towel to
cylindrical lead rather

easily

gives you as dense a black line as you

need for sketching. You should

have one each of these pencils: 6H,_2tL
HB, 3B, and 6B. This will allow you to

will

draw all of the pencil exercises in this

book and to do whatever sketching of
your own you want to.
Pencil works a little differently on
smooth paper than it does on rough
paper. All pencils make a dark line on
very rough, abrasive paper, because it
is almost like drawing on sandpaper
lot of graphite is deposited with each
stroke. This does not happen with very
smooth paper, however. The terms

Figure 1-11

Properly sharpened

sketching pencils.

rough and smooth are relative.

Most

general-purpose drawing paper

stores

is

on the rough

in art

side to take

remove any loose

graphite.

You have

points then that look like those in

figure 1-11. This kind of point allows

you
flat

make broad

by using the
part of the lead that you produced
to

lines

wide tonal
range with pencil, you want a rougher
paper. The smoothest of the papers
work very well with ink. Experiment
with different papers and see for

by the sandpaper. Placing a series of

such broad lines next to one another
lets you tone an area rather quickly, as

yourself.

the sharp tip as

pencil well. To achieve a

shown
lets

When
You do not use pen techniques when
sketching with a pencil. Pens put

this

down

fine lines

shown

in figure 1-13.

when

the

flat

part of

the lead gets too rounded, give

stroke or

point

by using

sharp edge begins to

broaden out, or

Sharpening the pencils

The same

in figure 1-12.

you make very

two on

it

the sandpaper to

Countryside Sketching

10

smudging

sketches from

after they are

completed. This provides a thin, clear

film that keeps the graphite in place.

Erasers
Soft erasers

These are usually pink, yellowish, or

white and do not contain abrasive

Figure 1-12

When

material as ink erasers do.

Wide lines and toned area

made with the flat part of

erasing pencil

marks from your paper,

to roughen up the

you do not want

the lead.

paper, as this spoils

pencil drawing.

good

for either ink or

it

The

soft erasers are

glued in the shallow cover of a small

box, along with a piece of paper towel

removing or minimizing the

made by the harder
pencils. However, they will only
smudge and smear the softer leads on
the paper. There is another way to

wipe on. This contains the

sharpening debris and keeps it

handle lightening of the softer lead

lines
use a kneaded eraser.

restore

when
have

it.

To control the graphite mess

am sketching with pencil,

my small piece of sandpaper
I

to

off

for

lighter lines

my

sketch.

Sketching pencils are available in any

art supply or drafting supply store or

department. If you see some drawing

pencils with very large diameter leads,
try one in the softer lead.
Fixative
I

use several thin coats of clear spray

enamel to

fix or protect

my

pencil

Kneaded erasers

Kneaded erasers are usually greenish

or grayish in color and come in small
rectangular cake-like pieces. You pull
about one third of it off and knead it in
your fingers. You can erase light pencil
lines with it by the usual back-andforth rubbing motion. You then knead
the dirty part of the eraser inside,
leaving a clean eraser surface to

work

down the very dark

darks simply by pressing the kneaded
eraser on the dark passage (no
with. You can tone

rubbing!).

Then knead

the dirty part

inside the eraser again, and,

necessary, press

dark area. This

it

if

once more on the

lifts

off a lot of

you see in figure 1-14. You

can also shape the kneaded eraser to a
sharp edge to lift off a line from a dark
graphite, as

Figure 1-13

pencil area, as

lines made with the

sharp edge of the lead.

versatile

Thin

The kneaded

shown
eraser

in figure 1-14.
is

and necessary

very

tool

when

Tools

and Materials

the drawing to protect the areas you do

not want to touch, and to expose the
area you

want

to erase.

Then you

through the cutout that best

area you

fits

want to erase. Erasing

anywhere drafting

erase

the
shields

are available

supplies are sold.

ft

Figure 1-14

Paper Towel

use a piece of folded paper towel to

lightly brush any eraser residue from
my sketches into a wastebasket. This
minimizes or prevents smudging of my
drawings.
1

from a dark
pencil tone by shaping
and pressing a kneaded
eraser on the tone several
Areas

lifted

times.

sketching in pencil.

It

Paper

lasts a

surprisingly long time even though you

knead

a lot of dirty graphite into

Kneaded erasers are

it.

most

available in

art supply stores.

Erasing Shield

An

is a very handy
can be used to trim up

erasing shield

drafting tool.
a straight

It

edge or to clean up small

areas of excess graphite.

figure 1-15.

It is

It is

shown

in

number

of
it

on

V^
c

line effect

get.

like this

when

sketching rustic scenes such as barns.

variously shaped cutouts. You lay

watercolor paper because of the slightly

broken

a thin sheet of

stainless steel w^ith a

Almost any kind of paper offers one

feature or another for drawing with
either pen or pencil. A slightly rough or
"toothy" paper works better than a
smooth one with pencil. Ink generally
produces smoother, unbroken lines on
a smoother paper, although I do like to
use pen on a rougher finish 140-pound

Your best bet is to experiment with

whatever paper you come across so you
know firsthand just what happens to
ink and to pencil on different kinds of
paper. If you are just starting out,
however, plain bond writing paper will
work well with pen and with pencil.
Below are some of the kinds of paper I
will mention in the exercises and
demonstrations later in this book.
Quadrille paper

This

is

Erasing shield.

smooth, bond paper with

over the sheet. It

all office supply
stores and some art supply stores.

light blue

Figure 1-15

is

squares

all

available in pads at

11

Countryside Sketching

12

I use quadrille paper for all my

composition drawings. The horizontal
and the vertical lines help me to keep

my

horizontals and verticals from

I draw which they have a

tendency to do on unlined paper. Once
I am satisfied with the composition,
which I always draw full size, I
transfer it to my working paper as I

tilting as

will describe in

Chapter

2.

Bond typing or copier paper

This is good, inexpensive paper that
takes both ink and pencil pretty well.
You can get it wherever typing paper is
sold. This is gogd paper if you're a
beginning artist. You can get the
bristol board or parchment paper later
if you find that you have a continuing
interest in sketching.

Tracing vellum

This

is

directly.

a translucent paper that

is

frequently used in engineering offices

master technical drawings. It takes

both ink and pencil very well and is a
very permanent paper, being 100
percent cotton rag content. This gives
for

it

the permanence of the best

watercolor papers.

Tracing vellum

I mention several uses for tracing

vellum throughout the book. When
backed up by a good white paper and
mounted, it serves very well for final
drawings. Being semitransparent, the
light goes through the vellum and
bounces back through it again. With
regular paper, the light just bounces
off the surface of the paper. This
characteristic gives drawings on vellum
a kind of brilliance that those on
regular paper do not have. Vellum also
has the advantage of allowing you to
see your composition drawing when
you lay the tracing vellum over it. You
can start right out drawing on the
vellum without the bother of first
transferring the composition sketch to
the paper. Being a sort of high-quality
tracing paper, you can place it over
photographs also and start drawing

is

available in pads at

drafting and art supply stores.

Figure 1-16

Broken line effect from

pen on rough paper.

Bristol hoard

This

is

good, heavy, moderately

smooth paper

especially suited for

and pencil work.

popular

pen

Illustration board, a

medium with commercial

artists, is bristol board mounted on a

very heavy backing. I like two-ply kid^

or regular-finish bristol board.

It is

available in pads at art supply stores.

.!!'

1,

mm

Tools

Low water

High water
Outer walls of ashlar masonry

Filling of loose stones

-tj

\HJi.ll

13

and Materials

Drawbridge

and lime

1.

303-

^^/S^^^\\'''ii>f/

Starlings

made

of stone

pitching enclosed by piles

Foundation of loose stones

inside three

rows of

piles

Oak

sleepers forming platform

for pier

Narrow
waterway

0/</

London Bridoe

ii76-jaz6

Figure 1-17
Detailed ink drawing on smooth paper.

Watercolor paper

do quite a bit of landscape and barn

drawing on 140-pound medium-finish
watercolor paper with pen and ink. On
such a rough surface, the pen tends to
make a sort of broken line, which I find
enhances the mood of such sketches.
See figure 1-16 for some idea of the
I

broken-line effect on such watercolor

paper.

Smooth or hot pressed watercolor

papers have an excellent surface for
pen and ink work. Such a surface is
perfect for very detailed

those

shown

works such

in figure 1-17.

as

Art supply

Countryside Sketching

14

Figure 1-18
Pencil on linen paper.

'm-

's@y^-

stores carry different water color

buildings look rather nice on the color

papers.

textured parchment papers.

Linen paper

This paper
pattern.

is

When

embossed with

a linen

a broad-point pencil

done on linen paper, the linen

pattern stands out in the dark passages
and looks quite attractive. For an
example see figure 1-18. This paper is
available in pads at stationery counters.
sketch

is

Working Area
A

comfortable working area is

essential if you expect to do reasonably
good drawings. If you cannot sit and
write letters comfortably for several
hours, you cannot sit and draw very
well for several hours either. Be sure

your chair is neither too high nor

too low for the surface on which you
will be working. Light is also
important. I use a 100-watt table lamp
on my desk in addition to a high
intensity lamp that I direct at what I
that

Parchment paper
This smooth-surfaced paper

is

favorite with calligraphers because of

the pattern and different pastel tones.

It is

available in art supply stores,

generally in packets.

Drawings

of old

am

drawing.

2
Techniques
Basic Guidelines
Pencil Techniques

Pen Techniques
Copying, Enlarging, or Reducing

Using a Grid Overlay

Transferring Your

15

Drawing

16

Countryside Sketching

Basic Guidelines
whether drawing with pen or pencil,
you are working with only black ink or
the graphite, the white of the paper,

and the gray scale that lies between

them. (The use of colored ink or
colored pencil are subjects beyond the
scope of this book). With pen and
pencil, you do not have the third
dimension, as sculpture does, nor do
you have color, as conventional

utilize this

you must

somewhat

first

learn

limited palette,

how

to create the

you need. Then you must

learn to interpret your subject and
often distort the tones that you see so
that the viewer will see what you
intended to show by the drawing.
These distortions are part of your
precise tones

legitimate artistic license to create

something and to

assist

your viewer

painting does, to help visually separate

interpreting your creation.

One

the elements of your drawing. To fully

most frequently necessary

of these

distortions
values.

Figure 2-1

This

illustrates the alternation

of light and dark tones to

prevent visual elements

from blending into one

another and losing

their visual
distinction.

is

in

of the

that of changing tonal

Techniques

Alternating the tones

Only by

alternating lighter and

darker tones can you provide

distinction

among

As

visual elements of

your drawing. Figure 2-1 demonstrates

this principle with the dark shrubs
silhouetted against the lighter stone

and the
wall

lighter top of the little stone

shown with darker

tones both

above and below it. These alternations

were not accidental I created them.
The photograph I was working from
showed no such distinction, as it had
been taken on an overcast day. All
tones in the photo were either black or
darker grays. You will come to learn

the great

amount

creativity that

is

necessary to give a

confusing or drab scene before you or

in a photograph. Just how much of this
creative distorting is necessary will
become evident to you only through
practice and by analyzing any of your
unsatisfactory drawings to determine
just why they did not live up to your
expectations. I can give you only one

leave

some room

for final

darkening until the sketch is about

finished. Only then, by examining
your work at arm's length or from
across the room, can you properly
judge the value relationships and decide
where the emphasis of further
darkening is required.
With pencil drawing, you can tone
down a very dark passage by pressing a
kneaded eraser on it once or twice. It is
virtually impossible, however, to
lighten a dark ink passage. So, as you
draw, make a practice of leaving your
darkest areas lighter than you think
they should be; when you near
completion, check the tonal
relationships.

stated in

Chapter

1,

the

minimum

range of sketching pencils

you should have is from 6H to 6B,
including the following: 6H, 2H,

HB,

38, and 6B. In addition to these, I find

it helpful to also have a conventionally

sharpened (pointed lead) HB, or a

mechanical pencil with 0.5 millimeter
(very small diameter) HB lead. I use
these to sharpen up some of the dark
edges that I create using the broadpoint pencils. I mention when I do this
in the various lessons and demonstrations throughout the book.

of intellectual

center of interest to an otherwise

general rule

Pencil Techniques

Sharpening the edges of dark passages

Figure 2-2 shows you what I mean

about sharpening up the edges of dark

passages. In figure 2-2A, I have just
filled in the dark areas with a broadpoint 6B pencil. These darks did not

run tightly up to the lines on my guide

drawing, as I did not want to get the
dark 6B lead on the places that I
wanted to be very light. I used my
pointed, conventionally sharpened (in a
pencil sharpener) HB pencil, and my
mechanical pencil with 0.5 millimeter
HB leads to bring the dark areas right
up to the construction lines in figure
2-2B. See how sharp and crisp this
makes the drawing? This sharpness is
necessary if every element of your final
sketch is to stand distinctly visible and
give the feeling of dimension to your

drawing.

The post shown deep inside of the

barn was toned with my HB broadpoint pencil.
made it dark, but not so
I

dark that

it

disappeared, in figure 2-3.

Working drawings

Whenever

draw,

first

make

17

Countryside Sketching

18

Figure 2-2
(A)

The initial darkening of the black areas

with the broad-point soft pencil leaves the
edges somewhat indistinct.

(B) After filling in the edges of the

dark

areas with a sharp, soft pencil, the

boards

all

become more

distinct.

composition drawing on quadrille

paper.

on

this

do my adjusting and erasing

drawing to get perspective and

relationships right.

Then

transfer the

correct elements to the paper on which

I will do the final drawing. Transferring of drawings is covered later in this
chapter.

This procedure saves my final paper

from a lot of abuse from erasing. If the
fibers of your paper are roughened up
from erasing, neither ink nor pencil
will take uniformly. The ink will
feather out and the pencil marks are
caused to be darker in roughened areas
than in the unerased areas.

The drawing
up

that

transfer

shows

as barely visible pencil lines.

tried to use such

If

working drawings

in

the illustrations in this book, the lines

would not

print

able to see

what

this reason,

drawing

and you would not be

was

describing. For

have made the working

lines in

many

of the

book very dark so

you can see them. Your working
drawing should be barely visible to you.
Then you do not have to worry about
erasing anything on your final pencil
drawings. Figure 2-2A is an example of
this; do not make your lines this dark. If 1
have to do any drawing on my final
illustrations in the

paper,

very

use a

6H

light) pencil

much on

(very hard, therefore

and

do not press

the paper.

Showing shades and shadows

The study of part of a barn with a
shed attached shown in figure 2-3
gives you an idea of the sometimes

Techniques

subtle changes of tone that are

surface should not be toned as dark as

necessary to create dimension and to

suggest textures, shades, and shadows
in your drawings.
I planned for the sun to be shining

two adjacent surfaces. If it does not

stand out, the two adjacent surfaces
have to be darkened a little to make it
distinct, or the kneaded eraser must be
used on the surface you want lighter. If

from the upper

right in this sketch, so

that the front face of the barn

in full sunlight.

described

how

and the

would be

horizontal boards of the shed

how

drew the

area

will

where

the shed connects to the barn.

Figure 2-4B shows

by

first

how

proceeded

using a broad-point HB pencil,

tone the two surfaces that

lightly, to

are in shadow. Next, as in

and

2-4C

(1)

darkened the tops of these

areas where they are shaded by the
overhang of the shed roof, and do not
get much reflected light. Then, as in
figure 2-4D (1), I used a broad-point
2H to lightly tone the one board that,
although in shadow, is facing the
sunlight and getting some reflected
light from the ground. Note that this
(2),

Figure 2-3
A pencil study of part of

barn showing the use of

subtle toning and
sharpening of the edges
of the dark areas.
a

you do use the kneaded eraser in such

cases, you will want to use it with an
erasing shield so as not to lighten the

have already

did the darks and then

sharpened their edges up. Next,

describe

the

surrounding dark tones. Figure 2-4D

(2) shows where I used the broad-point
2H to put a little shadow on the lintel
above the doorway where part of it

would be

shadow

in the

part of the barn.

main
few touches on the
of the

vertical boards, first toned in figure

2-4, this time with the

HB

mechanical

pencil brought the visual relationships

to

where

Showing

wanted them.
wood

the

texture

In figure 2-5,

added

few

indications of the actual grain pattern

in the

wood on

the front, or sunny,

side of the barn.

done after

first

This graining was

toned these boards a

19

20

Countryside Sketching

Figure 2-4
(A) Detail of the

doorway
into the shed

(B)

Broad-point HB pencil
toned the boards that
face to the left,

away

from the sun.

(C) Sharp

HB

pencil

added the dark

shadows

at

the top of

the boards at (1) and

(2)

"V

(D)

2H

pencil broad point toned the board that

faces right,

toward the light

shadow on the
doorway (2).

little,

and very

point

2H

2-5A

(1).

lightly,

pencil as

with

shown

When you do

toning, try to

my

this kind of

make each board

different in tone than

broad-

in figure

its

a little

further enhanced by showing

is

some

the spaces between the boards as

in figure

2-5B

pencil point.

put the

little

of

did

with my sharp HB
used this same point to
(2)

shadows

in

the top of the

overhang and from the overlapping

upper boards as in Figure 2-5B (l)
and (3).

The

final step

was the

addition of

grain on individual boards with

sharp HB pencil. When you do this,
do not grain every board; instead, try
to do some at random. Perhaps two
together, then skip one and do one.
Then skip two or three and do another

my

separateness of these boards.

idea of separate boards

and added

wood

neighbors.

This will help to get across the

The

lintel across

(1),

from the roof

one. Sprinkling

around

some wood grain

like this will get

without creating a

the idea across

monotonous

pattern.

21

Techniques

Also,

make

the grain pattern a

little

on each board. Look at figure

2-3 to see how 1 changed the grain on

different

the different boards.

Showing

The

the corrugated roof

visual signals that spell out the

corrugated roof are simply the

repeating curves in the ends of the
corrugated sheets, and the lines
running the length of the sheets
representing the corrugations. The
1

indicated these features

is

shown

way
in

figure 2-6.
First

roof

Figure 2-5
(A) Broad-point 2H pencil
used to tone the boards lightly

lightly

the part

did this, as

using
(1).

as

my

toned part of the

that

was

you see

in figure

broad-point

you see

in figure

in the shade.

2H

2-6B,

2-6A

(l),

Then,
emphasized

pencil.
1

i^J

'

Figure 2-6
(A) Broad-point

2H

pencil used to tone

the areas lightly

(B)

Sharp

(1) Place

HB

pencil used to:

shadow under the

roof overhang.

(3)

Emphasize some of the spaces

between the boards.
Indicate shadow where the upper

(4)

boards overlap the lower ones.

With sharp HB lightly indicate some

(2)

wood

grain.

(B)

Sharp

HB

pencil emphasizes

the corrugations.

(1).

Countryside Sketching

22

the corrugation pattern at the ends of

the sheets with the sharp

HB

pencil

and added a few lines, using the same

pencil, running the length of the sheets

the

infinite

ground

The ground in this sketch (figure 23) was simply done with a few
horizontal marks using my sharp HB
pencil, or the

HB

sharp

tip of

my

broad-

few
grass marks and some dots and
point

circles to

pencil

and with

vertical

tiny

suggest pebbles.

Summary

summary then, use your broad

points to lay down larger areas of tone
In

and use the sharp

tips of the

broad

points, or separate sharp pointed

pencils or mechanical pencils with very

fine leads, to

do

fine lines

filling in of tones.

and

The harder

fine
leads,

such as 6H, 4H, and 2H put down a

lighter mark; the softer points, such as
HB, 3B, and 6B put down darker
marks.
Be sure to keep your hand from
rubbing on the drawing as you sketch,
or you will smear graphite

all

over.

Clean up the drawing paper edges with

a soft eraser when you are finished,
then spray it with a few thin coats of
fixative or clear spray enamel.

Pen Techniques
The illustrations in this section were
drawn with a technical pen containing
a

3X0

line;

point. This point produces a fine

heavier points will not create the

work. The crowquill

with a very fine point will be a suitable
substitute if you want to try some of

same

some ways, the pen is a little

more difficult to draw with than the
pencil is. You can produce an almost
In

range of tones with a pencil

simply by changing from one degree of
hardness to another. I find the pen

to suggest the corrugations.

Showing

Creating a tonal range

delicate line

these illustrations as practice exercises.

somewhat

limited in this regard.

Still,

with the tonal range that can be

pen has worked very well
for me through thousands of drawings.
The most detailed of pen techniques
are produced by stippUng using dots of
ink rather than lines to tone the areas
on your paper. Stippling can produce
photograph-like images and the most
subtle of shading differences. It is a
created, the

somewhat laborious technique,

however, since you put down so little
ink with each dot. When you see good
stipple work, you realize that the labor
involved can be worth the effort.
Figure 2-7 shows tone ranges created
by ink lines (2-7 A and B), as well as
tones created by stipple (2-7 C). To

make

lighter areas,

you must space the

tone lines, or dots, further apart; to

make darker

areas,

you must

pile lines

on top of lines (crosshatching), or pile

dots on top of dots, until you are
satisfied with the degree of darkness
(figure 2-8). Remember that you can
always make it a little darker if at the
end you see that it needs darkening;
however, you cannot lighten an ink
passage easily, if at all. So hold back a
little on the darks until your arm'slength appraisal near the end of your
sketch.

To be effective, crosshatching must

be done with reasonably uniform and
evenly spaced lines. Figure 2-9 A and B

show the

nonuniform line
spacing in hatching and crosshatching.
One of your early aims in using the
pen should be to be able to produce
result of

Techniques

Figure 2-7

Hatching, crosshatching,

B
/

f:

;^^v^?iv^'

/^

and stippling to create

tones with pen and ink

.^/////

?'.V-:^V---^

Figure 2-8
Hatching and
crosshatching with closely
spaced lines creates a

darker tone than when

widely spaced lines are
used.
Crosshatching

Improper hatching

Improper crosshatching

Figure 2-9

When you

hatch and
Crosshatch to create a

toned area,

it is

essential

that your line spacing be

uniform. Compare A, B,
and C.
Proper uniform hatching and
crosshatching

23

Countryside Sketching

24

Figure 2-10

The
The

first

two

layers of crosshatching the dark are

final crosshatching, four layers in all,

against the lighter features

is

shown

reproducing

it

in (A).

in (B).

uniform work as shown in figure

2-9C. Make this a frequent practice
exercise until you are quite comfortable
in

shown

brought tightly up

well.

Working drawings

always make composition drawings

first, generally on quadrille paper so
I

that

my

not drift off

Sharpening the edges of dark passages
As with the pencil illustration of this

shed connected to a barn, an ink

rendition requires that the dark areas
be sharply brought up to the edges of
surrounding features. Figure 2-lOA
shows the initial layer of hatching I did
on the dark interior of the shed and
barn. This first layer often does not fill
in right to the edges of the dark areas,
so when you add the second and
succeeding layers, be sure to get rid of
those little slivers of white that do not
belong there at the edges of the dark
areas. Figure 2-lOB shows this
properly done.
A completed pen and ink study of
the shed and barn is shown in figure
2-11. This is the same subject as
rendered in pencil in figure 2-3 so that

you may see the differences in

approach between pen and pencil.

my

and horizontals do
slight angles. I do all

verticals
at

erasing on the composition

drawing, then transfer what I need

from it to my final paper. Transferring
is covered later in this chapter. This
procedure saves my final paper from a
lot of abusive erasing, since when the
paper fibers are disturbed, the ink does
not take uniformly. Feathered ink lines
can spoil an otherwise good sketch.

Showing shades and shadows

Figure 2-12 shows how I continued
after doing the dark areas to show the
shaded and sunlit parts of the shed
doorway. I used somewhat widely
spaced ink lines to lightly tone the sides
and underparts of those posts and
beams that were not in the sunlight.
This is shown in figure 2-12A (1), (2),
and (3). This same illustration shows
how I used only vertical lines to show
the shaded side of the barn.

Techniques

To make sure that the front of the

vertical post at the right side of the

all

doorway opening kept its distinction

after it was toned slightly,
lightly

all

crosshatched the shaded side of the

barn to make it darker still and thereby
let the post show lighter. This added
crosshatching

is

shown

in figure

2-12B

little

will suggest to the

viewer that

the boards are textured. Note in

I did no toning at
on the first board in the
sunlight. If I had put one or two
strokes too many on this board I would
have immediately lost the appearance of

figure 2-13A(2) that

as yet

the corner of the barn.

The

front

This same figure also shows, at 2(2), how I darkened the undersides
of the corrugated roof to be sure that
the idea of corrugations came across.

tonally blended right in

with the darker side. For this reason, I
left this board until last and just put a

Showing

The final step on this side of the

barn was to very lightly tone the

(1).

12B

the

Just as

wood

texture in the pencil version of

this study,
It is

to

wood texture
showed a little of the actual
I

also did in this ink version.

here that you will see,

if

you try

draw both pencil and pen versions,

it is somewhat more difficult to

how

than it is in
2-13 shows the sunny
of the barn and the steps I

delicately tone in ink

pencil. Figure

side

followed in completing

2-13A
put on some of

it.

Figure

shows the wood grain I

the boards. When you do this,
remember to only do it to some of the
boards, and do it in a random manner.

Figure 2-11

pen and ink study of

the same subject rendered
with pencil in figure 2-3.

would have

few of the
on it.

lightest strokes

could

make

ungrained boards with the fewest

strokes, as in figure

2-13B

(1),

and

then to indicate the shadows cast by

the roof overhang and by the
overlapping boards at the top half of
the barn. This was done using closely
spaced hatchmarks as shown in figure

2-13B

(2).

25

26

Countryside Sketching

Figure 2-12

This shows how the

shading is put in around
the doorway to the shed
after the interior darks
are completed (A), and

how

the right side

support post
(B).

Figure 2-13

This

is

how

side of the

the sunny

barn

is

finished with a few of the

boards grained (A) and

the little shadows added
(B).

is

finished

Techniques

Figure 2-14

This is how the

corrugated roof
completed.

is

Summary
In summary, be sure

Completing the corrugated roof

The corrugated roof was completed
as

shown

in figure

2-14A and

B. First

the end of the sketch

1

put in lengthwise lines representing the

I shaded the

corrugations, A(l); then

part oFThe roof that

was not getting

any direct sunlight, A(2). To deepen the

contrast between these shaded
corrugations and those in the sunlight,
I crosshatched with ho rizontal lines
B(l). Then 1 emphasized the dark
undersides of the corrugations to be
sure that this feature became evident to
the viewer, B(2).

to leave

your

darks a little underdone as you go

along on your ink sketch. You will be
better able to appraise their value near

when most

of the

surrounding tone is on the paper. If

the darks need to be darker, then you
can add it easily. If they are too dark,
well, there is not much that can be
done without risking the drawing.
Erasing ink is tough. Also, when you
have lights next to darks, do not be too
quick to put tone in those light areas.
Just as I let the one board on the barn
go until last, so you should be wary of
toning light areas until near the end of
your sketch.

17

28

Countryside Sketching

Copying, Enlarging, or Reducing

Using a Grid Overlay
Son^etimes you

may want

change

the size of a composition drawing or

supply stores.
Rule the clear film with a grid of

other reference from which you are

lines that are Vz" apart, as

working, or you may want to use part

of a photograph by changing its size.
You can easily make yourself a very
handy tool that makes doing this easy.
You will need a piece of clear acetate
or a mylar sheet, about 8"X10", a

figure 2-15. This

to

sharp, pointed, permanent felt-tip or

nylon-tip pen, and a ruler. You need a

sharp pen, because you
fine lines

on the

want

clear sheet.

make
You must
to

use a permanent type of ink because

regular ink will not mark on the clear
sheet. A crowquill pen and India ink
that is made for use on film (it will say
so on the box or bottle) will work even
better. All these materials and tools are
available

from

is

most

shown
easily

by ruling

in

done
with a

a piece of paper first

then laying the clear sheet over
this and tracing the lines. Be sure to let
the ink dry on the clear sheet before
you touch it or move your ruler around
pencil,

over

it.

This clear film

is

not porous,

so the ink just lays on top until the

This takes
noticeably longer than it does on paper.
volatiles evaporate.

When
you

finished ruling the clear sheet,

will

end up with

transparent

overlay that you can place over any

flat

subject, as indicated in figure 2-16, to

assist in copying, enlarging, or reducing

that subject.

art or drafting

'f

V2
1

Figure 2-15

Rule your clear acetate or

mylar overlay this way.

Vz

inch

inch

Techniques

Figure 2-16

Transparent overlay with ruled grid placed over another sketch.

Figure 2-17

Using the same sized grid

lines on your composition
drawing will allow
copying the subject the

same

size.

Copying
If you want to copy your subject
with no change in size, lightly rule
lines on your composition paper that
are the same size as those on the

transparent overlay, that

side.

is,

Vi"

The drawing you make on

on each
this

composition sheet by using all the

squares and intersections as visual
guides will be the same size as what
you are copying, as shown in figure
2-17.

Enlarging or reducing the size of the subject

If you want to enlarge the subject,

draw the squares on your composition

paper larger than those of the overlay.
For instance, if you use squares that
are V^" on a side, as in figure 2-18,

29

30

Countryside Sketching

y
y
//
I

X"rt jV%
J^

X
"^

^\

]
1

Vi

inch

'

inch

Figure 2-18

Using larger size grid lines on your composition drawing

will allow you to enlarge a subject.

Figure 2-19
Using smaller sized grid
lines on your composition

drawing will allow you to

reduce a subject.
incr

your resulting sketch will be larger

than the original. A 5" X 7" subject
will turn out 71/2" X IOV2".
If the squares on your composition
paper are made smaller than those on
the overlay, your drawing will be

smaller than the original. This

is

2-19 where the

squares are drawn V4" on a side.

shown
5"

21/2"

in figure

7" original will be

31/2" in size.

drawn

Techniques

Transferring Your
Once your composition drawing
complete, you want to transfer

Drawing
is

to the

it

paper on which you will be doing the

final drawing. Do not use carbon paper.
You want lines that will be easily
erased if necessary if you are going to
do a pen drawing, or lines that will be
light

and barely noticed

in a final pencil

Carbon paper does not meet

of these needs. You can make

sketch.
either

own

carbon paper in effect if you

take a broad-point HB pencil and

your

31

darken the back of your composition

drawing as shown in figure 2-20. Then
lay this blackened composition drawing,
blackened side down on your final
paper, and with a sharp 2H pencil trace
over those lines on the composition

you want as guidelines on the final

paper. This will leave you with a light,
easily seen and easily erased drawing,
as shown in figure 2-21, that you may
now complete either with ink or with
that

pencil.

Figure 2-20

Blacken the back of your

composition drawing in
preparation for
transferring

it

to your

final paper.

Back

is

pencil

blackened with an

HB
Lightly transferred drawing on
final

Figure 2-21
drawing
over the
By
composition drawing
lines, you transfer a light
copy to your final paper.

paper

Composition
drawing

3
Perspective Shortcuts
About Perspective
The Horizon
One-Point Perspective
Two-Point Perspective
Adjusting the Vanishing Points

33

34

Countryside Sketching

About Perspective
Most

of us

know

That

that the part of a

that

is

farther from our eyes appears

smaller than the part closer to our

eyes. This difference in apparent size

is

called spatial perspective.

Architects use different views of

buildings and

make some

they "look right" because the

that the back is made smaller
than the front is correct. For general
casual sketching, however, these
techniques are far more complicated
than you need. There are quicker ways
to estimate the perspective closely
is,

amount

barn, covered bridge, or other object

projections

on their drafting boards to construct

drawings that are perspectively correct.

enough to do the job well and allow

you to produce drawings that look
"right" to everyone.

Figure 3-1

An

artist

looking into a

covered bridge.

Horizon

Figure 3-2

What

the artist sees.

35

Perspective Shortcuts

Figure 3-3

Eye

level is

above the

covered bridge.

Figure 3-4
sees from
artist
the
What
the high point of view.
Horizon

The Horizon
drawing must be

All

the horizon.

The

horizon, even

work,

is

in reference to

location of the

if it is

not visible in your

the key to getting

all

perspective elements of your art

"looking right."

There is
remember:
level,

just

work

one primary rule to

the horizon

is

always

at eye

when you are looking

down or straight up; but these

except

straight

are rare viewpoints for a drawing or

painting. Consider the

little

stick figure

artist in figure 3-1 who is standing in

the middle of a country road looking at
a covered bridge. The artist is holding
up a picture frame that contains only a
piece of glass. If the artist closes one
eye and draws the bridge outline on
the glass, just as he or she sees it, the

result will look

is

something

like figure

The horizon, which is at eye

also shown in this figure.

3-2.

Now

level,

have the artist climb on a

ladder so that eye level is above the top
of the covered bridge, as in figure 3-3.
If that view were drawn on the glass in
let's

the frame,

it

would look like figure

is up high and the

3-4. Since the artist

horizon is at eye level, the horizon

appears above the entire bridge. The
location of the bridge

below the

horizon is what gives the viewer the

impression of a high point of view.
Notice, however, in figure 3-5 that in

both cases, the view from road level

and the view from above the bridge
roof, all the receding horizontal lines
converge at one point, and that point is
on the horizon.

36

Countryside Sketching

Figure 3-5
The receding horizontal
lines all converge at the

VP

vanishing point on the

'

.'.rJ.

Horizon

horizon.

-4

1~

;
\

/
\

VP

Figure 3-6

Looking down

f\

a long,

straight street the

Horizon_

building lines converge at

the vanishing point (VP).

One-Point Perspective
The preceding drawings

of the

covered bridge demonstrate simple onepoint perspective. All horizontal lines

that recede
at a point,

from the viewer converge

the vanishing point, on the

horizon. Horizontal lines that pass

across in front of the viewer, however,

appear to be parallel to the horizon.

This is illustrated in the two sketches
in figure 3-5. If you stand in the
middle of railroad tracks on level
ground, the tracks will also appear to
converge at a point in the distance. So
will the receding roof and window

lines of buildings

shown in figure
Knowing this

on

a long street, as

3-6.
basic principle of one-

point perspective will often allow you

and correctly sketch a simple

composition. However, you seldom
view buildings and scenes head-on
where one-point perspective is the only
principle that applies. More often, you
will have what is called a three-quarter
view, in which both visible sides of a
structure recede. In these cases, twopoint perspective comes into play.
to quickly

37

Perspective Shortcuts

Two-Point Perspective
Lets continue with the example of
the covered bridge and this time have
the artist

move

off the road to his or

her right and look

at

the bridge

through the glass. The artist will see

something like the view in figure 3-7.
From the top of the ladder, the view
would look like the one in figure 3-8.
In both cases, the primary horizontal
lines converge to two vanishing points,
both of which lie on the horizon. The
VPL (left vanishing point), however, is
located off the page to the left, while
the

VPR

(right vanishing point)

remains on the paper, close to the

To VPL

sketch. This illustrates two-point

perspective.

You can quickly

set

up

a three-

quarter view of a structure with

pleasing perspective by making
yourself a setup like that shown in
figure 3-9. All this is to allow you to

draw a long horizon line that extends

beyond the edges of your composition
drawing. do this by placing some
newspaper on a flat table and lightly
I

taping

my

composition paper to

Placing a yardstick across the paper,

draw

horizon

VPR

Figure 3-7
artist's

view from off to the right of the bridge.

Horizon

To

VPL on

the horizon

Figure 3-8

The

artist's

view from the right and above the bridge.

horizon line. On this

place a dot about an inch to

a long

Horizon

The

it.

VPR

38

Countryside Sketching

Large paper or newspaper

Composition paper

r^-\
Nearest edge

VPL

VPR

of structure

Width

About one inch

composi tion
* paper plus an inch
or

of

'

two

Width

of

composition
paper

Figure 3-9

The setup

to establish vanishing points off the composition paper.

the right of the right-hand edge of

my

composition paper. This is the VPR.

Then I place another dot on the
newspaper, about the composition
papers width, plus an inch or two, to
the left of the lefthand edge of the
composition paper. This is the VPL.
Now toward the right side of my
composition paper I draw a vertical line
representing the nearest edge of the
structure. This vertical line cuts the
horizon line as you see. All these
proportions are shown on figure 3-9.
By connecting the top and bottom of
the vertical line to each vanishing
point, I have begun a perspective
construction of the building
(figure 3-10). Now I can start
sketching the building, making my
erasures and corrections until it looks
right, as in figure 3-11. If the building
is

above

my

eye

level,

such as on

a hill.

it

will all be

as in figure

the

3-12A, but

still

use

line as in the eye-level sketch.

the building

eye

will

same vanishing points on the same

horizon
If

drawn above the horizon

is

level, all of

in a hollow,

below

my

the drawing will be

below the horizon

line, but will still

use the very same vanishing points and
horizon line (figure 3-12B). Note that

the vertical line representing the

nearest edge of the structure

when

the building

is

moves down when

crosses the
is at

it is

a hill
in a

moves up
and

hollow

The only time it

horizon line is when the

below the eye

view

on

eye

level.

level.

more time to describe

does to actually do. It really is a
quick approximation that allows you to
obtain credible perspective in your
All this takes

than

it

sketching of structures.

Perspective Shortcuts

Figure 3-10

The beginning

of the sketch using the

vanishing points that are beyond the edges

of the composition paper.

r=*VPR

VPL

-^_ ^
'
--:i.f

Horizon

Figure 3-11

The

final composition

sketch.

To VPL on horizon

Horizon

VPR

Figure 3-12
(A)

The barn from

point of view;

a
it

low
is all

aibove the horizon.

(B)

The barn from

point of view;

a high
it is

below the horizon.

all

39

Countryside Sketching

40

Adjusting the Vanishing Points

You may have to adjust the
placement of the vanishing points if
your drawing appears distorted or too
flat. A couple of the most common
distortions and why they happen are
shown in figure 3-13. To correct the
problem in figure 3-13A, move the

VPL

further

left; or, if

the side of the

move

barn

is

VPR

to the right at least a full

the principal view,

the

width of

the composition paper. To correct the

problem in figure 3-13B, move the

VPR toward the barn until it is about

the width of the barn away.

There

is

much more

complicated subject of perspective, but

that is beyond the scope of this book.

Your library can put you in touch with

many competent books on the subject.
You should practice these principles and
you will learn by so doing. The basics
introduced in this chapter will help you
to draw some of the demonstrations
and lessons in this book for practice
before you strike out on your own
adventures in countryside sketching.

Horizon

Figure 3-13
(A)

The kind of distortion

when the VPL is too

(B)

The

close to the sketch.

flat effect

when

the vanishing points

are too far apart

to the

4
Backgrounds,
Composition, and
Drawing Techniques
Background and Middle Ground
Pairing Subjects with Backgrounds
Creating a Center of Interest
When to Stop Drawing
Different Techniques: Practice Exercises

41

42

Countryside Sketching

Background and Middle Ground

Types of backgrounds

Backgrounds

as white or mostly white

trees or distant hills.

superimposed
on the background.
Figures 4-3 and 4-4 are almost

ways

identical.

for countryside

sketching will almost always contain

There are many

with
the pen and the pencil; there are no
"right" or "wrong" ways to do this.
Even though we are dealing with
strictly black, white, and gray tones,
you can use many different techniques
to represent such features

They show

monotone

represent things in the distance. In

background in a medium tone. This was

accomplished by spacing the vertical
lines a little farther apart than in the
previous illustration. Figure 4-3 was
done using the same medium point as
the previous figure, while for figure
4-4 a fine point was used. The

some

difference

to create plain or textured patterns to

you will want to eliminate

any background and just present your
cases,

subject as a vignette against the stark

white of the paper. This can be quite

effective; later in this

book

will

show

you several examples of material

presented in this manner. The next
step toward drawing a specific
background is to just show the top of
the tree line or
solid or

broken

hill line

with

a light

line (figure 4-1). In this

is no attempt to indicate the

and darks of the foliage masses

case, there
lights

or

more

distant

hills.

related

way

of

showing background, which might be

trees or distant hills,

is

to present a

solid tone indicating that something

there. This can be a light,

is

medium, or

dark tone depending on the needs of

your particular sketch. Ways to address
this question will be presented
throughout the book in terms of the
particular objectives of different

demonstration sketches. Figures 4-2,

4-3, and 4-4 show such monotone
backgrounds.
Figure 4-2 was drawn using a
medium- to heavy-point pen, closely
spacing the vertical lines of the

background hills to create a dark tone.

Such a dark background often works
well when you can show your subject

between these points is best

seen in the little bit of roadway and
grass that is presented below the hills.
For distant vistas, a medium point is
often too coarse and is not capable of
the delicacy required for credible
presentation of distance. You will see

chapter how both the fine

and the medium points can do beautiful
work when the scene goes no farther
than the middle ground. One point is
not any more correct than the other;
one is just more appropriate than the
other under certain circumstances.
Monotone backgrounds may be
appropriate for showing distant
backgrounds in which you need a bit of
later in this

tone to indicate the presence of

something, but you want all attention

focused on the primary subject.

However, for sketches that are limited

to showing nothing farther than the
middle ground, such background

The
more

representation gets very boring.

viewer often expects to see

detail, or at least an indication that
more detail exists, or becomes confused
about the spatial relationships in the
drawing. Showing middle-ground detail
such as this requires that you model
the tree texture to suggest the detail
by drawing modulated lights and darks

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

Figure 4-1

The minimum

-.

43

t^

<,

-^

representation of

background trees

Figure 4-2

dark representation of
background trees using a

i\H&ii'i'lflW/in')li''W'H'J!'

medium-point pen.
^^iv^^^i.,,.:;,

Figure 4-3

monotone background
with no attempt to model
any texture. This was
done with a medium-

-.1,

s'C^

^ ^

point pen.

llf

Figure 4-4

The same drawing

as the

previous figure but done

with a fine-point pen

3X0

technical pen.

44

Countryside Sketching
Figure 4-5

Hatching piled on top of

haitcHmg,

all

in the

same

direction to create the

impression of foliage
masses.

ru"

**V

Figure 4-6

Horizontal monotone
gives the impression of
trees in the haze or mist.

Figure 4-7
Hatching piled on top of
hatching,

all

in the

direction used to

same
show

individual background
trees.
.t.

,11.^^.

and

let

the viewer mentally supply the

rest.

Not-too-distant middle ground

Figure 4-5 indicates one way of

bringing the background forward by
suggesting some detail in the foliage.

Now,

glance the viewer can see

background tone does not

at a

that the

represent mountains in the distance,

but rather that it shows trees that are
not too distant. Here there is a little
indication of the darker parts of the
foliage masses and of the tree trunks
and branches. Just the slightest bit will
give the viewer the idea and allow him
or her to get on with looking at and
interpreting the rest of your sketch.

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

one of my favorite ways of

showing background trees; you will see
it quite a few times in this book.
If the trees are near but you want a
hazy impression, you should not show
any detail. Figure 4-6 shows one way
of doing this. The detail here is
contained just in the shape of the trees
and the trunks. They are shown in a
This

45

is

light,

monotone

'^km
A

Elm

silhouette but at a

scale that implies they are close by.

Vertical lines

would work

this instance, the idea

as well in

being to

eliminate the explicit representation of

leaf

masses and branches by using only

a flat tone.

Figure 4-7 shows a

way

to represent

individual trees as well as a shrub line

middle distance. This approach

can be very pleasing and can provide a
in the

good representation of specific

You must remember in such
cases that the type of tree being drawn
really

scenes.

can be quite important to the realistic

impression the sketch will evoke. Figure
4-7 shows some types of pine trees

you might find

\
C

Black Willow

barrens of
New Jersey or Georgia, or other places
where low pine trees abound. If a scene
is set in the midwestern United States,
elm or oak trees might be in the sketch
instead.

The

in the pine

precise silhouette used for

this kind of tree representation should

be plausible for the locale. Figure 4-8

shows

typical silhouettes of other types

4-8A shows the umbrella

shape of the American elm; 4-8B
shows the loose, drooping shape of the

of trees;

weeping willow. The black willow,

shown in 4-8C, has a very distinctive
trunk structure; a number of trunks
fan out from one place in the ground.
Figure 4-8D shows the squared shape
often characteristic of the black and red
oak trees. A good tree identification
book will show you the shapes of
many more kinds of trees and will

D Oak

^
Figure 4-8

Each kind of tree has

unique shape.

Countryside Sketching

46

where they grow.

used more or less horizontal

indicate
I

hatching for figure 4-9.

you try to

draw

in getting the kind of

will need.

suggest that

this figure as practice

pen control you

When you do draw

it,

make a very light pencil

even
using pencil lines to
outline
show where the light tree trunks cut
across the darker background band.
Then do the hatching of the darker
areas first, leaving the lighter trunks
and shrubbery clean and white. Finally,
when you have the darks about where
you think they should be, carefully put
a few of the lightest pen lines you can
make across these white places. You
will see that one or two lines too many
will immediately make the feature
blend in with the background. Taking
the time to do little practice pieces like
this, and doing them a number of
remember

to

first,

times so you learn from what doesn't

work the first time, will be very

Figure 4-9

Horizontal hatching with some

overhatching to model foliage masses
in

background

valuable in

trees.

making the

early sketches

you do of your own subjects more

satisfactory.

Pine trees that have the typical

"Christmas tree" shape can easily be
suggested, as shown in figure 4-lOA.
The individual strokes used to build up
this shape are shown in 4-lOB. This is
the general silhouette of spruces,

and hemlocks.
You might want to make the
background somewhat more
representational by using strokes of the
pen that directly suggest the leaves
rather than just suggesting the tones of
the leaf masses. Fignrp 4-1] shows a
way of doing this. Here, I used little
loops to create the dark areas rather
than using slanted or horizontal

-ji

Figure 4-10
(A) An easy

way

to

draw background pine

4i

firs,

trees.

(B)

The

steps in drawing

each pine tree.

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

Figure 4-11
A representational

using hatching is shown in figure

4-12A. Here, I created a Httle more

way of drawing

middleground and
background trees.

interest in the

.'^

^7^^

marks I used to make the tones I

wanted. Figure 4-12B, C, and D show
the steps I used in developing this
background. Remember that light
pencil lines do not print, so in 4-12B, I
show dark outlines for what was a
barely visible set of outlines that I used
to guide my pen work. Your guide lines
should be very faint, and should be
erased when you no longer need them
to guide your pen strokes. They are
dark in this illustration just to get

z^--

w^

^i^i^'4i^.
tui^>.
..''^

hatching.
the

same

However done,

the object

is

to create patterns of tone

that define

and suggest the shape and

them

texture of the picture element to the

viewer. Yet another

way

to

do

background by varying

the direction of the groups of hatch

this

by

to

show up

in the printing of this

book.

Figure 4-12
(A) Another

way

of

getting more interest

in

background

(B), (C),

(D)

The

trees.

steps in

drawing these
background trees.

Light pencil
outline

mim^Mm\\\mv

47

Countryside Sketching

48

Pairing Subjects with Backgrounds

Backgrounds do not

make

in

themselves

interesting sketch material.

They

are simply used to complete a sketch by

suggesting the locale, the season, the

weather, and so forth. Almost any style

background representation, but not

all, will "go with" almost any subject
style. Figure 4-13 shows a small
Appalachian-style farm crib and
storage shed against one of the
backgrounds discussed earlier in this
of

chapter.

The

crib

is

rather simple, so

somewhat

decided to try a

elaborate

background representation to keep the

sketch from being too trivial. Not that
a simple subject such as this is trivial
in itself, rather, since I decided to draw
it so small, covering only one third of
the picture area, I needed something
interesting to

The

crib

by

fill

in the picture area.

itself,

the sketch area,

is

where

it

dominates

perfectly suitable to

subject and background are

somewhat

stylized

in a specific style,

both background and foreground

drawn

in a

manner, and

therefore are compatible.

The

steps in

rendering the foliage are indicated in

figure

4-16A and

B.

The

pencil outline

used as a guide for inking is shown in

4-16A. As before, this is shown so
dark just for purposes of printing the
illustration. You actually draw your
guide lines very faintly. The dark areas
of the foliage were drawn using one

continuous, irregular line as indicated

at (1) in

4-16B.

simply kept going

over the area to kill most of the white

and leave a texture that indicated the
leafy nature of the subject. Note that I
was careful to leave a little white paper

show between

stand alone, as in figure 4-14.

When you draw

should be compatible; that is, they

should be done in similar styles. Figure
4-15 is a drawing of a barn with the
background comprised of the trees
immediately around the barn. Both

the foliage and the

shingles on the barn, as in 4-16

(2).

This prevented the barn roof from

^(^/

L.

'""//ryi-.f

W--

Figure 4-13

rural crib

drawn against

background of textured shrubbery and

trees.

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

49

Figure 4-14

vignette of the crib

shown

in the previous figure.

blending into the darks of the foliage.

Finally, when the darks were about

put a few leaf indications in the

lighter parts of the foliage as shown in
right,

4-16B(3).
In contrast to the stylized treatment
just discussed, figure

4-17 shows

some

representational sketch of

fishing

buildings placed against a

representational background. Again,

there

is

compatibility here between

subject and background. This also

good exercise

to develop

with the pen.

3X0

is

your dexterity

technical pen, the finest point

delicacy in a

my

did this sketch with

normally use. There

need for
small sketch such as
is

this,

with all the clutter of the pilings under

the wharf, and all the nets, lobster
pots, rocks alongside the buildings, and
floats in the shade behind the main
building.

At

this scale, a

medium

point-

pen could not have done the job.

Figure 4-18 shows you the basic
composition for this sketch. Use this as
a guide to make your own composition,
then transfer it to your final paper, as
described in Chapter 2, and try inking
it with a crowquill point or, if you have
one, a technical pen. Such a small
drawing as this (the illustrations in this
book are all reproduced at very close to
the size that I drew them) requires
considerable abstraction in showing
such things as the lobster pots. You
cannot actually draw them at this size;
you have to suggest them to the
viewer. Figure 4-19 shows how I
abstracted them to a few vertical lines
and a few horizontal ones. An enlarged
idea of this can be seen in 4-19A,
while 4-19B shows a cluster like the
one on the wharf in the sketch. All the
features of the drawing were completed

50

Countryside Sketching

Figure 4-15

A somewhat

stylized barn

drawn against

stylized

background

Figure 4-16

The
(B)

drawing the background

Inking within the outline.
steps in

trees: (A) Pencil outline,

trees.

51

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

Figure 4-17
Fishing buildings set against background trees drawn in a
representational manner.

Figure 4-18

Layout sketch for the

fishing buildings.

V'VI/J.^VA^-

B
Figure 4-19

The

lobster pots are

abstracted to a few
vertical

and a few

horizontal lines.

52

Countryside Sketching

drew the shading by hatching

over those areas I wanted darkened.
before
In

many

Figure 4-20

A
a

of your countryside

sketches there will be a subject, and

background with
dark middle-ground
light

tree.

both background and middle-ground

trees or shrubbery. It will be helpful to

you

in

some

cases to

make

a small

tonal composition or so before

decide just

how

you

to treat the tonal

and
4-22 show three such tone studies of a
barn with an adjacent tree and a line of
background trees. The minimum
background and dark treatment of the
relationships. Figures 4-20, 4-21,

adjacent tree

is

shown

in figure 4-20.

To prevent the tree and the dark side of

the barn from blending into one
another, make the shaded side of the
barn a little lighter than the tree.
The background trees and the
adjacent tree are the

fV"*"

same tone

Figure 4-21

A
a

dark background with

dark middle-ground

tree.

in

figure 4-21. Here, too, the dark side of

the barn

must be

visual separation
is little

relatively light to give

from the

trees.

There

aerial perspective, since the

.''^fefsrisr'

adjacent tree and background are of

the

same

tone. In figure 4-22,

reversed the tonal values of the

adjacent tree from that of the

background. Here the tree is light and

the background is dark. Now the
shaded side of the barn can be as dark
as I want, since it is against the light
tree. This value arrangement is the one
to use since it places the center of
interest on the dark side of the barn
because of the light/dark contrast the
light tree lets

me

^^'""'W^
-.A^

Ty^',^"^'

^i^.

Figure 4-22

dark background with

a light middle-ground
tree.

establish. Little tone

compositions just take minutes to do,

but they can save you hours of
dissatisfaction if they permit you to
know just what tone pattern you need
before you invest considerable time in a
drawing without having considered this
vital aspect.

Another application of a light

background with a darker subject
superimposed is shown in figure 4-23.

-^

-r^

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

This

is

a sketch of a small, prehistoric

it

in figures

4-24 and 4-25. These two

show

stone circle in Cornwall, England. This

illustrations

sketch sort of conveys the impression

the background to a dark band of trees

composition rendered first in pencil,

then in ink. The tonal treatment is the
same in each one; only the way the
tones were generated changed. The
human figure is included to give a

and contrasted very

reference as to the size of the objects.

though shadows
somewhat evident. To get the idea
a bright, sunny day across, I changed

of a dreary day even

are
of

light stones against

the identical

Figure 4-23

background requires darkening of the foreground elements to

get sufficient tonal separation.
light

nil

-'

'

Figure 4-24

pencil sketch

showing how

dark background enhances the impression

shown very light and
superimposed on the dark background.
of bright sunlight

Figure 4-25

when

the foreground elements are

^,\},di<^>.t.

A pen sketch of the same scene as the preceding figure light foreground
elements against a dark background.

53

Countryside Sketching

54

Figure 4-26

very dark background

helps create the center of

interest at the

open

window.

Creating a Center of Interest

Contrast

Every drawing you make should have

a deliberately created center of interest.

This should be the heart of the sketch,

the main point of your effort that is
supported and enhanced by the rest of
the piece. Generally this place in the
sketch has the greatest contrast because
the eye is drawn to contrasting values.
In figure 4-26, I have drawn part of
an old English manor house on a small

place that area near the center of the

drawing, although it should not
necessarily be at the center of the
drawing. The next thing I did was to
make the background trees very dark
in that area so that the necessary
contrast could be developed around the

part of the building with the beautiful

window. The post and beam

construction shows up fairly dark
when drawn so I had to be sure to
make the background even darker. This
illustration was done with my technical
pen and a 3X0 point, about the finest

exposed beams. The

point

river.

want the center

be around the open

make

of interest to

window on
first

thing

this the center of interest

the

did to

was

to

use. To

show

the effect that the

tone of the background has on the

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

55

Figure 4-27

medium-tone
background in this case
reduces the visual
emphasis at the open

window.

center of interest,

what

it

show

looks like with a

in figure

much

4-27

establishing a natural center of interest.

The

lighter

tone used for the background trees.

visual flow of the

composition

is

shown

comparison of the two illustrations

shows that some of the visual impact is
lost when the background is lightened

The sketch design

in this case.

of the drawing.

manor house

in figure 4-28.

leads the viewer's

eyes to the area of the open

from both

sides

window

and from the bottom

From

the right side, the

leafy branches of the white tree point

window

area and lead the eye

Composition

at

Composition, how the subject matter

is organized in the picture area and
how the space is broken up, is also

there as indicated in figure 4-28 (1)

the

vital to establishing a center of interest.

and (2). From the bottom, the

arrangement of the dark reflections in
the water carry the eye up and around

The
way

4-28

your drawings and the

that the lights and darks tend to
lead the viewer's eyes must be planned
in addition to the contrasts if your
drawing is to be successful in
lines of

to the

window

area as

shown

in

(3).

The

perspective lines of the building

converge toward the right and

therefore carry the eye in this direction

Countryside Sketching

56

Figure 4-28
The composition leads the viewer's eyes toward the center of interest.

when

the gaze enters the drawing from

These points of visual

entry are shown in 4-28 (4), (5), and
the

left side.

(6).

This

is

book

will be

the reason lines in a

drawing should not converge out of the

picture; they tend to carry the viewer's

eyes out of the picture.

The matter
influences the
travel

exercises throughout this

discussed with each such exercise.

of composition, as

way

it

the viewer's eye will

through the drawing,

is

the first

thing that must be considered when

planning a sketch. Then the contrast
arrangement must be worked out
before actual drawing commences.

The

compositional problems of the practice

When to Stop Drawing

One of the most difficult things for
beginners to figure out is when to stop
drawing. Many just keep going until
they come to the edge of the paper, or
to the line they drew indicating the
size of the drawing. You should stop
drawing when your center of interest
established along with enough of the
surrounding area to make the setting

is

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

apparent and to create the visual flow

to the center of interest from each edge
of the drawing.

manor house,
more detail of the building
side would have proven to be

In the case of the

putting in
at

the

left

than an
enhancement. Being nearer to the eye,
such detail would tend to dominate and
attract the eye, greatly weakening the
visual force of the open window area.
a distraction rather

57

Similar reasoning applies to the lower

would be counterproductive to
include more of the water there. The
viewer understands that there is more
water in that direction; there is no need
right.

It

show

because the paper is

there inside the frame lines. This is not
to say that you never complete a
squared-off drawing. Just keep in mind
to

that

it

is

it

just

not always necessary to

do

so.

Different Techniques: Practice Exercises

Ink can be applied to the paper in
many different ways to create tone and

thereby create drawings.

methods

One

of these

stippling: placing of dots

is

on

the paper and piling them up to make

dark passages, spreading them out to

make intermediate tones, and

them altogether to make

eliminating

the lightest tones. Figure 4-29

stipple rendition of the

You can

is

manor house.

create almost photographic

with stippling. Indeed, most

newspaper illustrations are comprised
of dots of ink
look at one with a
magnifying glass sometime. I did figure
4-29 with a medium-point pen: it
makes a reasonably large dot with each
touch to the paper.
A stipple drawing takes longer to
complete than does a crosshatched one,
because with one stroke you place a
detail

line of ink

on the paper, but

it

may

take twenty dots to represent that

same

That means twenty hand

movements for stipple for one of
hatching. The effect of aj^ll-done

line.

drawing is woxth,the effort,

however.
I mentioned several times earlier that
a medium or coarse pen point is
inappropriate to drawing the delicate
stipple

indications of far distance.

Only the

finest point

can convey the impression.

However,

the most distant vista in a

sketch

is

if

not very far

off,

the coarser

good job. Figure

4-30, the manor house, was drawn
with a medium-point pen. Compare it
points can do a very

with the fine-point rendition of the

same scene in figure 4-26. The

drawing done with the medium-point
pen required the least time to complete
because there were fewer lines to put

down the medium

point covers more

each stroke than does
the fine point. Verify this by looking at

paper with ink

at

and comparing the number of lines

required to draw the shadow under the
overhanging part of the building. The
finer point gives a

more

delicate result,

but both approaches are valid. In fact,

it might be best when sketching on the
spot to use the coarser point to get the
necessary information down on paper
in a reasonable time, then go back to
your studio and do a fine point
drawing based on the field sketch.
Don't forget the pencil. In general,
pencil drawings require less time to
complete than ink drawings do. Figure
4-31 is a pencil version of the English

manor house. This

sketch

was done

Countryside Sketching

58
.d'S

>'.7<f-.

'*,

Figure 4-29

pen

the

stipple rendition of

manor house.

medium-point pen was

used which created large
dots.

'r/

i^i,V

<

u- ^- *,".'"*.'

HB broad-point
sharp HB pencil to

making your own

using 6B, 3B, and

as a guide for

and a
sharpen the edges here and there and
to indicate the fine lines in the stone

composition drawing, then transferring

it to your working paper and trying
your hand at completing it. You will be

work and windows.

able to get several transfers of the

pencils,

from one
composition with the back blackened as
layout to other paper

Practice exercises
I

have included a good

bit of detailed

explanation about the ways in which

manor house. This

is an
on your
part practice with both hatching and
stippling pen techniques and pencil
rendition. You can use the discussions
to guide you when completing this

illustrated the

excellent subject for practice

subject in several different ways.

The
house

manor
4-32. Use this

perspective layout for the

is

shown

in figure

shown

in

Chapter

2.

Summary
Backgrounds are treated

monotone way when they

the distance.
cases,

it

If

detail

is

in a

are far off in

added

in

such

only tends to bring the

background forward and destroy the

aerial perspective of distance.
If middle ground is treated
monotone way, it will look as

in a
if it is

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

59

Figure 4-30

heavy pen study of the

manor house.

being viewed through haze or mist.

Generally, except in the case of a hazy

maximum

atmosphere, middle ground and nottoo-distant backgrounds should be

of your subject to be the center of

treated in a

manner

that

contrast in that area.

opposite holds

if

you want

The

a light part

interest.

shows some

Your composition should contain

tone or structure modulation. This

tends to bring them forward and not
confuse the viewer as to whether they

picture elements that point at the

are far off or close.

drawing.

necessary element in
creating a center of interest. You should
choose to make your background or
middle-ground elements dark or light,
depending on what contrasts you need

Contrast

is

it

by sweeping paths through the

your desired effect. If you want

dark or shaded side of your subject to
be the center of interest, you should
surround it with a lighter tone to create
to get

center of interest or that lead the eye to

Avoid lines that converge outside the

picture; they will lead the eye out of

the drawing.

when you have created

your center of interest and
surrounded it with enough elements
to establish the setting and to work

Stop drawing

as the necessary compositional

60

Countryside Sketching

Figure 4-31
A pencil study of
the

U^r-

Figure 4-32

One

half of a one-point

perspective set-up for the

manor house on the river.

The right-hand half of
the one point perspective
layout is ignored

i^-,

^-^^^

<^La^>J~~~-

manor house.

Backgrounds, Compositions, and Drawing Techniques

guides to lead the eye to the center

Anything additional to
in the paper may detract from the
impact by simply creating

of interest.

fill

meaningless diversions for the

viewer.

Broader-point pens put more ink

each stroke than the fine
ones do. This means that you can draw
faster with the broad points. You will

down with

not,

however, be able to create delicate

with the broad-point pen as you

detail

can with a very fine point. Each

produces a sketch with a different
feeling. You will find each appropriate
at different times.
It is

good

idea to create several

small pencil compositions to establish

the compositional flow and the lights

and darks before you start on a final

drawing. A few minutes spent this way
can make the difference between
satisfaction and disappointment with
the completed drawing.

61

Drawing Rocks and

Stone Walls
Basic Structure

The Shapes of Rocks

On-the-Spot Sketches
A Stone Quarry
Foreground and Background Rocks
Drawing Stone and Brick Walls
Underground Stone Chamber

Countryside Sketching

64

Basic Structure
Rocks come in all sizes, shapes, and
textures and are found in every
countryside area from mountains to
ocean to desert and forest. Rocks vary
as widely in texture and character as
foliage does, so there are many ways to
approach drawing them. In some
instances all you will want to show is a
simple outline to indicate that

some

rocks are there. Other times you will

want

to

show

the shaded and sunlit

surfaces and planes to assist in your

compositional needs. How you treat the
rocks that appear in your sketches will
depend on the compositional

requirements of your particular

drawing. Sometimes they will be
among the primary elements of your

The Shapes
The shapes

drawing and other times they

will be

supporting elements.
In this section

ways

will

show you some

to represent different kinds of

rocks under different circumstances,

and

to put

them

in stone walls of

various types and under different

compositional requirements. At the end

of the chapter are a

number

of

suggested practice exercises that I

try, putting some of
the principles that are discussed in the
chapter to use. This will help to bed

recommend you

them down
easier for

in

you

needed for use

your mind and make

to recall
in

it

them when

your original

sketching.

of Rocks

that rocks have developed

over time depends on their material

and how long they have been exposed
to weathering as well as to what kind
of weathering. The softer limestones
and sandstones tend to crumble into
sand or coarse gravel with time, while
the granites and basaltic rocks, being
harder, tend to remain more massive
and become rounded with time by the
action of heat, cold, wind, and water.
These are not, however, the most
important considerations in sketching
rocks. Your composition is the most
important thing to take into account, so
take whatever artistic license

is

necessary in depicting your rocks so

that the purposes of your drawing are
served. This does not mean that you
should sacrifice the subject. I will

discuss the kind of artistic license

mean

at different

times in the

demonstration and exercise drawings

throughout this book.
Rocks as Individual Masses

Regardless of their shape rounded,

or sharply angular rocks can be

treated as individual masses for

compositional purposes. In fact, it is a

very good idea to make a quick,
thumbnail composition sketch of the
arrangement of such masses before you
start to make your final composition
drawing. By doing so, you can quickly
spot repetitive shapes or repetitive
placement of elements that might
weaken your composition.
Consider a rocky shoreline with wellworn, massive rocks. Neglecting any

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-1

view of

rocky

shoreline.

The

Figure 5-2
lights and darks of
the composition.

Figure 5-3
A three-tone study of the
subject, using a mediumpoint pen.

Figure 5-4

fine-point

3X0

^^

technical pen study of the

same subject.

Figure 5-5
A pencil study of the

rocky shoreline.

65

Countryside Sketching

66

The use

representation of the water just yet,

shows what the receding

shoreHne view might look Hke. This
simple outline sketch shows the
foreground rocks that form a little
peninsula as well as an indication that
figure 5-1

the rocks continue into the distance

along the shore.

The composition

of figure 5-1

is

no repetition of
the rock shapes in the foreground, and
their sizes all vary somewhat. This
removes one possible source of
monotony from the composition. It is
also good because of the curiosity that

good because there

is

peninsula of rocks generates

by hiding part of the shore line. The
viewers eyes come into the sketch
along the horizon from the right side
and continue along the distant rocky
shore and attempt to go behind the
foreground rocks. If the viewer's eyes
enter from the left side, they are
the

little

carried either along the lower edges of

is

of three tones, with the pen,

illustrated in figure 5-3.

medium-point pen

(as

Here

used

said earlier,

has a rather coarse point)

and I tried to show an intermediate
tone by hatching and to show some
darker tone deep in the crevices
between the rocks by using
crosshatching. The white paper is the
this really

You can see how this starts

give more individual form to each

third tone.
to

rock.
or, as

fine pen, either a fine crowquill

used, a

however

better

3X0

technical pen,

is

for a realistic

interpretation of this subject. Figure

5-4 shows such a rendition. The fine

line that this pen produces allows me to
use a few strokes on some of the white
areas to indicate the slope of the rock
surface. This often
to the viewers,

them
pen

is

making

good visual
it

aid

easier for

to visualize the shape that

your

lines represent.

Doing small sketches does not allow

many

the rocks or along the upper edges to

too

the point of the peninsula. Here the

pen.

what lies behind the

The shoreline in this
simple composition has a well formed

shown

"S"-shaped curve as its major

compositional axis.
The next compositional element to be
aware of is the pattern of lights and
darks. In figure 5-2, I have broken this

however, allows an almost

infinite gradation of tone depending to
some degree on the roughness, or
tooth, of the paper. This is what makes
pencil sketches approach photographic
quality when they are done by truly
proficient artists. Figure 5-5 is a pencil

curiosity about

rocks

is

evoked.

lights

just the
its simplest form
and darks. Here again, a quick

pattern into

check can be made to detect patterns of

darks that might not enhance the
composition. The use of solid black and
stark white creates an almost abstract
interpretation of the scene that you
might use if you were making a poster
that incorporated such a subject. Pure
black and white are seldom used in
routine sketching, however. You always
need to indicate intermediate tones as
well to fully portray the subject.

gradations of tone with the

find that sketches about the size

in this book allow me to

produce perhaps four tones, sometimes

five

when

include a solid black.

The

pencil,

study of the same shoreline scene.

Compare it with figure 5-4 and note
the softness and more smoothly
rounded surfaces produced by the
pencil. This study was done using an
HB and a 4B pencil on regular pencil
drawing paper.
Blocking in Rock Groupings

Figure 5-6 shows a simple group of

three stones blocked in and

drawn

67

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-6

group of three stones

blocked

in.

r "SE^t

..

'i>

Figure 5-7
A pencil study of the
three-stone grouping.

Figure 5-8
A study using pencil on
coquille paper.

ist.e

within the blocks. While not always

necessary for such a simple grouping as
this, the practice of blocking in the
masses can be very important in
organizing what appears to be an
impossibly complicated grouping of
rocks. This simple case demonstrates

in characterizing the scene.

the principle of blocking in the masses

and then developing the individual
rocks within each block. This is vital
when you are simplifying a scene that
lies before you and selecting just a few
of all those subjects that you see to use

direct sunlight.

The pencil study in figure 5-7

presumes the light coming from high
on the right side of the viewer. You can
see that the left side of the rocks are

shaded, as are the undercut parts of

the surface that are not receiving any

Note that

compositionally this study uses the

same "S"-shaped curve

as did the

earlier shoreline study. If the viewer's

eye enters
it

comes

at

the bottom of the sketch,

to the

lower stone, then

,i>

Countryside Sketching

68

travels to the left to the

middle stone

arrangements that are ready-made

before going again to the right to travel

compositions.

up the

Even though such rocks may be

rounded, your drawing can still benefit
from a preliminary thumbnail sketch

The

lighter part of the large one.

use of coquille paper to indicate

texture

is

shown

in figure 5-8.

The

grainy appearance that coquille paper

produces
stone.

fits

well with the texture of

coarse paper would

also give a

highly textured appearance to a pencil

sketch of this subject.

boxes. Figure 5-9

times, oceanside rocks are

rounded from years of action of waves

and waterborne sand. Groupings of
such rocks can often provide beautiful

is

the blocked-in

arrangement of a group of oceanside

rocks. This composition was taken
from a photograph. You can see here
that the rocks vary in size but not too

much

Oceanside Rocks

Many

blocking in the arrangement with

in shape.

The random

arrangement of the smaller, similarly

sized rocks in front of the larger ones,

and the inclusion of

a long rock in the

middle of the small ones, eliminates

Figure 5-9
Blocked-in composition of
a

group of oceanside

rocks.

Figure 5-10
pencil study of
the oceanside

rock grouping

'

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-11

pen study of the

oceanside rocks.

monotony from the composition. The

final pencil drawing, shown in figure
5-10, was done using only a sharp HB
pencil on vellum that was quite
abrasive. The almost sandpaper-like
surface of this paper allowed

me

to

achieve the blackest darks with the HB.

When

just lightly

with the pencil,

touched the paper

was

able to get the

intermediate tones and those lighter

ones for the water and the background

landmass.

The
lies in

center of interest in this drawing

the middle of the cluster of

rocks, since

it

is

there that

have

created the greatest contrast; the

lightest rocks are adjacent to the

darkest darks.
a

pen version of

same composition. This

a three-tone study,

is

basically

very dark,

intermediate, and pure white paper.

if

the light

was from

is

The
a

subject for this section

photograph taken near

Leicester, England.

composition
I

used only horizontal lines for the far

background to try for a foggy feeling.
This sketch was done with my 3X0
technical pen.

and
chosen properly, can be
drawn as shaded planes, those of
intermediate tone, and those brightly lit
ones that are shown by the white paper
and a bit of outline. Figure 5-12 is the
block composition for just such a rock
really simplify to a series of planes,

formation.

Figure 5-11 shows

the

Rugged Hillside Rocks

Rocky outcroppings of rocks on
isolated hillsides in the United States
and in other countries frequently
consist of hard granite, basalt, or other
rock that is fairly resistant to
weathering. Such outcroppings often
present angular surfaces rather than
rounded ones characteristic of the
oceanside. The hard angular formations

is

The block

tremendous
complex
I wanted to get the

simplification of a very

terraced hillside.

spirit and feeling of this hillside, so I

eliminated most of the actual visible
detail of small pieces of loose rock, and

69

70

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-12

The blocked-in
composition for a rocky
hillside.

Figure 5-13

pencil drawing

of a rugged rocky

outcropping on
a hillside.

of additional terraced, step-like sections

of the rock.

The

figure 5-13

is

drawing of

formation. Note that the silhouette

the block composition. Notice that in

treatment of the background trees

keeps them from competing with the
detail of the rock formation. Also note

order to get the impression of

in the

sharpness and angularity in the sketch,

the dark planes come right up to the
light ones with no intermediate tone
that would make the corners appear
rounded as in the previous sketch of
the oceanside rocks. This same
treatment drawn with pen (figure 5-14)

used generally vertical lines to create

the darks of the rocks and generally

pencil

the result of completing

gives the feeling of angularity to the

pen version of figure 5-14 that

horizontal lines to show the shadows

and texture of the ground. These
visual clues are usually not obvious,

but do help the viewers subconsciously

interpret

what they are looking

at.

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

71

-^^^^^^
,

-Hki^

Figure 5-14

pen and ink version of the rocky outcropping.

The strange block composition

of

figure 5-15

is for a sketch of an
extremely weathered, mostly
sandstone desert formation in Arizona.
This composition simplified to a pile of
cones and a cylinder. This kind of
subject simplification is necessary when
you are looking at the real thing
because the infinite amount of visible
detail can be quite intimidating and
blind you to the basic forms that you

isolated,

Working from a
photograph can sometimes be even
worse in terms of the intimidation,
because it is more difficult, sometimes
impossible, to squint at a photograph to
eliminate the detail and perceive just
the forms and shadow pattern of the
overall subject. This sketch was, like
the previous one, also done from a
are dealing with.

photograph. The resulting pencil sketch

can be seen in figure 5-16.

The amount

of

shadow

detail visible

photograph was indeed

overwhelming. I had to study

were two kinds of surface

Each
kind of irregularity was casting its own
kind of shadow. First, there were
numerous little indentations, each
making a little round or slightly
elongated shadow. These features were
that there

Weathered Desert Rock Formation

in the

it

to see

irregularities in the formation.

over the formation. Second, there

were almost horizontal bands of
all

somewhat

different material that

formed strata, some of which did not

weather as much as the softer
sandstone. This harder material formed
overhanging layers, each of which cast
a stripe-like, roughly horizontal
shadow on the material below it. I
chose to concentrate first on
establishing the pattern of these

horizontal

shadows

as

shown

in figure

5-1 7 A, then darkening them all before

1 started to put in some of the millions
of little round shadows that I could see.
This resulted in something like figure
5-17B. The final step was to shade the
entire mass, going over the stripes and
the round shadows, as you see in 5-17C.

72

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-16

pencil sketch of a

desert rock formation.

Figure 5-15

The blocked-in
composition for a desert
rock formation.

Figure 5-17

The

basic steps in

developing the pencil

sketch of the desert rock
formation.

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

On-the-Spot Sketches
Rocky Waterfall
As you travel, it can be helpful to
supplement your photographs with

Little

quick, impressionistic sketches done on

the spot. If you want to do some
drawing later at home, these sketches
can be of great help in reminding you
of just

what

it

was

that appealed to

you in the particular scene. Any

photographs you may have taken can
then be more easily abstracted to make
your drawing show what you thought

was

of significance

scene in

when you saw

person. Figure 5-18

block composition for a

little

is

the

the

waterfall

in the Catskill Mountains. It shows

about fifteen rock masses where the
eye could detect many times that
number on the spot. I blocked in these
fifteen masses very lightly then
proceeded to use a dull 6B pencil to
show the outlines and the shaded
planes. I later used a sharp HB pencil
to make some of the edges sharper.

Figure 5-18

Blocked-in composition of
a little

rocky waterfall.

especially in the immediate area of the

little

waterfall.

The

final result

in figure 5-19. This

is

seen

quick
impression sketch. The steps I followed
are shown in figure 5-20. At 20A, you
is

just a

can see the broad, soft line that my

dull 68 pencil made. This made the
next step, shown at 20B, produce a
recognizable, but almost out-of-focus
rendition of the scene. The next step,
at 20C, shows how the sharpening of
some of the edges of the rocks made
things a little more distinct. This
sharpening, often accompanied by
deepening of some of the darks, is very
often useful to help strengthen the
contrast and sharpness around the
center of interest. Note that the

vegetation in this case

untextured
outline.

it

is

wanted the

be focused on the
left

is

almost totally

primarily rendered in
entire attention to

little

waterfall just

of the center of the drawing. See

73

74

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-19

Rocks and
waterfall

a small

a quick

pencil sketch.

t
A

Figure 5-20
Steps in completing the rocks and the waterfall.

how

"V" shape

mass on

The

waterfall?

was done directly

on the paper with no preliminary
pencil organization. Twelve rocks are

Footbridge and Stream

a simplification of the actual scene,

the

of the rock

the right points directly toward the

one

side.

shown
I sketched this little scene (figure
5-21) using my artist's fountain pen.
has what is called a medium point,

which
It

which makes a rather bold line. It is

little more than an impression of the
footbridge and the rocks that support

sketch

either in full or in part. This

is

is

perfectly legitimate to do in

trying to abstract the essence of a

scene attractive enough to sketch. In

even created the little splash

where the water tumbles over a stone.
this case

The

actual scene lacked this feature;

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

s^

Figure 5-21
A footbridge over a stream.

Figure 5-22

The footbridge and stream done

in pencil.

75

76

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-23

view into an abandoned

stone quarry.

77

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

indeed, the water part of
dull. It is to

some

it

was

rather

your advantage

artistic license to

rocks and add

little

to use
rearrange a few

interesting

loose manner. There

in the sketch, just

light

detail

the disposition of

outline to carry the shapes.

the pen a lot

of actual places.

my

HB pencil on very abrasive vellum can

be seen in figure 5-22. This, like the
corresponding pen sketch, is done in a

no picky

and dark masses with some

compositional aspects to your sketches

The same scene executed with an

is

When

use

tend to get very tight in

drawing. It is easy to get away

from tightness when I do a quick little
pencil study or so. You may find this
true also.

A Stone Quarry
I

guess in terms of the subject of

sketching rocks, attempting to sketch a

stone quarry is about the ultimate
challenge.

As the

last

two scenes were

both carried out in a very loose,

comfortable manner, I found the detail
necessary in properly depicting the
stone quarry shown in figure 5-23 to
require the very pickiness that the pen
often brings out in me.
This scene required a very careful
layout with a sharp pencil to locate the
main features of the rocky faces of the
quarry. The amount of detail can be
seen in figure 5-24 which shows part
of the dark, vertical cliff near the

Figure 5-24

The very

detailed outline

that preceded the

_^'\

hatching and
crosshatching.

__l2j

~^^^ >->

center of the drawing in figure 5-23.

When

started to do the actual inking,

with my_iXD-technical pen, I went

very slowly and carefully, as you see in
figure 5-25. I did not want to lose any
of the carefully

drawn

features of the

inked each face and surface

and relatively completely
before I went on to the next. This was
a fun piece to work on and to see
develop as I went along. It took quite a
few hours to complete. Note that I
modeled the rocky surfaces by using
vertical lines on the vertical faces and
horizontal ones on the horizontal
quarry, so

individually

surfaces.

Figure 5-25

The inking proceeded

very carefully to prevent
losing any of the details
of the ledges and rock
faces.

Countryside Sketching

7^

complex subject such as this

quarry scene is certainly not impossible
to do;

it

still

home

just requires careful study

beforehand to determine which

features to keep and which to eliminate
from the sketch. Then you have to
organize what you keep into a pleasing
arrangement of lights and darks. This
drawing was done from a photograph.
Although it would not be impossible to
do this kind of drawing on the spot, it

number of visits and

considerable amount of work at

would require

up the contrasts and give

necessary emphasis to certain features
to trim

might lose their distinction. This is

not a subject for a beginning artist,
although I would recommend that it be
attempted as a practice exercise when
you get a little experience with the pen
and feel somewhat comfortable with it.
that

Foreground and Background Rocks

Frequently, you will

want

to

draw

drawing

rocks that are prominently in the

foreground, or that are in the middle

ground but are a significant element of

your subject. This requires that the
detail you include on those rocks be
appropriate to the distance from the
viewer. They have to have enough
detail to
size of

the

be convincing.

Of

course, the

your drawing also determines

amount

of detail that can be

included in such features. Figures 5-26,

5-27, and 5-28

show some rocks

that

are in the foreground but at three

different scales.

When

your drawing

must be fairly
complete, as in figure 5-26. Here

is

many

scale

Cracks are also shown.

is

When

the

smaller, as in figure 5-27, only

the major planes of the rock can be

shown, again by using both tone
variations and line direction when

hatching.

many

By tone

variation,

mean

fill

my

in the

sharp

HB

dark planes. Then

pencil to sharply

define the edges of the dark areas and

the sky.

slight differences of

tone and the direction of the hatching

lines.

pencil to

the outlines of these dark areas against

planes of this angular rock are

by the

The same principles apply when you

draw such a scene with the pencil.
Figure 5-29 shows the same cluster of
angular rocks drawn with 6B, 3B, and
HB pencils on paper with a moderate
tooth. My first step was to lightly
outline the rocks and their major dark
planes in pencil. Then, as you see in
figure 5-30, I used my broad-point 6B
used

large, the detail

indicated

very small, as in figure

5-28, about all that can be shown are
the lighted and shaded sides of the rocks.
I used my 3X0 technical pen for
these drawings.
is

the light areas on the rocks

but I left the light areas white where

they abutted the dark, shaded sides of

emphasis

of the horizontal surfaces on the

rock are toned lighter than the vertical
surfaces because the horizontal ones
receive much more light from the sky
than the vertical ones. When the

to tone

where

these light areas were against the sky,

the rock.
that

used the 3B pencil

wanted

to lend visual

to these centers of interest.

my

kneaded eraser to lift

off some graphite on some of the
horizontal planes as these were darker
than I wanted, and I added the cracks
with the sharp HB pencil and added
Finally,

used

the grass strokes.

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-26

Some foreground rocks drawn

at a large scale.

fi

Figure 5-27

Foreground rocks drawn

at a

medium

'I

.*"^^fi.^^
(.'

scale.

Figure 5-28

Foreground rocks drawn

at a

I'/^^PW'

small scale.

79

80

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-29

Foreground rocks
rendered with the pencil.

Figure 5-30

The

first step in

the

pencil drawing of the

foreground rocks.

81

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-31
A scene with foreground, middle-ground and background rocks.

Figure 5-31

Figure 5-32

Inking starts around the pencil outlines

of the rocks.

These outlines are drawn

very lightly so they

may be

easily erased

stream
with rocks in the foreground, middle
ground, and background. This pen
sketch, for which I used my 3X0
technical pen, shows the detail on the
middle-ground rocks that lie
immediately by the little waterfall and
the increasingly less detail on the rocks
that lie farther back in the scene. The
is

a little forest

most distant rocks are shown as

nothing more than curved outlines.
The most prominent rock in the lower

later on.

foreground is also barely

and not developed in any
detail. This is because, although it is
right

indicated,

the closest subject to the viewer,

not want

it

to be the

element. Therefore
that

Figure 5-33

Dark tones

are built up to

show the

my

did

primary sketch
simply indicated

was there and saved

detail for

shape of each rock. Outlines are not

necessary when the pencil guide lines
are erased.

it

all

the

center of interest area

around the waterfall.

It was unnecessary for me to draw
outlines in ink around these rocks. 1
planned the darker stream bank to do

Countryside Sketching

82

the job of outlining the lighter rocks.

rocks with just enough strokes to keep

did this by first drawing a very light

and

outline of the entire scene

the

all

following and toned the tops of the

rocks in pencil. Then I started the

toning of the rocks and the bank of the
stream as shown in figure 5-32. I let

them from jumping out of the drawing

as shown in figure 5-33. When you
you should also eliminate outlines
your pen sketches. By all means use

can,
in

the upper surfaces of the rocks remain

them when they

white paper until the

but you can avoid a "coloring book"

look to some of your drawings when

When

sketch.

last step of

the

had the background

hatched and crosshatched adequately,

erased the pencil outlines

had been

are really necessary,

you eliminate them where they are not

needed.

Drawing Stone and Brick Walls

Some

of your countryside sketches

used

will include stone

structures or in stone fences. Such uses

will include

all

manner

from very rough

of stone types

to very

Smooth Stone Walls

in walls of

smooth.

pencil

is shown in figure 5-35. This

drawing started with a very light pencil
outline over which I used the broad

textured stone wall

is

shown

in

the pencil drawing of figure 5-34.

The

steps in completing this sketch included

a

very

light pencil outline of the wall

and each stone, then a base toning of

each stone with my broad-point 6B
pencil trying to get dark stones and
light ones as well as making most of

them

medium

tone. This step

indicated in figure
final effect as

is

5-34A. To get the

in 5-34B, I used

shown

6B pencil to
shadows from the rough
parts of each stone and my sharp-point
HB pencil to sharply define the mass of
each stone. Note that I did not draw
every stone; in two areas I just used a
medium tone to show that something is
there. Brick and stone walls can easily
become monotonous to look at if every
the sharp edge of the
indicate the

single

one

is

3B

While doing

Textured Stone Walls

drawn. The trick

is

to

suggest enough of them and let the

viewers imagination supply the rest.

smooth stone

wall

point of a

drawing of

pencil to tone each stone.

this,

of the stones a

tried to

little

darker.

make a few
Then I

used

my

some

of the graphite along the top

kneaded eraser to remove

edge of each stone. This is indicated by

the As in figure 5-35A and B. Some of
the stones were made lighter than the
others by pressing the kneaded eraser

on them

to pick

graphite. Finally
pencil to

up some

of the

used

sharp

show some

HB

of the

between the stones and to

add the grass marks. When you show
the joints between stones such as
these, do not draw all the lines. Draw
them here and there with a broken
intersections

line.

Rubble Walls

and visit ruins of any

kind, in the southwestern United
States, Central America, Europe,
anywhere that stone was used in the
distant past for structures of any kind.
If

you

travel

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-34
A textured stone wall.

WrW

Figure 5-35
A smooth stone wall.

-^--|

<r,"ic

83

84

Countryside Sketching

I
you will find rubble walls. Rubble is
used inside of the finished surfaces of
cathedrals. Central American pyramids,
and other ancient structures. Many of
the Roman ruins around the
Mediterranean Sea and in Great Britain
are rubble, since the facing stone has

been lost with time.

Rubble is a somewhat heterogeneous
mixture of rocks and stones of all sizes
chosen primarily to fill a space with
bulk that

is

capable of supporting

weight. Usually,

it is

covered with a

more decorative, finished stone.

Drawing rubble can at first appear
be an overwhelming task. The

to

challenge can be brought to a

vi^
'fv?-j,'r,>-*'^/"'^*^?'^^ i-*<(^u- >->ha^m,

t'^^-> <^,^

?^i^'^^^::^^tt^-'^

(l(L.

Figure 5-36

manageable proportion, however, if you

squint your eyes and see the rubble as
individual masses or chunks of material
with just dark and light features. Then
draw these masses, ignoring all the fine
detail that clutters

rubble wall.

such

a scene.

This

degree of simplification is illustrated at

"A" in figure 5-36. This shows you
how I drew the entire mound of rubble
before

started to indicate the darks.

The upper half and the lower left

corner of figure 5-36 are completed
with my 3X0 pen. The three steps in
completing each part are shown in
figure 5-37. In 5-37A, you can see the

masses and the

prominent dark patches. At 37B, I have
outline, in ink, of the

toned the darks, leaving the lights a

white paper. Then as you see at 37C, I
show the texture of the light areas by
little marks and curves to bring out the
surface irregularities that

'%

as

millions of tiny shadows all over the

exposed surfaces.
Rendering such a scene in pencil
requires about the same sequence of
steps.

Figure 5-37

show up

pencil sketch of part of the

Steps in drawing the

same rubble wall is shown in figure

5-38.
used a 6B pencil on very toothy

rubble pieces.

paper for this

illustration.

85

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Random Stone Wall

A random stone

with smooth
stones of different shapes, sizes and

colors,

is

wall,

illustrated in the pencil

drawing of figure 5-41. The

first

step

here was a very light pencil outline of

the wall and each stone which I then

toned with the broad point of a

3B

shown in figure 5-42 at A.

The second step involved darkening
pencil as

few of the stones and darkening the

underside of some of the light ones as

you see

^^^Ss?^-'

some

of

them

to lighten

outline of each stone, simply

rubble wall.

making

it

distinct rather than fuzzy as the initial

Cathedral Ruins

application of the

show an
drawing of smooth

stone walls. This

is

Figures 5-39 and 5-40

a small part of a

ruined cathedral in Great Britain.

smooth and by and

remain so to

this

The

large

day except for

few

areas of chipping and pitting of the

5-39 is a technical pen

drawing of one small part of the ruins.
Note that to indicate the smoothness of
the stone surface with ink I either used
white paper with a few vertical hatch
marks or very regularly spaced vertical
lines to show the shaded areas. The
pitted stone areas were done in the
same manner as the pitted surface of
stone. Figure

The
same scene is
shown in figure 5-40. The steps
discussed around figure 5-35 were
the rubble walls just discussed.

pencil treatment of this

used here, including the use of the

kneaded eraser to lift out graphite to
of the stones a

than others.

little

lighter

When

do this, I try not

to let an actual outline show. Rather, 1
sharpen the edge then blend this into
the general tone of the stone so no hint
of an outline can be seen. The concrete
cap was done with the broad point of
an HB pencil. 1 used both the broad
point and the sharp edge of a 6B pencil
to put the shadow under the cap and to
draw the vegetation in front of and
behind the wall.
Figure 5-42D shows where I broke
up the monotony of all the stone
shapes by just including a tone rather
than drawing every stone. This is a
toning

make some

5-42B. To get some

them. This can

be seen in figure 5-42C. Then, using a
sharp HB pencil, I sharpened the

Figure 5-38
A pencil version of the

walls were

in figure

further variation in the tone of the

stones, I pressed a kneaded eraser on

way

left

it.

of saying "etcetera"

are a lot of the

drawing of

when

same things

there

in a

a wall.

Drawing Brick Walls

By

number, bricks en
masse in a wall can easily become
monotonous to draw and to look at. To
help avoid this, try not drawing all the
bricks you see in a scene; just draw
some and cover large areas just with
tone.

their sheer

The viewer

will

fill

these toned

^
Countryside Sketching

86

Figure 5-39

smooth stone

wall.

r^\c^.
Figure 5-40

jt

pencil version of the

smooth stone

wall.

areas in with bricks without even

reaUzing

it.

monotony

Further, to reheve the

vary the tone of the

bricks. Make most of them an
intermediate tone with a few being
lighter
If

slightly

and a few darker.

the scale of your drawing requires

and 5-46. The usual very light pencil

drawing preceded each of these
sketches. The one done in ink allowed

me to
when
one

erase these pencil guide lines

the inking

was complete. The

in pencil did not, of course.

5-44A shows how

Figure

carried the general

that individual bricks be shown, try the

approaches of figures 5-43 or 5-45.

brick tone over into those areas that

The

bricks.

first of

these illustrations shows a

brick garden wall rendered in pencil.

You can see the three tones on the

bricks that lend a

little

variety to them.

Also you can see the areas where I did

not draw bricks at all, just a flat tone.
These steps are shown in figures 5-44

did not intend to detail with actual

At 44B you can see how I

underlined some of the bricks, and at
44C you can see how I darkened some
These same things were done
the ink drawing as shown in figure

of them.
in

5-46.

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-41
A random stone wall.

B
Figure 5-42

The

first steps in

the

random stone

drawing
wall.

87

88

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-44
Steps in drawing the
brick wall.

Figure 5-43

pencil drawing of a
brick wall.

Figure 5-46
Using slanted lines to

show the

bricks.

An

Figure 5-45
ink rendition of the
brick wall.


89

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-47

country stone wall.

Country Stone Walls

New

England abounds with old stone

walls. Robert Frost acknowledged them
in his poem, "Mending Wall." These
stone walls are of a

being

little

random

more than

nature,

piles of various

stones. Figure 5-47 is a very quick pen

sketch, with a fairly coarse pen point,
showing a typical New England stone
wall bordering a ploughed field. The
stones used in such walls, or fences as
they are sometimes called in New

England, are not too large generally

perhaps one to two feet in the largest
dimension. There were enough of the
stones in the scene in figure 5-47 that I
did not want to show all of them
individually. You can see the areas
where I simply indicated a shadow tone
rather then draw each one.

When

the rocks are large and there

many in view, there is

nothing wrong with drawing each one

are not too

as

did in figure 5-48. Note, however,

that those stones farthest

away are

just

at with a few curved lines.

Drawing them out in full would have

hinted

destroyed the illusion of distance, since

element
forward.

detail tends to bring a sketch

The

apple trees were put into these

sketches for interests sake.

just

The

walls

by themselves would be of limited

interest.

Drawing

trees like this

is

easy

you follow the steps shown in figure

5-49. First, as in 5-49A, draw an
irregular line in the direction shown.
At each irregularity bring out another
irregular line as shown in 5-49B. Then
continue this process until you have
filled out the tree enough to satisfy
yourself. You can add major branches
as shown in 5-49C. Finally make the
trunk and major branches heavier as
shown in figure 5-49D.
if

90

Countryside Sketching

Figure 5-48

wall of large stones piled up.

Figure 5-49

The

steps in drawing trees with

no

foliage.

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Fieldstone Walls

Many

barns were constructed with

fieldstone foundations on which a
wooden structure was built. This is a
combination that you will run into
often in the eastern half of the United
States. Figure 5-50 shows the outline
drawing of the corner of such a barn.
will show you a few ways of drawing

foundation in pencil.

this kind of stone

The

first

way

pencil only.

make dark

as

with

is

selected a

you see

a sharp 3B
few stones to

in figure

5-51.

stone.

draw every
To minimize the monotony of so

many

individual pieces, as discussed

Notice also that

did not

earlier in this chapter,

left

.iCiiJTW

^H

areas just

with tone rather than

showing each stone. As you can see in
figure 5-52 I continued on with the 3B

Figure 5-50

pencil to tone the other stones as well

ways to draw

mortar between them. I

darkened the bottom of each one to
indicate the roundness of the forms.
also used the kneaded eraser several

wall. Leave blank places

for filling in

as the

Outline drawing for

several pencil studies of
a fieldstone

where the stones are not

I

drawn.

times to lighten individual stones as

well as larger areas.

did this in a

back-and-forth manner, adding

darkness here and there with the pencil

and lightening selectively with the

kneaded eraser, until I was satisfied.
Then I used my sharp HB pencil to get
the barn boards to show up sharply
and to trim the darks between them.
The back-and-forth work with the
kneaded eraser and the 3B pencil gave
a

smooth texture

to the stone surfaces.

In figure 5-53,

used

Here

made no

pencil only.

sharp

HB

effort to

hide the pencil strokes by blending

them. I still made some of the stones

darker than the others and left the
obvious outline around each stone. This
is the kind of approach you will often
use on the spot when you are making
notes for use back at your studio when

Figure 5-51
First

make some

stones dark.

of the

91

92

Countryside Sketching

4:^:ffpaf^Figure 5-52

Figure 5-53

This was completed with

a sharp 3B pencil and
liberal use of a kneaded

This was drawn with a

sharp HB pencil only.

eraser pressed over places.

sharp

HB

pencil created

the edges around the

boards.

Figure 5-54
A broad-point 4B pencil
was used to outline each
stone (A), then the same
point was used to tone
the stone (B).

*'^^'-v^

93

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-55

sunny

effect

is

achieved by leaving white

paper highlights. This
version was done with a

broad-point 6B pencil.

doing a more thorough drawing.

In both figures 5-52 and 5-53, the

the highlights.

mortar between the stones is indicated

as being light in color. Sometimes it is
dark, as I show in figure 5-54B. To
start this sketch, 1 used a broad-point

effectively rendered in ink as in pencil.

4B

pencil to outline each stone, as in

5-54A. The broad point does not make

a definite line, and the outline around
each one is therefore emphasized much
less. In this sketch I also used the
kneaded eraser a little to get some
variety into the tone of the different

you want to get the effect of

sunshine on the stones, you have to
create some highlights as you draw.
stones.

Since
pencil

paper,

If

it

is

rather difficult to erase the

enough
it

is

back to white
best to leave the white
to get

paper alone if you want it to show in

the final drawing. I did this in the
sketch in figure 5-55. Here, I used a
broad-point 6B pencil and proceeded as
in the previous figure except for
leaving the white paper untouched by
the pencil in the areas

where

wanted

Fieldstone walls can be just as

Two ways

draw dark
wall are shown in

of using ink to

stones in such a

and 5-57. The "A" sketch

in each of these figures shows how I
started the drawing and the "B" sketch
shows what it looked like when
completed. Figure 5-56 shows a wall
with mortar between the stones, and
5-57 shows one without mortar, that
is, with the stones put up dry, just
piled on top of one another.
Dark mortar can be drawn as in
figures 5-56

figure 5-58. In this figure,

made

some of the stones dark by hatching

over the texture marks. Light, highly
textured stones are shown in figure
5-59 and the same kind of stone
would appear if whitewashed or

as

it

painted white in figure 5-60. The

whiter the stone, the more delicate

your line work must be. Figures 5-56

through 5-60 were done with my 3X0
technical pen.

94

Countryside Sketching

jfmmm
"^^rrrrmrr

k''

Figure 5-56

Dark stones and

light

mortar.
,i(t^^:^(7<T-

Jnim

^^(^'iif^-.^^'^

'''"

^Hif

him

Figure 5-57

^l/illinfiy^/^^yy/y^.

>>.,

>-U

v^

No mortar shown.

\i^HU'

Figure 5-58

Dark mortar with both

light

and dark stones.

Figure 5-59
Light, highly textured

stones with light mortar.

^^^^aTTT-TalCrT.^'' V^/^/

J!

"'^^^'

-rs
'

'

''i

Figure 5-60

Very light, highly

textured stones. An
approach in drawing a
white-washed stone wall.

95

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Vi^>^

*^

Figure 5-61

An underground

stone chamber.

Underground Stone Chamber

To wrap up this section on drawing
rocks, stones, and stone walls, I have
included several studies based on some
photographs of underground stone

chambers in Wales.
The drawing in figure 5-61

is

composite for illustrative purposes

It represents no particular place.
There is a large lintel stone over the
opening and dry stacked stones on
either side forming entryway walls.
The whole is covered over with earth
and sod. The view shows one wall and

only.

the edge of the other.

is

composed

of

The

wall

shown

randomly sized stones

stacked in a dry fashion

that

is,

with

no mortar.
Each stone is drawn with the dark
space between prominent. To do this
kind of drawing, you must be sure that
you do not repeat sizes or shapes
adjacent to each other.

The

challenge

is

to capture the randomness of the

arrangement. I tried to make some
stones darker and some lighter to get

some

variation in the pattern. Further,

96

Countryside Sketching
I

let

the brightest highlights

fall

adjacent to the dark interior of the

chamber

to help establish this as the

area that draws the viewer's eyes.

added some lichens on

few

also

of the

darker stones, as these were evident in

some of the photographs.
Figure 5-62 shows

Figure 5-62
Starting the drawing of
the stone wall.

how

started the

drawing of the wall. Each stone was

drawn in place and then the
deep, dark spaces between them was
filled in with a dark 6B pencil.
In figure 5-63, you can see how I

lightly

started to

show

the texture of

individual stones by adding the little

dark shadows caused by the roughness
of the stones. Also in this view you see

how

stones

Figure 5-63

Second step in drawing

the stone wall.

some
over with the 6B

started to tone
all

of the
pencil just

touching the paper. I proceeded

in this manner, adding tone and

lightly

sometimes pressing my kneaded eraser

on large areas covering several stones.
The lightening effect of doing this can
be seen in figure 5-64B. I went back
and forth in this manner darkening as
in figure 5-64A and sometimes
lightening again with the kneaded
eraser.

To add the lichens, I proceeded as in

figure 5-65. At 5-65A, I pressed a
pointed kneaded eraser to the dark area
several times, kneading the dirty part
Figure 5-64

between applications.
light enough spot, it was

into the eraser

Completing the stone

When I had

wall.

larger than

wanted, so 1 outlined in
pencil the part I needed, as you see at
B.

Then using

pencil,

a sharply pointed

toned around the

to eliminate the

When you

drawn

little

lichen

circle of B.

hold figure 5-61

at

arm's

book up and look

from ten or twelve feet away, you

length, or prop the

it

HB

at

Figure 5-65

can see that the individual stones are

far too prominent. The pattern of dark

How

spaces between the stones catches and

to add lichen to the

dark stones.

holds your eyes no matter

where

in the

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

made

there

drawing you want to explore. This is

undesirable in a drawing unless it is
one that documents an archeological
site. This kind of overwhelming
prominence removes the drawing from
any consideration as a piece of
acceptable art, although it may well be
a good and accurate documentary
drawing. If the message of the piece is
to be the dark opening, the stone work

be drawn. Earlier in this section, when

we considered brick walls and stone
walls, I showed you that you do not
have to draw each brick or stone. The
same principle can be applied to this
study as I show in figure 5-66. Here, I

must be made subservient. One way

only

to

emphasis
on the pattern of dark areas between
achieve this
the stones.

is

to lessen the

Two

things will help in this

regard. First, the darks

between the

stones should be

less

dark

should be less contrast between these

darks and the general tone of the
stones. Second, not every stone has to

show every stone

in the area

around the dark entrance to the

chamber. I show the spaces between
the stones very dark here also as well
as concentrating

some

of the brightest

Figure 5-66

The underground stone chamber drawn with

less

emphasis on the individual stones.

97

Countryside Sketching

98

Figure 5-67

Use of the kneaded eraser

to suggest rainfall.

highlights at this center of interest. To

the

left

of this area,

only drew a few

stones in full and used tone to indicate

that there

were more. Look

at this

sketch from a distance of ten or twelve

feet.

See

how your

eyes are drawn to

the entrance area and are not

continually pulled back out by the

pattern of darks as happened

when you

viewed figure 5-61 in this manner.

Remember that both of these
drawings have merit: the one as a
documentation of exactly what was at
the site, and the other as a sketch that
emphasizes the mystery of this ancient
hole in the ground.

One

last

study of this subject, figure

5-67, shows

how

the

mood

day can be brought into

of a rainy

drawing.

Note that there is no indication of

shadows, there are no very dark darks
and no very bright brights. Everything
is a somber middle tone. I used the
kneaded eraser, pinched to a sharp

edge between my fingers, to lift out

the narrow, slanted light areas to
suggest falling rain.
This subject is a very good one for
practice with the pencil. I suggest that
you try drawing it, just about the size
it is reproduced here, several ways. See
for yourself how easy it is to overwork
elements like the dark spaces between
the stones. Try to get a sunny day
effect by using strong contrasts and
then try for the rainy-day mood by
bringing everything to just middle
tone. To assist you in using this for
such valuable practice, I have included
figure 5-68, the layout of the study
showing every stone in the wall. Use
this as a guide to make your own
working drawing. Just remember to
make your outline very light. Mine is
shown dark here simply to make it
reproduce well in the book. I used very
faint pencil lines in

drawing.

my

working

Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls

Figure 5-68
The layout of the

underground chamber ^A\

^^~*^*^

..^^y^*^^'

drawing.

Summary
Where possible, avoid the repetition
of the same shape over and over when
you are drawing rocks. A quick
thumbnail sketch before you do your
working drawing will often show you
undesirable repetition of shapes and
sizes.

When

doing pen and ink drawings of

rocks, use line direction to indicate the
slope of the surface being drawn. That
is, draw vertical surfaces with vertical
lines and slanted surfaces with slanted
lines.

When you show

surfaces that are

catching a lot of light, add a few lines

to

them, very

lightly,

surface direction.

to

show the

If it is

the top of the

rock, then use horizontal lines.

Create your lightest lights and

darkest darks near the center of
interest of

your drawing, since these

will tend to attract the viewer's eyes.

When drawing

with the pencil, your

show

highlights that are not prominent

enough.
You do not always need outlines in
your finished drawing. If you plan a
dark background, then you can let the
dark area form the lighter elements
that

lie

in front of

it.

When you draw stone or brick walls,

you do not always have to draw every
stone or every brick. This can
sometimes lead to monotony for the
viewer. In

random

places, just

use a

tone in place of groups of the stones or

bricks.
fill

The

viewer's imagination will

these areas with the proper

elements.

Use figure 5-68 as a guide for

drawing several different studies of the
underground chamber. Try the sunny
day

effect,

then try the rainy day

mood. Do the drawing in pencil on

very rough paper, then try it on
smooth paper. Try it in ink. It is only

kneaded eraser is a valuable tool. Press

it onto the drawing to lighten overly
dark areas, or shape it between your

by doing studies like this as practice

that you will achieve success when you
strike out on your own with original

fingers to selectively lighten places to

drawings.

99

Drawing Wood and

Wooden Things
Basic Structure

Drawing Rough-Barked Trees

Drawing Smooth-Barked Trees
Drawing a Pine Tree Close Up
Drawing Light Barns and Dark Barns
Drawing Board and Batten Siding
Drawing a Wooden Door from Different
Distances

A StyUzed Approach to Drawing a

Wooden Barn

Summary

101

102

Countryside Sketching

Basic Structure
You will come across the necessity to
draw wood in one form or another
many times in your countryside
sketching. There are trees of course,
and you will often want to drawn them
in the foreground where detail of the
bark structure will be required. There
are also fence posts, wagons, and
wooden siding on barns, covered
bridges and other structures. In this
chapter, I will show you how to
approach drawing some of these things.
Your own practice will lead you to
develop your own personal style, but at
least some of the hints from this
chapter will allow you to get going by
using some of my techniques.
Drawing trees is covered more fully
in

my

where

earlier book. Wildlife Sketching,

a

complete chapter

is

devoted to

this subject.

Wooden

objects in drawings are

generally recognized as such because

either the object

made

of

is

recognized as being

wood, or there

indication of

wood

is

some

grain and texture to

help the viewer see that

it

of

is

wood.

Figure 6-1 shows seven sketches of

wooden

from

items,

a piece of a tree

branch to a wooden bushel. In each of

these sketches there is an indication of
the grain and the texture of the wood.
The fence post is obviously rougher
than the two boards because the ink
lines are bold and choppy to indicate

The bushel basket has

the roughness.

smooth appearance because of the

short straight lines that show the wood
texture.
I

will cover trees to

barn siding in
chapters,

some extent and

this chapter. In the later

when

specific subjects are

treated, I will go into further detail

about the approach to sketching
wooden things under various
circumstances.

Drawing Rough-Barked Trees

Pen Drawing of a Log

The rough bark

of

an oak, maple, or

elm tree looks impossibly complex

first glance. If you squint at it,

at

many

however, you
furrows form definite patterns of
vertical dark lines. It is this impression
that you want to convey when you
draw such a texture. A log, cut down
by a chain saw, will be the subject to
show one way to draw rough tree bark.
Figure 6-2 shows you the pencil
drawing I used to start the sketch.
Remember, as I mentioned earlier, the
pencil working drawings shown in this
book are dark only to allow them to
will see that the

reproduce in the illustrations.

draw on

my

working paper,

When
make

the

I can so that
they can be very easily erased if the
drawing is done in ink and so that they
do not show very much if the drawing

pencil lines as light as

done in pencil. Your working

drawings should be as light as you can
make them. In figure 6-3, I have my
3X0 technical pen to go over the pencil
lines which were then erased in this
illustration. The next thing I did was to
start to develop the long, deep furrows
in the bark with groups of short hatch
marks as you see in figure 6-4. Since
is

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

./i

^^^^--_>?^^-r-^r^:^

:;^^^^h^^''^0gkim^^^^^^

Figure 6-1

Drawings of wooden objects are usually

recognized by some indication of the

wood

grain and texture; or because

recognize the object and

of

wood.

know

it is

we
made

103

104

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-2

The

pencil layout of a

log.

Figure 6-3
'"^k:^

Inking started and pencil

layout erased. Darkest

furrows located by

^JIAA-T-M

lines.

^'H^,

Figure 6-4

^^
<(FTmTpT<i

R^

Shadows from deep

furrows in the bark
shown.

jTO2rj

Figure 6-S
-,,Tii'?!f''"'r'"*'=^

(A) Shading started on

underside of the log.

Shading carried part

way up the side.
(C) Other marks put in
(B)

light areas to show

the roughness of the
bark.

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

105

Figure 6-6
Complete ink sketch of the log.

lot of

bark texture was actually

visible in the area that

you see
used the pen to

left

as

highlight, so, as

at figure

6-5C,

indicate this

The final steps were to add

a few weeds at the ends of the log and
to complete the ground. This is shown
roughness.

Figure 6-7

Two
for:

(A)

Do

not leave a

white

space between the log

and the ground.

(B)

Do

not

make

the log

darker than the

ground where they

meet.

the light

is

drawing,

coming from the top

left a lot

of the

of white paper at

the top of the log to suggest a

The shadow on the

underside of the log was then put in
did this all the way
at figure 6-5A.

highlight there.

as

across the log, then

did

it

again but

and going over what 1

had already shaded as you see at figure
starting higher

6-5B.

completed sketch.
This simple subject is a good one to
practice creating this kind of texture. I
recommend that you use figure 6-2 as
a guide to make a working drawing of
your own to complete according to the
steps 1 have outlined above. When you
do this be sure that you show this
massive log lying firmly on the ground.
Do not leave any white paper showing
under the log where it touches the
ground as I show in figure 6-7 A. In
removing any white that may be left,
do not overdo the dark. If you do you
will have the log become darker than
the ground, as you see in figure 6-7B.
This, just as much as the extra white
under there, should be avoided because
each tends to separate the log from the
ground. You want them to blend into
one another.
in figure 6-6, the

things to watch out

106

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-8
fV^r

^'

Start of a pencil sketch of

the log.

Figure 6-9

Completed pencil sketch of the

log.

D
U:h^.,

Pencil

When
drawing

(B) Intermediate tone

the side. (C) Light tone

on the top. (D) Highlight.

Drawing of the Log

drawing the log in pencil, your

objectives are the

same

to show the

as for the ink

texture and the

shading. Figure 6-8 shows the start of

have
made the furrows heavy on the lower

a pencil version of this subject.

half of the log

and made them

Figure 6-10
Steps in toning the log.
(A) Darkest underneath.

finer

on

the upper, highlighted half. Figure 6-9

on

shows the completed pencil sketch after

the shading and the ground indication
was added. The entire sketch was done
with a sharp 3B pencil. Note in figure
6-10 the four shading tones used.
The darkest is underneath the log and
the lightest, no pencil at all, as you see
at 6-lOD, creates the highlight.
1

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

107

Figure 6-11
A pen sketch of a rough-

barked

tree.

Pen Drawing of a Tree

The weight

of a pen point can

make

a big difference in the effect created in

an ink sketch. Figure 6-11 is a pen

sketch of a rough-barked tree. I used
mediurti-point pen for this. The steps

up the texture are shown in

figure 6-12A and B. They are
essentially the same as those used for
in building

used

advantage to quickly, and

loosely, capture a subjects essence.
Figure 6-13 shows the same subject
to

drawn

rapidly with a coarse fountain

pen. Here,

made no attempt

to use

same technique as I did with the

f^
fine technical pen in doing figure 6-6.-^
the

Rather,

the ink sketch of the log in figure 6-6.

took advantage of the ability

of the coarse point to quickly lay down

Compare

a lot of ink

these

two

sketches, 6-6 and

6-11, and note the delicacy that can be

obtained with the fine point and the
boldness of the one done with the
The coarse point can be

coarser point.

and

just

used long

interlocking and overlapping strokes to

show the roughness of the bark.

I recommend that you practice

this

subject with both a fine and a coarse

lO

jT

/^

108

Countryside Sketching

point in your pen. See for yourself the

advantages of each one. Figure 6-13

required just a few minutes to
complete with the coarse point
considerably less time than figure 6-6
required with the fine technical pen.
Remember, each tool has its own
application.

Figure 6-12
Steps in completing the
bark on the tree:
(A) Texturing the deep

furrows in the bark.

(B) Adding the shading
on the left side.

Figure 6-13

loose sketch of the

rough-barked tree, made

with a coarse-pen point.

109

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

Drawing Smooth-Barked Trees

Some trees have relatively smooth
bark without deep ridges and furrows.
Notable among these are the beech, the
birches, and some maples. The

challenge in sketching these trees close

convey the smooth character

of the bark at the same time that you
use tone to create the cylindrical form
of the trunk and branches.

up

is

to

Pen Drawing of a Birch Tree

Figure 6-14 shows a technical pen

sketch of

two birch

tree trunks.

V-

You

can see in this figure that no outlines

were necessary for the sketch. The
shading lines and the bark texture
marks I used were enough to form the
outline of the trees without the need to

draw boundary

lines for the trunks.

Since these tree trunks are very white,

I used to show the
roundness of the trunks had to be
delicate so I used my 3X0 technical

the shading

point for figure 6-14.

The way

went

about it can be seen in figure 6-15. I

had decided that the light would be
coming from the left, so I first shaded
the right side of the trees with fairly
widely spaced lines as you see in figure
6-15A. Then I superimposed the dark
markings that characterize this bark as

6-15B. This latter figure

shows the pencil guide lines I used, but
it shows them much darker than I
actually had on my paper to be certain
they would reproduce in the book.
To use pencil to draw this kind of
bark, proceed as in figure 6-16. The
in figure

Figure 6-14

Outlines are not needed

for

some

subjects.

These

birch trees are an

example.

the trunks and a

show

narrow band

at

the

the edge of the tree

to establish the outline of

left to

the trees without actually drawing one.

image

with my sharp HB pencil

The shading does this for you. In

figure 6-16B
used a broad-point 3B
pencil to show a wide band of tone at

made

these edges sharp and distinct, as

first

thing

is

the right to indicate the shaded side of

in figure

6-16C, then

put the dark

markings on. The complete approach

can be seen in figure 6-16A.

Countryside Sketching

110

Figure 6-16
(A) Pencil drawing of part
of a birch tree. (B)

Strokes with 3B pencil.

(C) Darker

shadow

sharpened.
Figure 6
Steps in drawing the
birch trees with pen and
ink. (A) Indicate the

shadow. (B) Add the

markings on the bark.

Pen Drawing of a Beech Tree

The beech also has a smooth bark. It
is a silvery gray in color and except for

some undulations in the older trunks,

quite smooth in texture. Figure 6-17
shows a 3X0 technical pen drawing of
a beech tree trunk. The way I built
this sketch is shown in figure 6-18.
First, 1 made a pencil working drawing,
parts of which can still be seen in
figure 6-18A. Using these pencil marks
is

as guides,

started to ink the shaded

areas as in 6-18A.
lines.

Then

When

they were no
erased these pencil
went on with the groups

longer needed,

of hatch

marks

to

show

the undulations

trunk of the tree. This is

indicated in figure 6-18B. Note that I
deliberately left some white paper
showing between many of these
groups of hatch marks to show where
in the

sunlight

The
was

was

hitting the high places.

shown in figure 6-18C

darken some of the areas that

final step

to

were receiving no sunlight. This kind

of sketch requires the delicate line of a

fine-point pen to successfully capture

the feeling.

Things
Drawing V^ood and Wooden

111

Figure 6-17
A pen sketch of a

smooth-barked beech
tree.

Figure 6-18
Steps in drawing the
beech tree bark. (A)
Inking using the pencil
lines as guides. (B)

Continuing the inking

leaving white highlights.
(C) Final darkening.

112

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-19

The completed

pencil

sketch of an old pine tree.

Drawing

a Pine Tree Close

This subject can get quite busy with

many branches and

seemingly

good

over the place.

all

shown

is

It

requires

deal of simplification to produce

a suitable sketch.

off

tufts of needles

One way

to carry

it

in figure 6-19, a pencil

sketch of the lower part of an old pine

tree.

The bark on

this tree

is

similar to

that treated in figure 6-9. In this case,

I

first

made

the working drawing (light

as explained earlier, not

in

dark as shown

these illustrations) and toned both

sides of the tree trunk, leaving a

highlight

down

the middle. You can see

Also shown
completed

this stage in figure 6-20.

in this figure are the

bundles of pine needles. These are

drawn

in

two

steps as

you see

in figure

Up

6-21. First the clusters are located by

dark areas made with a broad-point

pencil as at 6-21A. Then a few of the
needles are indicated with a sharp
point, as in 6-21B. The bark is treated
as

you see

in figure 6-22. First the

broad point is used to put some bark

furrow marks over the shading, as at
6-22A, then a sharp point is used to
overlay a few sharper bark marks after
the shading is deepened somewhat, as
at 6-22B. Finally, a few of the many
branches are shown and an understated
foreground and background are added.
A broad-point 3B pencil was used for
most of this sketch, with a sharp HB
for the needles and the fine bark
marks.

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

Figure 6-20

The

start of a pencil

sketch of the base of an

old pine tree.

Figure 6-21
Steps in completing the
pine needles. (A)

Smudge

in the dark mass. (B)

With the sharp edge

indicate some needles.

Figure 6-22
Steps in completing the
bark. (A) Broad-point
texture lines. (B) Sharp
point to detail a few
texture marks.

113

114

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-23

A white or light colored

barn fewer texture lines
are shown.

:!|?Ji!{?P^^

Figure 6-24

A
barn

red or dark colored

more texture lines

are shown.

Drawing Light Barns and Dark Barns

Barns are either light or dark in
color. Sometimes the unpainted wood
weathers to a marvelous silver color or
the barns are painted white. Both of
these

must show up

as a light color in

your sketches. Figure 6-23 shows a

distant view, done with a 3X0
technical pen, of a light-colored barn.

When you
colors,

you must take

it

easy

when

shaded white appears very

lighter than a shaded red, so
I shaded the left side of the barn

shading.

much
when

are trying to portray light

spaced the shading

lines farther apart than I would if the
color being shaded was dark.
The same subject, a barn seen off
Interstate 90 in Indiana, if it were red
in color, would be drawn as in figure
6-24. Here, I used more texture lines
to show the dark color and also more
shading lines to show the shadow side
on the left. To prevent everything from
blending in with the dark trees, I
lightened up a little on the roof in
figure 6-24.
in figure 6-23,

115

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

Drawing Board and Batten Siding

Some

may run

outbuildings you

across will be constructed of board and

The battens are narrow strips

wood nailed over the cracks left

batten.

of

between the sections of wider boards

that cover the structure.

such

a structure

is

drawn

6-25.

The one

made

of knotty pine, so

used as

a
I

section of

in figure

model was
put the spots

on to indicate the dark knots. When

drawing board and batten, you should
first establish the direction from which
the light is coming. Then you can make
the shaded side of the battens darker,

6-26A, before you start to

show other shadows and the tone of
the wood. These later steps are shown
in figure 6-26B and C.
as in figure

Figure 6-26
Steps in drawing board

and batten siding.

Figure 6-25
Board and batten siding.

116

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-27

A wooden

door in a stone

barn wall drawn close up.

All the details such as
nail heads in the hinges
and hewing marks on the
door frame must be
shown.

Drawing a Wooden Door from

Different Distances
The closer that an object is to the
viewers eye, the more detail must be
included in drawing it. It is this detail
that helps the viewer interpret the
scene properly. I covered this topic in
Chapter 5 with a pair of rocks drawn
at three different distances from the
eye in figures 5-26, 5-27 and 5-28. In
this section, I will do the same thing
with a wooden barn door set into a
stone wall.

Figure 6-27

is

pen and ink

used my 3X0

a close-up

study of a barn door.

technical pen for this drawing. Such a

close-up view
detail: the nail

must

include appropriate

heads

in the iron

hinges, the

marks on the hand-hewn

beams

frame the door, the grain

make up the

that

pattern in the boards that

you sketch a subject like this

you must be certain to
observe such details and include them
in your sketch. Sometimes, a
photograph will not show sufficient
detail to allow proper drawing back at
your studio. This is where some notes
door.

If

from

life,

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

taken on the spot help, notes in the

form of quick sketches on the character

of the detail that may not show in your
photo.

As the subject recedes toward the

middle ground of your sketch, it
becomes impossible to include the same
amount of detail. In figure 6-28, the
only details preserved are the knotholes

between the

in the boards, the cracks

boards, and the dark iron of the

hinges. Texturing lines run the length
of each board, but no grain pattern or

hewing marks are shown.

As the subject moves still farther
back in the drawing, just the most
prominent and descriptive detail can be
drawn. Figure 6-29 shows the door in
context to the entire barn of which it is

Figure 6-28

The wooden door

in the

middle distance. Very

little detail can be shown.

fewer
the whole door

a part. In this sketch, there are

Only

than two dozen lines in

and frame. A real economy of line is
required, and each line must help tell
the story. In this sketch I used just
four lines to tone the door boards to
keep the value of the door about the
same as that of the surrounding stone

essential lines

tones can be drawn.

Another line or two of tone and

the door would become too dark.

wall.

* *--

*.

^-i ^-*_
^::5

Figure 6-29

The wooden door

farther

away. Fewer than two

dozen pen strokes must

define the door.

/^ -iT/
'*(.

gttj

Hinir',

Tilt wora';; ''(

and

117

Countryside Sketching

118

U/vl
>ft

o\
Figure 6-30

stylized approach to

drawing

wooden barn.

x:^

A Stylized Approach to Drawing a

Wooden Barn

if

Well-done stylized drawings can be

very attractive if the style is consistent
throughout the entire drawing. Mixing
representational and stylistic

one drawing seldom

works well. Figure 6-30 is a 3X0
technical pen sketch of a corner of
approaches

6'

barn. This is/oone as

earlier in

figure 4-15/where the emphasis was

on the stylized background trees.
Note in figure 6-30 that there is

very
have

in

shown

of

use of outlines. Instead, I

white paper along the edges

little

left

most features

to act as outlines.

119

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

put on top of

Doing this requires a careful pencil

working drawing before the inking
starts and then careful inking so that
you complete the drawing. Eighteen
steps in the completion of this drawing

as

are illustrated in figure 6-31. In the

the pencil

is

working drawing. Remember

that

shown dark here only

it

so that

it

is

prints

should be as light as
it can be easily
erased after the inking is complete.
Starting with the roof, the first
well. Actually,

you can make

it

so

it

was put in some heavy, dark

6-31A to show the
overlap shadows of the shingles on the
roof. Then the tone and texture of the
shingles was added by hatch lines
thing

When

did this part,

clean white paper for the ends of

the rafters. After the siding was toned
properly, in 6-311, the sides of the

left

the features are not inadvertently lost

center of the figure

it.

did

lines, as in figure

running the length of each shingle as

in 6-31B. Note here that I left white
paper showing at the end of each
shingle; I had a pencil mark there to
remind me to stop the ink lines just
above the dark overlap shadows.

were lightly toned, in 6-31J.

The ends were left white.
The tree trunk is outlined by white
paper on both sides, as you see in
6-31L. The toning of the trunk
consists of slightly curved hatch marks
that contour the cylindrical trunk in
6-31K. Note in figure 6-30 that the
rafters

curvature of these horizontal lines is

upward below eye level and downward
above eye level. This is to carry the
proper perspective suggestion and give
a feeling of

roundness

to the tree

trunk.

The

interior of the barn, seen

dark except for

the slivers of light showing through
the cracks between boards on the other

through the shed,

side of the barn.

are

marked

is all

These slivers of light

on the working

in pencil

hatch marks for the tone in 6-31F.

drawing in the center of the figure. I

inked around these marks with
crosshatching, as you see in 6 -3 IM and
N, first with vertical hatching, then
with horizontal crosshatching.
The horizontal boards across the
opening of the shed are outlined on the
top side with white paper in 6-31P.
The tone on these boards is just a light
hatch in 6-31Q, with a slight shadow
under the ends in 6-31R. To show the
thickness of the siding boards, I used
horizontal hatching in 6-310. If
vertical lines were used here, the edge

Then

of the siding

Finally, in

6-31C

piled

marks on the upper

The

shingle.

more hatch

half of each

shingles on the shed roof

were completed

in the

same manner

as

described above.
In figure 6-31D, I toned the
outermost rafter with vertical lines that
stopped short of the bottom edge to let
the white paper do the outlining there.
Then in 6-31E I used heavy, dark lines

to

show

the separation between the

siding boards before using vertical

added the shadow on these

below the rafter as
shown in 6-31G.
The large area of barn siding was in
shadow, so I toned it darker than the
I

siding boards just

part over the shed.

shown

in

The

6-31H and

I;

vertical hatching, then

steps are
first a lajj^ of

another layer

The

would disappear.
foliage was completed as

outlined in the discussion for figure

4-16

Chapter 4. The ground is

indicated by horizontal hatching with
in

this hatching tilted slightly to

irregularities in the ground.

show

<=k

SCP

/^

120

Countryside Sketching

Figure 6-31

Eighteen steps in completing the stylized

barn drawing using the light pencil lines
as guides for inking. When the ink is dry
the pencil lines are erased.

Drawing Wood and Wooden Things

Summary

for the loose sketch of figure 6-13.

Squinting at an intricate and

bewildering subject, such as the rough
bark on a tree, will often show you the
basic organization of lights and darks
that are its basis. This was the
approach used to create the sketch

This subject
studies with
coarse one.

shown

colors are

in figure 6-6, a rough-barked

This is a good practice subject. Use
figure 6-2 as a guide to make your
own light working drawing and
complete it with a fine pen point and
log.

ink.

The

fineness or coarseness of the pen

point has a significant effect on the

good one for

pen and with a

also a

is

a fine

When drawing
structures, you

light-colored

must use fewer

much lighter than shaded

dark colors. This is illustrated in
figures 6-23 ad 6-24.

When

objects are close to the

viewers eye, there must be a

convincing amount of detail included.
As the subject moves farther toward
the background, less and less detail is
used and every line becomes very

illustrated in figures 6-27,

same manner

6-29.

as a fine one, the result

sometimes unsatisfactory. Compare

the tree in figures 6-11 and 6-13. In
the former, the approach was that used
for the fine, delicate drawing of the
fallen log but a coarse point

The coarse

point

is

was used.

more appropriate

lines to

tone the shaded areas. Shaded light

finished product. Coarser pen points

produce best results when used to
produce loose, quick, bold sketches.
When a coarse point is used in the

is

111

important. Only the most significant

features can be included. This is

If

a stylized

approach

is

6-28 and
used,

it

should be used consistently throughout

the drawing, rather than being mixed

with a representational approach. A

stylized drawing of a barn is developed
in figures 6-30 and 6-31.

Drawing Lakes,
Streams, and
Waterfalls
Basic Structure

Drawing a Rocky River

Ocean Waves
Reflections in Water

Waterfall

Tying

it all

Together in

123

One Study

124

Countryside Sketching

Basic Structure
Water

draw
mind

if

is

generally rather easy to

one visual principle

is

kept in

line direction tends to model

surface being drawn.

Most

of the time

when you

include water in your

sketches

will be the

it

flat,

the

drawn. The direction of the lines model

the ruts in the roadway and the steep
face of the embankment. This use of
lines that model directions of a surface
is not a hard and fast rule
very
credible drawings can be made using

horizontal

surface of calm or smoothly flowing

just horizontal lines or just sloping

water. To represent such a surface in

While you are learning, however,

it is best to simplify some problems in
order to get other fundamentals down
solidly before you begin to experiment;

your early sketches you should use

horizontal lines.
Horizontal Lines

to

Represent Water Surface

Figure 7-1 shows the rocky coastline,

used earlier to introduce the chapter on

drawing rocks, completed to include
some trees and the water. Calm water
is indicated here because the lines that
texture the water are almost all
horizontal.

Those

that are not

horizontal, near the lower right corner

of the study, suggest a

wave.
Horizontal lines tend to suggest
little

lines.

the use of horizontal lines for

surfaces

is

The use

of horizontal lines as well as

water that
all flat can be seen in the study
of figure 7-5. Here, some small swells
on a large body of water are drawn.
The water between the swells is drawn
with horizontal lines, while the two
surfaces of the swells are drawn with
lines that slant to represent
is

not

lines that slope

upward and downward.

horizontal surfaces to the viewer. Just

Note

that these swells are

what the

little

more by showing one

particular surface represents

flat, level

very useful convention.

modeled

slanted side

any one drawing must be conveyed

by the character of the surrounding
drawing elements. In figure 7-2 the

of each in a slightly darker tone. In this

horizontal lines obviously represent

water because of the irregular coastline
and the inclusion of sand and marsh
grass. In figure 7-3, the drawing
elements suggest a roadway where the
horizontal lines are drawn. Other
sketch elements could suggest that

darkened somewhat.

in

study, the light

left,

is

presumably

at

the

since the right side of each swell

is

Reflections

these same horizontal lines are a table

Water surfaces may often be

suggested by the use of reflections.
Figure 7-6 shows an almost glass-like
water surface that is represented
largely by white paper, since it is

top.

reflecting the bright sky.

few

horizontal lines establish the plane of

Lines to

Lines that slope

downward model

upward or

the

surfaces also. In

figure 7-4, a rutted, dirt

a small

the surface and the dark reflections of

Model Surface Undulations

roadway with

embankment on one

side

is

two mooring

posts and the

bow

of

the rowboat complete the idea that the

surface

is

indeed water.

Drawing Lakes, Streams, and

125

Waterfalls

Figure 7-1
Smooth water is
suggested by horizontal
{

line

work. Departing

from horizontal
the lower
little

left

lines at

suggests a

wave.

'X

Figure 7-2
Horizontal lines suggest
horizontal surfaces or

Other elements of
this drawing tell the

planes.

/rrj,

viewer that the horizontal

plane represents water.

Figure 7-3
The other sketch
elements tell the viewer
that the horizontal
surface here is a street or

roadway.

.r-

Nilt^'\>^i>''^'\yA

.:^^^^^^^!W#
V U

'^=^^:_

^^-^/y 1

'

'=^r?^-<^^

'^l^n'^
^

)i^^v'

^ -- //

The

line direction

models

the surfaces being toned.

Lines that are not

horizontal suggest
surfaces that are not
horizontal.

126

Countryside Sketching

Figure 7-5

Small waves as seen from

a boat.

The

Figure 7-6
reflections tell the

viewer that the water is

almost calm.

Drawing

Rocky River

Countrysides in every country on

earth abound with Httle rivers and
streams that tumble downward
through, over, and around rocks of all

Such subjects are naturals for

pencil and pen studies. Some such
scenes were discussed earlier (see
figures 5-19, 5-21, 5-22, and 5-31 in
Chapter 5, Drawing Rocks and Stone
Walls). A little rocky river is one of the
sizes.

scenes that can appear to be

overwhelmingly complex when first

considered. If you remember that when
drawing from nature (or from
photographs) you must eliminate more
than ninety percent of the detail you

what

actually see, the task of selecting

your study becomes much

easier. Outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee,
in the Great Smoky Mountains, there
are numerous streams or small rivers
that present thousands upon thousands
of rocks to view at every bend. A study
of just such a view can be seen in
figure 7-7. In this kind of subject, you
have water that is horizontal as well as
numerous little cascades that tumble
between the rocks. Since these cascades
are essentially white water, they are
drawn with just white paper and a few
to include in

vertical flow lines that indicate the

surface

is

vertical. In figure 7-7,

Drawing

immensely complex
background of trees, bushes, and
branches that actually saw to a few

7-6, the water

simplified the

tones created with just vertical lines.

with
just a

its literally

more

distant vista

thousands of rocks to
lines. This left only

few curved

about thirty individual rocks that I

would model with line work, two little
cascades, and a patch of flat, running
water. This is a considerable
simplification of the detail that

saw on site, as you can see in

figure 7-8 which is the pencil working
actually

used for this study. The

water in figure 7-7 appears dark
because it is reflecting the dark foliage
and undergrowth that overhangs both
banks of the river. In the case of figure

drawing that

is

and Waterfalls

reflecting the clear

on which to practice. Use the outline in

figure 7-8 to make your working
drawing in pencil be sure to make it
as light as you can so it will be easily
erased after you ink it. Do this study at

about the same size as the illustration

and use your finest pen point. If you

make

it

include

much
more

you will have to

than I have shown

larger,
detail

and you do not have the reference

material I used to see this detail. Take
a look at figures 5-26, 5-27, and 5-28
in the chapter on drawing rocks to see

mean about more detail being

needed when the rocks are drawn at a
what

larger scale.

Figure 7-7

A rocky, cascading river

near Gatlinburg,
Tennessee.

Figure 7-8

The pencil working

drawing for the river near
Gatlinburg.

127

sky and therefore appears light.

This rocky river scene is a good one

also simplified the

Lakes, Streams,

Countryside Sketching

128

Ocean Waves
Ocean waves crashing on rocks

are

the frequent subject of seascape

paintings. This
to capture in

is

not an easy subject

pen and

ink.

The crashing

wave and the resulting mass of wild,

rolling, flying foam presents a pattern

the idea more fully than the first does.

This illustrates the necessity to
experiment sometimes to determine

which of the many

available techniques

will be appropriate for the

problem

at

hand. Quick sketches can often lead

you

to the best

compromise.

of surfaces that are not easily

suggested with the pen. For instance,

7-9 I show a pen and ink

Reflections in Water

in figure

study of such a scene. Here,

used

Earlier in this chapter

just

horizontal lines to represent the water

reflections of

and the foam, trying

to let the

rowboat

in

some
very

pilings

still

showed
and part of

water (figure

forms
darker for the rising wave and lighter
for the foam. An infinite number of
planes represented by the mass of foam

were virtually the only marks showing

the water. Sometimes there will be a
far shore reflecting in the water and

are not hinted at in figure 7-9,

some more complicated

however. Also, the wave has a visible

surface that is curved upward and that
would appear almost vertical from the
perspective shown. A second study

be required to indicate it. Figure 7-11

is a study of a small lake in
Farmington, Michigan. The scene is in

working these two

light tree trunks from across the lake

can be seen against the darker
background of evergreen trees. These
light tree trunks and dark evergreen

different values create the

work

is

shown

at

ideas into the line

figure 7-10. Here,

actually use vertical lines to show the

wave front and I use curved hatch
marks to suggest the complicated
pattern of surfaces that the foam
presents. This second sketch conveys

7-6). In that study, the dark reflections

late fall; all

the foliage

line

is

work

will

gone and the

trees are reflected in the water.

My

working drawing showed every

one of these tree trunks both on the
pencil

Figure 7-9
A pen study of a wave breaking on some rocks.

Drawing Lakes, Streams, and

Waterfalls

129

Figure 7-10

Another study of a wave breaking on some rocks. Here the line work
defines the wave and the foam more completely.

far shore

and

shore in the

in the reflection of that

still

me

water. These guide

darken in
trunks and
then to show the reflected dark areas
in the water. Note that I made the
reflected darks not quite as dark as the
far evergreen trees themselves. When I
lines

allowed

the trees

to rapidly

between the

light

Figure 7-11

A small lake in
Farmington, Michigan.

inked the water, I first left the reflected

tree trunks as white paper until I had

way I wanted
went over the horizontal
strokes in the water with more
horizontal lines but running over the
white paper from the tree reflections
to darken them a little. I also toned the
the reflected darks the

them. Then

Countryside Sketching

130

lines.

Refer to figures 2-8 and 2-9 in

Chapter

2, Techniques, for hints

on

crosshatching properly. Then, as

7-14B,

textured

all

at

the pilings with a

few lines running the length of the

wood. I pictured the light coming from
the

left in this study,

so

made

the

right side of each piling darker to

suggest the shaded side. At 7-14C, I

then added the horizontal hatching
representing the shaded sides of the
pilings reflected in the water

and

at

textured the rest of the wood with a

few lines. Figure 7-15A shows how 1
then shaded the other wooden parts of

wharf with lines that run across

wood, and in 7-15B how I toned
the water where the essentially dark
wharf is reflected in it. Figure 7-16
shows the finished subject again after
the
the

Figure 7-12

Wharf

reflections in

still

water.

show

to

near water with a few horizontal

strokes.

Drawing wiry underbrush

as at the

lower left of figure 7-11 can be easily

overdone. 1 wanted to suggest the mass
of underbrush without letting it get as
dark as the background. If 1 had let it
get as dark as the background trees, it
would have blended in with them and
any distinction would have been lost.
So here, just a few strokes to suggest

the flatness of the light part of

the water. I also held the study at arm's

length to detect any objectionable

white spots and dotted them out. This

is another good practice piece. Use
figure 7-13 as a guide to draw a pencil
working drawing on your paper, about
the same size as the illustration, and
follow the steps of figures 7-13
through 7-16 to complete it. Use a fine
pen for this study. I used my 3X0
technical pen.

the tangle were used.

Foreground reflections of the end of

an old wharf are shown in figure 7-12
in a small pen and ink study. A stepby-step breakdown of the development
of this study will assist you in using it
as a practice subject. First, in figure

darkened the underparts of the

1 next crosshatched
over these dark areas (figure 7-14A).
Note that the hatching and crosshatching were done with very closely spaced
7-13,

wharf by hatching.

added lines to the water to tone down

the white reflections of the pilings and

Waterfall
The

silvery sheet of a waterfall with

the mist generated

where

it

terminates

mass of broken monoliths is one

of the most picturesque of countryside
scenes. The water and the mist are
probably more suited for drawing with
on

the pencil than with the pen, because

the pencil can be coaxed to provide a


Drawing

Lakes, Streams, and Waterfalls

Figure 7-13

The

first step in

completing the wharf step

is to hatch the dark areas
under the wharf.

Figure 7-14
(A) Crosshatch the dark

underneath. (B) Texture

Show the
dark reflections from the
shaded side of the pilings.
(D) Texture the other
boards on the wharf.
the pilings. (C)

Figure 7-15
(A) Shade the boards. (B)

Darken the water

darkest close to the

wharf, lighter farther

away. Use only horizontal
lines.

Figure 7-16

Add some

horizontal lines

over the light reflections

and in the light water.

Add

the seagulls.

131

132

Countryside Sketching

Figure 7-17
Pencil sketch of a

waterfall and rocky

more gradual set of tonal values

between black and white than the pen
7-17

drawing of
a tall waterfall cascading over the dark
face of a rocky cliff, remnants of which
lie scattered in the gorge, which the
water uses to continue its relentless
can. Figure

is

a pencil

journey. Ink could not,

at least at this

scale of drawing, capture the delicacy

of the falling water. This sketch

done entirely with

4B

pencil

was

on

smooth paper, the broad point being

lightly

used

to

show the

basic, light

texturing in the water, and being used

with the paper on a hard, flat

heavily,

surface

(a

piece of glass) to

draw the

rest.

My

pencil

working drawing can be

remember, it was

seen in figure 7-18

actually

The

much

lighter

than shown here.

were
completed as shown in figure 7-19A.
Short squiggly Hnes were made with
trees at the top of the cliff

the sharp edge of the pencil to suggest

cliff.

Drawing Lakes, Streams, and

Waterfalls

Figure 7-19
Steps in completing the
trees

Figure 7-18

The working sketch

and

cliff face.

for

the waterfall.

the foliage clumps.

were finished,
tone
as

down

shown

When

all

used the broad point

to

the lower parts of the trees,

at

figure 7-19B. To indicate

used the
broad point of the 4B pencil with the
paper on a sheet of glass, to draw
the jagged, sheer

cliff

face

parallel, vertical lines as at figure

7-19C. Then, as shown at 7-19D, I

went over these lines lightly to tone
down the white areas that had been
left,

course upon course of broken rocky

the trees

but to leave the impression of

cliff face.

The waterfall itself was done with

just two tones from the same 4B
pencil, as

7-20A,

you see

in figure 7-20. First,

very lightly indicated some

marks leaving about half
the paper in this area white. Then, in
7-20B, I added four long, slightly
darker lines to give the impression of
in

vertical tone

the irregularity of this sheet of water.

At the bottom of the waterfall I

133

Countryside Sketching

134

made

a couple of the rocks light to give

the impression that they were partly

obscured by mist, and made the rest of
the rocks darker to bring them forward
in the sketch. All of the water in the
scene was quite turbulent, so I used
just white paper for most of it.

Figure 7-20

Drawing the

waterfall

requires light pencil

work.

Tying

it

All Together in
we

covered
approaches to drawing backgrounds,
rocks, and wood. In this chapter, water
was the subject. Now it is time to tie
all this together into one study that
will show you how to proceed when all
these elements are used together and
In the previous chapters

you must make some decisions

regarding tone value so that the
different sketch elements

do not blend

together and lose individual distinction.

You should use your

for this exercise ...

finest

used

pen point

my 3X0

technical pen. Take the pencil working

drawing of figure 7-21 and use it as a
guide to make your own working
drawing over which you will ink. Do
not make it larger than the illustration
here about half of an 8V2" X 11"
sheet.

you

Make

those pencil lines light so

will be able to easily erase

when you

them

are finished inking!

Try to follow what I did in the stepby-step hints and come as close as you

One Study
can to producing the same effect that I
did, but do not be concerned if yours
ends up looking a little different. We
each have a different touch with the
pen and, just as our handwriting
differs, so will our pen work in
drawings. Just remember to keep your
hatching and crosshatching closely
spaced and uniform. Nothing will spoil
the effect of a pen and ink drawing
quicker than nonuniform hatching and
crosshatching.
Start by studying the finished

drawing

in figure

7-22 for

few

minutes. Note that the greatest

contrasts are in the area of the three

lower cascades. These and the rocks

immediately above them are the focal
point of this study. That

is

why

these

rocks are shown somewhat lighter than

others farther away from this focal
point. The white trees shown in the

more

background help, along

with the darker ones I added after the
distant

Drawing

Lakes, Streams, and Waterfalls

135

Figure 7-21

The

working
drawing for the
following pen and
pencil

ink sketch.

inking

was

all

finished, to suggest the

were actually
The water was done dark, since

clutter of trees that

visible.
it

reflected the essentially dark foliage

overhung the river.

Start with the background

that

The darker ones do not

have to be planned at this point, since
they can easily be added later right on
afterward.

top of the background lines.

I

selected vertical lines for this

between the white trees.

You see how these trees had to be

no necessity to
make them vertical; slanted lines would
have worked as well, since all I wanted
was a gray background tone between

planned in advance, since they could

not be added to the background

lines for the

(figure

7-23). Proceed as in figure 7-24 filling

in the areas

background. There

the white trees.

is

avoided horizontal
background because I did
I

136

Countryside Sketching

Figure 7-22
Five tiny cascades carry a

small river over the rocks

near Gatlinburg,
Tennessee.

Drawing

Lakes, Streams, and Waterfalls

Figure 7-23
pencil working
drawing of part of the
background in the five

The

tiny cascades sketch.

Figure 7-24

The

inking of the
background with the
pencil guide lines erased.
first

Figure 7-25
(A)

Darken the

left side

of the near trees. (B)

Darken

to indicate

underbrush. (C) Add a

few dark trees in the
background. (D) Add a
few branches to the near
trees.

137

Countryside Sketching

138

not want it to resemble the linework I

used for the ground and hence tend to
blend in with it.
The rest of the background is
developed as shown in figure 7-25.

dark to begin with, which, by the way

is very easy to do, you cannot easily

The

nearest trees were brought

forward by giving each of them some

shading on the left side. I used very
short hatch marks, as you see in figure
7-25A. When you do this, be careful to
leave some white paper on the right
side of these trees.

Then suggest some

lighten

it

again.

The water was completed with just

horizontal strokes of the pen. I made it
kind of uniform dark gray tone

the irregularities of the surface

catching

some

light

from the sky.

underbrush by darkening the lower

portion of the background tone in
7-25B. Now add some darker trees and
saplings over the basic gray of the

background, as in 7-25C, and add

some thin branches to the closer trees
as in 7-25D. At this point, also make
the ground tone a

drawing over

little

irregular by

here and there with

it

horizontal lines.

The rocks need

note that with
there

is

all

no need

The use

rocks.

little

explanation, but

the toning

to outline

used

any of the

of neighboring tone to

do the outlining

for

you was covered

in

the earlier chapter on drawing rocks,

(see figure 5-33). Just

remember

to use

the lines that you tone your rocks with

to

show the

Also,

slope of the rock surfaces.

when you complete your

drawing, look

at

it

very carefully to see

Figure 7-26
(A) Scribble the water in
first

with horizontal

whether you left any unnatural white

spaces between the rocks and the
water. This fault was illustrated in
figure 6-7A in reference to drawing a

darken most of it by
scribbling over with more

log.

horizontal strokes. Be

The

big tree

on the bank

completed with primarily vertical

with a sprinkling of very short
horizontal ones. There

is

of white paper there

toned

where

it
I

down

and

at

it.

If

left a lot

the end

carefully until

wanted

lines

a definite

highlight on the tree trunk.

strokes then, as at (B)

sure to leave some

is

you make

had
it

it

too

first,

7-26A. Then I went back over it

to darken most of it to virtually a solid
black, as at 7-26B, but leaving a lot of
horizontal white patches to represent
as at

lighter patches.

little

Drawing

Summary
The direction

matter of
lines to
is

fact, that is essentially a

The use

of sloping

suggest non-horizontal surfaces

7-4 and 7-5.

illustrated in figures

Open water
bright and

is

is

usually seen as very

therefore best represented

by white paper. A few tone lines

usually are added to suggest that the
expanse of white represents a
horizontal plane.

139

establish that the surface represents

of pen strokes tends to

model the surface being textured. If

the lines slope upward and downward,
they suggest surfaces that do likewise.
Water is most often represented by
horizontal pen lines, just as roadways
are, and table tops, anything, as a
horizontal plane.

and Waterfalls

Lakes, Streams,

Any

reasonable

reflections also help in such cases to

water. This

is

shown

in figures

7-6 and

7-12.

The

pencil allows

an almost

infinite

much more so than

when drawing very small

gradation of tone,

does the pen

studies.

White water can be very nicely

depicted by pencil, since the delicate

shades of light gray that form the

white water can easily be established.
Examples illustrating white water done
with the pen are in figures 7-9 and
7-10. Pencil representation of white
water can be seen in figure 7-17.
Figures 7-17 and 7-22 are excellent
practice pieces,

one with the pencil and

the other with the pen. Step-by-step

suggestions are included for completing

each.

8
Sketching in the
Southwestern U.S.
Basic Structures

Sketching an Adobe Building

Sketching Large Rock Formations
Pima Indian Dwelling

An Old Mission
Texas Aqueduct

Using Photographs
The Alamo
Abandoned Mine Railway
An Old Arizona Farm Wagon
Pencil Vignettes

141

142

Countryside Sketching

Basic Structures
The southwestern area of
States has some of the most

the United

varied
countryside in the world. You have

your choice of the mountains of New

Mexico, the low desert of Arizona, the
high plateau around the Grand Canyon,
and just about every intermediate kind
of terrain, vegetation, and rocky
splendor.

Countryside, in the broader sense

I am applying in this book,
includes older buildings such as the
Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, and
other works of man that go beyond
just rural farm structures and covered
bridges. This chapter supplements the
earlier chapters of this book. It shows
that

you how to sketch buildings and

mountain formations, and even an

were covered in those chapters on

rocks, wood, and water, but also going
on to develop textures that were not
covered earlier. The subjects used for
studies in this section come both from
personal knowledge and from
photographs taken by others. When
you sketch any particular subject, such
as the second one I use in this section.
that

Cathedral Rock, it is very helpful to

have several sources of reference so
that details may be properly
interpreted. I have taken photographs
of Cathedral Rock during several trips
to the Sedona area, but I still referred
to calendar and other photographs that
were larger than mine to see detail that
I could not completely define in my
photos.

aqueduct, using some of the techniques

Sketching an Adobe Building

Adobe,

and
used building
material in the Southwest, and even
today it can be seen in older structures.
The subject of this section is an adobe
building in Old Tucson, a movie set

eyes react to the light by constricting.

town near Tucson, Arizona.

The sun shines very brightly in this
part of the country, or seems to
because of all the reflected light from
the light-colored dirt and sand. The

illustrate in these sketches.

straw,

a sun-dried brick of clay

was

a widely

following sketches of the adobe

building are done using a high contrast,

very dark darks and very light lights

with almost no middle tone, to try and
capture the feeling of the glaring sun.
When you are standing in such a
brilliantly lit area with bright glare
from every surface that is sunlit, your

This reduces the amount of light that

enters the eyes and makes the dark
areas in your field of vision appear
quite black.

It is

impression, that

this effect, or
I

am

trying to

With a Medium Pen

Figure 8-1 is a pen sketch done with

medium-weight point. The individual

adobe bricks are evident in many
places, especially in the shaded areas.
Figure 8-2 is the working pencil
dfawing over which the inking was
done. Remember when you make your
working drawing to do it as lightly as
you can, just so you can barely see the
pencil guide lines. This minimizes the
a

Sketching

in the

Figure 8-2

The working

pencil

drawing for the scene in

Old Tucson.

Southwestern U.S.

143

Figure 8-1
A pen study of an adobe
building in Old Tucson.

144

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-3

block composition to

show which
the

left

surfaces use

and the right

vanishing points.

To vanishing
point

left

Figure 8-4

You must slope the

To vanishing

texturing lines to follow

the perspective direction

point right

of each surface.

Figure 8-5

How
lights

up the
and darks on the

to build

adobe building. (A)

On

the light surfaces just a

few dotted lines to show
the direction of the adobe

On the shaded
surfaces the adobe bricks
are suggested. (C) The
bricks. (B)

dark surfaces are started

by drawing lines that
follow the perspective.
(D) Darks are completed

by piling on more

lines

but leaving some white

paper.

Sketching

in the

145

Southwestern U.S.

Figure 8-6

pencil study of the

adobe building.

erasing that you have to do

working drawings

shown dark only

in this

to

later.

The

book are

ensure that they

reproduce clearly.

The working drawing just mentioned

was developed from the block
composition shown in figure 8-3. This
was set up from a perspective sketch
on which

indicated the left

and right

vanishing points as shown earlier in

figure 3-9 and described there in the
related text.

rows
adobe bricks are indicated in both
the dark and the light areas. These
rows must be perspectively correct or
the end result will not look right. I put
light pencil lines on each of the
surfaces shown in my working
drawing, as you can see in figure 8-4.
In the sketch of figure 8-1, the

of

my

pen marks as I
The arrows
on figure 8-4 show you which
vanishing point I used for each of the
buildings surfaces to ensure that the

These

lines

guided

applied the ink texturing.

perspective

The
shown
areas,

was

correct.

actual inking

was done

as

in figure 8-5. In the sunlit

I

simply put in a few irregular

lines to indicate that

some

of the spaces

between the adobe bricks were visible.

This is shown at figure 8-5A. In inking
the dark areas of the bell tower,
little

brick-like

made

marks, leaving some

white paper between as you see in

8-5B. The dark side of the building
was done with perspectively horizontal
lines in

8-5C

one another

were piled on top of

8-5D. I did not make

that

in

this area solid black;

left

some

146

Countryside Sketching

impression of the irregularity of the

the pencil instead of an actual outline

as I did in the pen version. Also note

material.

that the clay tile roof at the left

horizontal white areas to carry the

When you

try to do your

own

you do
the sunny

studies of this subject, be sure

not overdo the inking in

You want these areas to suggest

areas.

is

suggested with a few straight lines and

few little curved ones, just as in the
pen version. This pencil study, figure
8-6, also uses very high contrast.
a

the glare of the very bright sun, so a

minimum of detail is required. Too

many ink marks will make these areas

With a Hard Pencil

too dark.

tones) pencil study of the

With a Soft Pencil

I used a broad-point 4B pencil to do
the study of the adobe building in
figure 8-6. The same perspective

were used

A
is

were observed

pen
sketch of this subject (figure 8-1). Note
that for the upper right corner of the
main building I used a little tone from
principles

as for the

high key (using primarily light

shown

same subject
8-7. The same steps

in figure

as for the pencil study in

figure 8-6, but hard pencils,

4H

with a

HB, were used instead of

the softer one. The hard leads do not
make very dark marks, yet enough
little bit

of

contrast can be obtained to suggest the

dark shaded parts of the structure.

Figure 8-7
'

%
/'>^

A "high key" study of the

adobe building.

Sketching

in the

Southwestern U.S.

147

Figure 8-8

pen study of Cathedral Rock near Sedona, Arizona.

Sketching Large Rock Formations

One

of

my

favorite places in the

southwest is Sedona, Arizona. This

"Red Rock Country" has some of the
most beautiful rock formations in
North America as well as four mild
seasons each year.

It is

intermediate in

level, it appears silhouetted against the

sky as you see here. The principle

must be drawn are the

marks and the vertical
faces of the bulk of the formation. The
way I drew these features is shown in
figure 8-9, the working drawing for
this study. The stratajire indicated by
horizontal rows of short hatch marks
features that

horizontal strata

between Phoenix and Flagstaff,

and does not generally get the
extremes of heat that Phoenix gets, nor
the cold and snow that Flagstaff, on

as

the high plateau, gets.

cliffs,

Cathedral Rock

vertical lines. Remember that the

direction of the texturing lines tends to
suggest the direction of the surface

altitude

Figure 8-8 is a technical pen study of

one of the more famous of the Sedona
areas' many rock formations. Cathedral
Rock. When viewed from the river

you see at figure 8-9A, and the

where they are in shade, by

being textured. Hence, we frequently

use vertical lines for vertical surfaces
just as

we

use horizontal lines for

148

Countryside Sketching

horizontal surfaces such as water and

level

ground.

The remainder

of this study

was

completed following the principles

developed earlier in the section on
background trees. The trees in figure
8-8 were completed as shown earlier in
figure 4-11.

Figure 8-9

The working drawing of

Cathedral Rock. (A) The
rows of hatch marks to
show the horizontal
strata. (B) The vertical
shading lines to show the
vertical cliffs. (C) The
clumpy vegetation.

Monument

Valley

study of some great, red rock

formations in Monument Valley,
Arizona, is shown in figure 8-10. The
same use of vertical lines for the
vertical surfaces applied here. In this
case, a significant portion of

background was also visible. I chose to

indicate these background formations
with horizontal lines to clearly separate
the background from the foreground
rocks that are the subject of the study.

The near foreground

I

used

area

minimum

just enough

is

simply sand, so

of texturing in this
to

show some

undulations in the sand.

of the

Sketching

Figure 8-10
A pen study of rock formations in

Monument

in the

Southwestern U.S.

149

Valley, Arizona.

A Pima Indian Dwelling

my

Figure 8-11 shows

preliminary
study for a sketch of a Pima Indian
structure that had walls of twigs and
brush. This is not an easy texture to
draw. The trick is to draw a few twigs
in

such a manner that those few

suggest
After

many

my

show the brush walls would work,

went ahead with the final sketch

8-13A and

B.

The approach that I used

can be seen in figure
I

drew

twigs (8-13A), then

pencil.

made sure

few full-length

filled in

triangular spaces between

the

them with

that these strokes

did not blend together too

because

much,

wanted them to suggest

twigs between and behind

many more
figure

preliminary study indicated

I had planned to

(figure 8-12).

less vertical strokes of the

the few that

others.

that the approach

for the walls

more or

initially

drew. Compare

8-13A with 8-13B

to see

how

worked. When I finished drawing

I added the little shadows
under the horizontal sticks that you see
this

the walls,

8-13B (l).
This will make an interesting study
for you to try. Use a broad-point 6B
pencil for the dark areas and a sharp
HB pencil to draw all the detail,
in figure

including the individual twigs.

150

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-11
Preliminary study for a

%ttt.Uuw-JD

ais'-4^

pencil sketch of a

building in Pima

Country.

"1

Figure 8-12

pencil drawing of a

Pima Indian dwelling

near Phoenix, Arizona,

Sketching

in the

Southwestern U.S.

151

Figure 8-13
Steps in drawing the

brush walls.
B

An Old Mission
Some

mine traveled to the

San Antonio, Texas, area and brought
back some photographs of the places
they visited. One of these was an old
friends of

mission (they didn't get the name).

liked the photograph so I borrowed
to use as a subject for this book. It
consisted of a

more

it

or less square-

used

study.

sharp

HB

With the

pencil for this entire

aid of a

magnifying

managed to see some of the

detail work in the center of the
building and worked some of the
shadows in to suggest what could see.
The rest of the front was of sjucco and
glass

stone as nearly as

could ju^e, with

fronted building with a bell tower only

Targe patches dirty from hundreds of

on the right hand side. The area

around and above the door was very

years of exposure to the elements. This

ornately decorated with sculptured

hours for me to complete about half

that time was spent in getting the
working drawing to my satisfaction.
I then did the pen version in figure
8-16 so you could see the differences
and similarities in using these different
media on such a subject. Having the
working drawing, which I transferred
to a fresh piece of paper (as described
in figure 2-21), it required about an
hour to finish the ink drawing with my

stone

which would
be tremendously simplified for

work and

have to

statues

a sketch the size that

Remember
this
size

that

all

planned.

the illustrations in

book are drawn approximately the

you see them. This size is small

for too

much

detail.

Figure 8-14 shows the working

drawing that I used. Just the major
elements of the detail surrounding the
door are indicated. My first study was
in pencil, as you can see in figure 8-15.

sketch required about two-and-a half

3X0

technical pen.

152

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-14

Working drawing

for a

mission near San

Antonio, Texas.

r\

r\

T^^^^^^S

Figure 8-15

pencil sketch of a mission near

San Antonio, Texas.

Sketching

Figure 8-16
Pen and ink sketch of a

mission near San

Antonio, Texas.

in the

Southwestern U.S.

153

154

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-17

The working drawing

<-'-,
'''^

for

the sketches of the

aqueduct near San

Antonio, Texas.

Texas Aqueduct
Not too far from the mission
was the subject of the previous

my

that

sketch,

friends found a beautiful stone

bridge carrying an aqueduct across a

small, rocky stream.

It

was

very

picturesque, peaceful scene, so

borrowed the photo to use here. Figure

8-17 is the working drawing that I
used for both the pencil and the pen
studies.

HB

Then, as

8-19B, I
sharpened up the outline with the
sharp HB pencil and continued as at
8-19C to slightly darken the edges of
the foliage to eliminate the obvious
point

pencil.

at

outline.

The

tree

on the near

side of the

aqueduct is lighter in tone than the

background ones so that it will stand
out and not blend in with the

of the aqueduct.

background. I left this foliage as white

paper until the rest of the study was
completed. Then I toned it just enough
without losing it because of adjacent

pencil

tones.

Pencil Study

Figure 8-18

is

the final pencil study

I used just a sharp HB

and a little of a broad-point HB
on very abrasive paper and proceeded
from the top of the drawing down. The
trees on the other side of the aqueduct
were completed in three steps (figure
8-19). First, I roughed in the foliage
masses as at 8-19A with the broad-

The

work of the bridge was

overgrown with ivy. Ivy

stone

partially

always helps

a sketch of brick or stone

work to succeed because it breaks up

somewhat monotonous masses of
used to
similar texture. The steps
I

Sketching

in the

Southwestern U.S.

Figure 8-18

pencil version of the aqueduct near

San Antonio, Texas.

Figure 8-19

lit
Figure 8-20
Steps in completing the
stone aqueduct and the
ivy covering.

Steps in completing the

background

H/

trees.

155

Countryside Sketching

156

complete the stone bridge, the ivy, and

the loose stones around the base of the
bridge are
that

no

in figure 8-20. Note

shown
is drawn

line

along the top.

stones that

The

around the base

of the bridge were completed as you
see in figure 8-20C. I tried to
minimize the use of drawn outline, so I
let the light stones be shaped by the
darker shade of the stones behind
them, or by the darker ground where
there were no stones behind. Note also
that just a few of the stones in the
bridge

itself

carries the idea that there are

lie

are actually

drawn

the

As

have mentioned

finishing the pen sketch

of the aqueduct.

of

earlier, the

direction of the strokes,

whether of

pencil or pen, often suggest the

direction of the surface being textured.

You can see

used horizontal
pencil strokes for the water in figure
8-18, and that I used sloping strokes
on the ground at the right under the
near tree to suggest the rise of the

ground

that

there.

Pen Study
Figure 8-22

pen and ink study of

the same aqueduct scene. I used my
3X0 technical pen for this. The trees in
the background were completed as you
B

Figure 8-21
Individual steps in

more

them.

to indicate the top

edge of the bridge. It is suggested by

the white paper that separates the
bridge from the background trees. This
gives the appearance of sunlight hitting
all

tone in between those that are drawn

is

Sketching

in the

Southwestern U.S.

157

Figure 8-22

pen drawing of an
aqueduct near San
Antonio, Texas.

Using Photographs
see in figure

8-21A and B. This is as

described earlier and shown in figure
4-5. The ivy on the bridge was done

When you use snapshots to sketch

from, you will often find that there are
dark areas in which you should sketch

with a continuous squiggly line as at

8-21C.
The grass is all done with short,
vertical hatch marks. These marks are
piled close together to show shade in
8-21D. A lot of white paper is left
between groups of grass marks to
show a sunlit area. This can be seen at
the lower left of figure 8-22. The
ground is textured with sloping lines to
show the slope (8-21E), and the water
is shown with horizontal lines (8-21F).

some

detail

but

it

is

not evident from

the photo. Your only recourse in such

cases

is

to search out

some other

reference photos, such as at the library

or in an encyclopedia, to find out

what

does exist. If you take

photographs yourself to sketch from
later on, you should take some
additional close-up shots of the detail
in the dark places as you are almost

detail

certain to

want

to see

you do your sketching.

some

of

it

when

158

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-23

pen sketch of The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas.

V9ff^

^*rF

'.f

Figure 8-24

pencil sketch of

The Alamo.

Sketching in the Southwestern U.S.

159

The Alamo
The Alamo
famous

is

one of the most

historic buildings in the

same subject.
few smudges of tone

pencil version of the

Here, just a

southwestern United States. I used

photographs taken by friends to do the
pen and ink study of figure 8-23. This
study was similar to that of the old

carried the hint of detail around the

mission earlier in this chapter

simplification in the previous

there

was

in that

around the
be simplified to an

a lot of detail

door that had to

extreme degree because of the size of
the sketch. Figure 8-23 was done using
my 3X0 technical pen. Just a few dots
and a line or two had to suffice for the
decorative detail. Figure 8-24 is a

Figure 8-25

close-up detail pen

sketch of The Alamo.

door.

broad-point 4B pencil was used

for this sketch.

To show you the degree of

dug out

two

photograph I had
taken forty years ago of the left-hand
side of the Alamo door. A pen study
from this photo is shown in figure
sketches

8-25. Notice in this detail study that

the methods of figure 5-39 were used
to texture the stone.

160

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-26

An abandoned narrow gauge mine

railway in Arizona.

Abandoned Mine Railway

There are many interesting

relics of

past activity in the Southwest.

The

3X0

technical pen sketch of an

abandoned mine railway in figure 8-26,
taken from a photograph, records one

showing no
left,

so

detail at all in the

just

moved some

from the upper

lower

of the debris

right there. Artistic

always there for you to use

to create the emphasis you want in
your works. The working drawing is
license

is

ever-fascinating mystery of a

shown

in figure 8-27.

composition that leads the eye around a

bend to sights that can only be guessed.

perspective study. Notice in figure

of these.

It is

a simple sketch

with the

where

wanted the

is

a simple one-point

8-28 how the main compositional lines

coverage to one point on the horizon.
Notice also that the horizon is not at
the base of the mountains but

tracks

somewhere between the peaks and the

base because a low valley lies between

I did a lot of simplifying from what I

could see in the photograph. There was
a lot of wooden debris to the right of
the tracks that I simply left out it
would only have added distracting

clutter

This

themselves to be the point of interest.

The photograph was very black.

the viewer and the distant mountain

range.

Sketching in the Southwestern U.S.

Figure 8-27

Working drawing for the

abandoned narrow gauge
mine railway.

Vanishing Point

Horizon

Figure 8-28

This

is

a single point

perspective study.

161

Countryside Sketching

162

Figure 8-29

pen sketch of an
farm wagon in

old

Arizona.

An Old Arizona Farm Wagon

Figure 8-29

pen sketch
an old farm wagon photographed in
Arizona some years back. It is basically
is

a technical

of

a single-point perspective

composition

with the top and bottom of the wagon

side converging to a point just to the
left of the left frame line of the sketch.
This subject presents primarily
weeds and wood as the textures to be
suggested. Inking over a working
drawing as in figure 8-30, I started by
drawing a few prominent weeds as in
figure 8-31A. I then hatched, using
very closely spaced lines, between the
weeds I drew. This is shown at 8-31B.
The next step was to complete the dark

under the wagon by crosshatching over

the hatching as shown in figure 8-31C.

Most

of the

wood

texturing

is

simply achieved by slightly irregular

lines running the length of the wooden
boards.

The massive wooden hubs on

the wheels, however, required

curved

lines to present the

these features. This

8-32A, where
cracks in the

first

little

shape of

shown at figure
showed the deep

is

wood with heavy curved

lines, then completed these surfaces

with dotted curved lines to suggest the

visible

wood

grain.

The shaded
that held the

parts of the iron bands

wheels and the hubs

Sketching

in the

Southwestern U.S.

together were done next as you see in

When you

Even though the photo

showed these iron bands to be a deep

add the shadow cast by the wheel

on the side of the wagon and to add a

figure 8-32B.

rust color,

elected to

let

the white

paper represent the sunlit portions.

Figure 8-32C shows the shading of the
underside of the wheel, and 8-32D
shows the lengthwise lines used to
texture the shaded parts of the spokes.

practice this study, be sure

to

lot of vertical

foreground

in

marks in the
between the weeds.

grass

Figure 8-30
Working drawing
old farm wagon.

Figure 8-31

Three steps

in completing

the dark, shaded area

under the wagon. (A)

Draw

few weeds and

Hatch the dark
(C) Crosshatch over
these dark areas.
in a

leaves. (B)

areas.

for the

163

164

Countryside Sketching

^^^^^^o^

Figure 8-32
Steps in completing the wheel. (A) The wooden hub requires very few strokes
to suggest the weathered wood. (B) The iron bands are shaded with horizontal
strokes. (C) The underside of the wood is also shaded with horizontal strokes.
(D) The spokes are textured with strokes that run lengthwise to the spoke, in
the same direction as the grain of the wood.

Figure 8-33
rocky overlook
in Arizona.

Sketching

in the

165

Southwestern U.S.

Figure 8-34

An abandoned plow

in

Arizona.

Pencil Vignettes
Quick

way

little

pencil vignettes are a fun

and to record things

that you see in your countryside
travels. Figure 8-33 is a broad-point 6B
to practice

pencil study of a rock outcropping near

Sedona, Arizona. In doing this study

first lightly outlined the rocks then I

put in the sprigs of grass before

drawing the cracks and texture of the
rocks. I did not want to put these
textures over the grass marks.

Figure 8-34 was done from a

photograph. I used broad-point

6B and
sharp HB pencils. The latter was used
to lightly outline the plow and the 6B
pencil was used for the rest, including
the grass marks which I again put in
first so I could add the plow around
them. I used the sharp HB to sharpen

up the edges of the plowshare and the

handles after I toned them with the 6B.
A sharp 4B pencil was used for the
top rock in figure 8-35 and a sharp HB
for the pillar on which it is balanced.
This

pillar

lighter

was banded with

layers of

and darker red sandstone. The

rock on top was of a different, harder

composition and was darker in tone

than the sandstone.

The

vignette in figure 8-36 of the

chapel near Sedona

a sharp-point

4B

was done with

pencil.

Such

lead does not stay sharp for

just

a soft

more than

two, so I kept sharpening it

had completed the chapel part of
the sketch. Then I let it broaden out as
I sketched the rock masses on which

a stroke or

until

the chapel rests.

166

Countryside Sketching

Figure 8-35
Pencil study of a

mushroom rock

near

White Mesa, Arizona.

Figure 8-36
Pencil study of the

Chapel of the Holy Cross,

Sedona, Arizona.

^towa*^

9
Sketching Mountain
Countrysides
Basic Structures

A Four-Tone Snowy Mountain Scene

The Rocky Mountains Near Aspen
Vignettes

A Mountain Rain Forest Scene

A Mountain Barn
Three Studies of an Idaho Cabin
Echo Rock, Mount Rainier

167

Countryside Sketching

168

Basic Structures
Mountain countrysides offer an
extremely wide variety of scenery and
vistas to sketch. In this chapter I will
show you, step by step, how to create
effects that will suggest some of the
mountain features to the viewer.
Panoramic scenery is, of course,
characteristic of mountain country. But
then so are quiet roads, streams
rushing from dark forests, cabins,
barns, and rugged promontories. Each
of these subjects will be developed in
this chapter. You can sketch on the
spot if you travel to mountain country

in

decent weather, or you can travel

there in any season and take

photographs for later use for sketching

comfort of your studio. You can
also use the photographs of others for
reference material in your practice
sketching. The photographs you use
should be large enough and clear
enough so that you can see the features
you want to include in the works,
otherwise, you will have to be creative
and invent what should be, but can't be

in the

seen in the photos.

A Four-Tone Snowy Mountain Scene

The

first

chapter

is

study in this mountain

control your hatc hing and

a simple four-tone ink sketch

of a panoramic

snowy mountain

vista.

crosshatching to carry off any sketch

that uses

them

as shading

Figure 9-1 contains three landscape

texturing techniques.

features: a foreground lake, a partially

and

forested,
ridge,

snow

and

covered, middle-ground

a distant

mountain range.

In

keeping with the principles of aerial

perspective, where things appear to get
lighter as they recede into the distance,
the darks on the farthest mountain
range in this sketch are not as dark as
those in the middle and foreground.
Except where it is in shade, the white
paper alone speaks for the snow.
I only used drawn outlines where
tone could not be used to define the
boundaries of the sketch elements. The
left-hand side of the farthest mountain
peaks, and the

lower

left

snow

are the only places

actual outline

The four

where an

was drawn.

tones, created with

technical pen, are

As

slopes in the

shown

my 3X0

in figure 9-2.

I mentioned earlier in the chapter

on techniques, you must be able to

The

and
line spacing

line weight must be reasonably

uniform. Compare the line spacing in
the two crosshatched sections shown in
figure 9-2 C and D The difference in
.

darkness between them is brought

about simply by a slight difference in
the spacing of the lines used in the
cross hatching.

The photograph I used for

showed the distant mountain

this

study

side

bathed in sunlight as bright as that on

the middle-ground ridge. I elected to
bring this middle-ground ridge visually
forward in this sketch by toning the
distant mountain with hatching to
suggest shade and to let this carry the
outline of the nearer ridge. Remember,
you have the right to exercise your
artistic license for the purposes of
bringing emphasis where you want it
in your art work.

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

Figure 9-1
A four-tone ink study of a

snowy mountain

scene.

6^ tC^'C^

Figure 9-2
The four tones used in the snowy mountain scene. (A) White
paper. (B) Widely spaced hatching for all shaded areas. (C) Closely
spaced crosshatching over the widely spaced hatching. (D)

Crosshatching with very closely sp aced lines in each direction for

the closest trees.

169

170

Countryside Sketching

p^^'-^
-T^>

cf^

'/i'-

iS^^

Figure 9-3

A snowy

mountain

vista

near Aspen, Colorado,

sketched with pen and

'-^A#i4

ink.

The Rocky Mountains Near Aspen

The previous subject was primarily a
study of tones used to create the
illusion of distance and landscape
features.

There

really

is

no

detail as

work. You can see some of

figure

9-4A where

added and the pencil

An

The pine trees

as shown earlier

Figure 9-3

pen sketch of a
mountain view near Aspen, Colorado.
This sketch shows considerable detail,
is

unlike the previous one.

trees are

drawn

The

individual

as well as the

differently colored strata of the

mountain peaks in the distance. Here

again,
used my_3XQ technical pen for
1

produces.

The

the fine line

it

was

a light pencil

to

draw

outline of the

wanted
outline

main

first step

working

features that

to include in the sketch.

was the guide then

This

for the ink

still

show along with the ink strata marks.

Figure 9-4B shows the shaded areas

such drawn in figure 9-1.

Ink Study

this in

the pencil lines

at

lines erased.

the

left

are

drawn p/^

in figure 4-10,

with

the exception that the branches at the

tops of these pine trees point

upward

while those in figure 4-10 slope

outward and down. The steps I used to

do these trees are shown in figure
9-4C. As I drew tree after tree I left
white paper around each one as you
see at '3-4D. When was finished with
the entire sketch, I went back and
narrowed these white spaces so that
1

each tree maintained sorne distinction,

but that the white left around_each_one

was not obvious.

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

';^i--i'-^'Xji>\-

'I'-j
iI/'L-.V.

^'"V

':,>

'"^-v".

^'W'."/''

''Kl'.I

V--;,

Mf

A..^,\>->'

Figure 9-4
Steps in completing the
Aspen, Colorado,

mountain scene. (A)Rock

strata marks with pencil
c

guide lines. (B) The

shaded sides of the peaks
completed and the pencil
guide lines erased. (C)
Three steps in developing
each tree. (D) Space left

between trees is later

narrowed somewhat.

171

172

Countryside Sketching

Figure 9-5
A pencil study of the
scene near Aspen,

Colorado.

Figure 9-6
stock loading chute in
Idaho.

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

173

Pencil Study
I

used

study

sharp

HB

in figure 9-5,

pencil to

and

do the

broad-point

HB to draw the sky, the shaded areas

on the snow, and the water. used the
sharp point to make hatch marks for
the strata indications on the mountains
and to make the marks that build up
I

the

pine trees.

tall

The broad-point

and helped form

of the distant peaks and

pencil toned the sky

the light side

give

them

a bright, sunlit appearance.

Notice that I left a little white showing

around each pine tree just as I did in
the pen version of this subject.

Vignettes
A

Stock Loading Chute

Sketches of the things that you see

in the

mountains can include small,

setting.

used broad

HB

and 4B

pencils for the tree foliage, the toning

mountain

in the

background, the

individual vignettes as well as the

of the

panorama generally associated with

vegetation on the hillsides, and for

mountains. Figure 9-6 is a small, quick

pen sketch of an old livestock loading
chute in an Idaho mountain valley.
Note that the mountains are treated in
the simplest

manner

possible

just

suggested by outline. All the detail is

reserved for the chute, which is the
subject of the study, and for the

rugged tree trunk

foreground.
sketch

is

in the left

The handling

in this

representational and

straightforward.

HB

sharp

up the edges

of the

and of the tree trunks and

added a few branches to the trees. The
process of drawing the tree foliage is
shown in figure 9-8: at 9-8A, you see
how the tone is placed with the broad
points, and at B, 9-8 you see how the
sharp points are used to sharpen the
edges of the foliage and to add some of
the tree trunks. When sharpening the
foliage

foliage masses, as indicated at the

arrows

Mountain Road a Pencil Study

An out-of-the-way unpaved
mountain road curving downward and
out of sight

texturing the roadway.

pencil sharpened

in

create a bold outline; rather,

want

you

to eliminate the indistinct

of these

two

9-8B, you do not want to

masses that were

left

just

edges

by the

the setting for the pencil

sketch of figure 9-7. It is the subject of

broad-point pencils. This tends to bring

such features forward in the drawing,

the sketch, although

something you generally want to do

with foreground trees and other
foreground foliage.

much

is

it

does not occupy

of the total drawing area.

The

trees are there to establish the overall

^
174

Countryside Sketching

Figure 9-7

mountain road

study.

Figure 9-8
Steps in drawing the
foliage. (A)

Broad points

to put the basic foliage

tone down. (B) A sharp

point to crisply define the
edges of the foliage.

pencil

175

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

'^llr;is:<5

^ffci^,'-*^

Figure 9-9
A pencil study of a

mountain pond drawn on

linen paper. This shows
how alternating light and

viewed from across a small

mountain pond. There are four trees,
grouped one and three, with the three
overlapping one another. I elected to
make the center one of the three light
and the flanking ones dark. I used a
trees as

dark tones can be used to

give definition to

overlapping trees.

sharp

HB

Then

Pencil Study

put in the trunks.

Whenever you draw massed trees,

you have the choice of making them
one tone or of trying to show that
kind. You only have tone to

is

making such

all

a pencil

work with

distinctions. Figure

broad-point

HB

did the light foliage, the distant

individual ones are a distinctly different

in

a faint outline

used a broad-point
4B pencil to tone the dark masses and

of the trees.

Mountain Pond

make

pencil to

9-9

study on linen paper of some

mountain, the sky, and some of the

lines in the water.

previous study,

Unlike in the

did not sharpen

the edges of the dark

this sketch;

somewhat

up

tree foliage in

liked the softness of the

indistinct edges.

176

Countryside Sketching

A Mountain Rain Forest Scene

One
for the

There

of the

more complex

pen

so

is

is

view

much

into a

subjects

busy

visible that

it

forest.

at first

can seem totally overwhelming. This

kind of subject is best practiced a few
times from photographs so that you
learn

how

to simplify the

unimaginable

you see and how to suggest

multitude of features by drawing only

detail that

a few.

The

rain forest scene in figure 9-10

from

photograph taken in the rain

forest of the western Olympic
Peninsula in the state of Washington. A
visit to this beautiful mountain
countryside is truly an unforgettable
is

experience.

The sheer luxuriousness

is awesome to those

of

did not touch the tree trunks nor

the foliage until I had the background

completed. Figure 9-12 shows the steps

used in completing the background

and the nearer trees. First, I drew

vertical hatching across the entire

background as at 9-12A. I was careful

to dodge around the trunks and foliage

Then I completed the

background by indicating some smaller,
darker trees farther off as at 9-12B.
These were done with vertical lines
areas.

placed over the initial vertical hatching.

also added some vertical lines to the
lower part of the background to
suggest growth and clutter at ground
level. Then I completed the tree trunks
I

you see

after square mile of devastation the

9-12C, leaving the right

show the light coming
from the upper right. Finally, I toned
some of the foliage masses with more

lumbering operations created some

widely spaced vertical

miles to the east.

9-12D.

the vegetation

as

who

sides lighter to

see

it

for the first time; a

beautiful contrast to the square mile

The

rain forest

is

wet and

rarely

sunny. Moss and lichen are everywhere

and cover virtually everything. The
study in figure 9-10 shows a little
stream pouring down a mountainside
valley twisting and turning through
moss covered rocks. The view into the
forest is dark, but some light breaks on
the stream and rocks. My working
drawing is shown in figure 9-11. Note
that I indicated the few foliage masses
and trunks of the near trees, and all of
the rocks in the foreground.

The rocks
stipple.

are completed in simple

left all of

them

quite light

completed the rest of the

drawing. Then I darkened them up by
adding more stipple until I had the
tones I wanted. I could not tell just
how much would be enough until I had
all the other dark tones established.
until

at

wanted

lines, as at

to get the feeling of

this little pool of light in the

dank

only wanted a few sketch

forest so

elements

left light

a few rocks

and

foliage clumps. This stage proceeded

with a
at

lot of

my

holding the sketch out

arm's length to see

how

the light and

dark areas were building. This method

of doing the background is a slight
variation on that shown in Figure 7-22.
Although it is not evident from the
reproduction, figure 9-10 was drawn
on ledger paper. This is a beautifully
smooth, hard-surfaced paper that is
green in color and ends up printed with
the usual lines that you see on
accounting paper. I like to try out
different papers whenever I get a
chance to. I obtained some of the
ledger paper before it had the lines
printed. It has a really good surface for
taking ink.

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

Figure 9-10
A forest scene based on the rain forest of the Olympic Peninsula
in

Washington

State.

177

178

Countryside Sketching

Figure 9-11

The working

pencil

drawing for the rain

forest sketch.

C^
Figure 9-12

Four steps to completing

the background in the
rain forest sketch. (A)

Tone the background with

vertical lines, using the

pencil lines as guides. (B)

Use additional
lines to

vertical

show the dark

detail in the

background.

(C) Tone and texture the

near tree trunks. (D)

After erasing the pencil
guide lines, use widely
spaced vertical lines to
tone the foliage that is in
shade.

179

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

Figure 9-13
A pen sketch of a mountain barn.

A Mountain Barn
High

in the

Rocky Mountains, not

too far from Winter Park, Colorado,

was the inspiration for the mountain
barn sketch in figure 9-13. This

drawing was done from memory after

seeing a log barn from horseback in
that area. The background trees are in
the style of figure 4-7 and the logs and
wood of the barn are treated in a
representational manner with hatch

marks along the length

of the

wooden

elements.

The approximately twenty-six

that

illustrated in figure 9-14.

pencil

steps

used to complete the barn are

My

drawing was as you see

center of figure 9-14.

It

working
in the

was, of course.

drawn very

lightly so that the later

erasing of the pencil

I

first

marks was

easy.

hatched the interior of the

loft

and the underside of the roof overhang

with parallel lines, as in 9-14A. Then I
crosshatched over these with horizontal
lines as you see at 9-14B. I felt that the
two layers of ink, being done with
closely spaced lines, was as dark as I
wanted. If it had not been dark
enough, I would have placed a third
layer of hatching on top.
The roof came next. At 14C, you see
the hatching of the shingles that
project above the ridge. At 14D,

indicated the edges of the large

shingles and at 14E,

completed the

180

Countryside Sketching

181

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

darks where shingles were missing.

When you do this, be sure to leave
some indication of the boards to which
the shingles are nailed.

Figure 9-14F shows the hatch marks

used for the shingles. Note that

the edges of the shingles were left
unhatched to define them by a little
glare, as you see at 14G.
The vertical boards on each side of
the loft entrance were completed by
first indicating the dark space between
them, at 14H. Then the dark interior
seen between the broken boards, as at
that

141,

was done. The wood grain

itself

on the boards was done using lines

running the length of each board as at
14j, and a shadow from the overhang
was added at 14K.
To complete the horizontal logs of
the visible side of the barn,

first

darkened the shaded underside of each

log (14L). Then I added a few texture
marks, like those in 14M, before I
modeled the curved underside of each
log by crosshatching as at 14N, and
added the knot indications, as at 140.
The visible ends of the logs were
treated with a few circles to suggest

Figure 9-14

Twenty-six steps in
completing the mountain
barn.

the end grain of the wood, as at 14P,

and by a few crack suggestions, as at
14Q. Without some toning, these log
ends were too white and jumped out of
the sketch.

The

attached lean-to

was the

final

I first drew
between the

part of the barn to draw.

the dark spaces visible

boards, as at 14R, then crosshatched

the dark interior

where the broken

boards were, as at 14S. I textured the

boards with lengthwise lines as at 14T,
and the overhang shadow as at 14U.
The dark interior seen through the
open end of the lean-to was done with
crosshatching as you see at 14V and
14W. Note that I left some long white
slivers (14X) to suggest the light

coming through the spaces between

the boards. A little shadow from the
diagonal board is shown at 14Y, and
the lengthwise hatching to texture the

remaining boards is shown at 14Z.

When the barn itself was complete
added the trees at the left side and
those in the background at the right,
then finished it off with the grass
marks.

182

Countryside Sketching

*<

A.Tf^^;
Figure 9-15

An abandoned

cabin

in Idaho.

^*;f:^i^^!^'rii;^.
,-^.

Three Studies of an Idaho Cabin

In a high valley in Idaho

is

a little

under a clump
from a small
This section deals with three pen

abandoned

cabin, nestled

of large trees not far

river.

and ink studies of that

overall setting

Note

is

cabin.

shown

The

in figure 9-15.

that here again the distant

mountains are simply suggested by

thin outline.

Any

texturing of these

mountains would have brought them

forward in the drawing and tended to
confuse them with the texturing of the
trees. I worked from about six
photographs of the little cabin to do

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

branches, as in 16D.

the three studies covered in this

section.

Figure 9-16 shows you

how

went

about drawing the various parts of the

You can see in this figure the

pencil working drawing over which I
did the inking. Be sure to keep your
working pencil drawing very light. In
9-16A, outlined each foliage clump
with an irregular, leaf-like line before
subject.

completing the texture with little

circles and leaf marks, as in 16B. When
all the foliage was drawn, I added the
tree trunks, as in 16C, and some finer

Figure 9-16
Steps in completing the

Idaho cabin sketch over

the pencil working

drawing.

Then

183

put in the

background trees with essentially

horizontal groups of hatching (16E). I
was careful to keep this tone lighter
than that of the tree trunks so that I
would not lose the tree trunks in the
background. Next did the roof of the
I

kept it light so it would not

become confused with the background

cabin.

tone (16F).

Slanted hatch marks depicted the

muddy
in

shore line of the

16G, and horizontal

little river,

as

lines did the job

of suggesting the water, as in

16H.

184

Countryside Sketching

Figure 9-17
A second study of the

Idaho cabin.

Figure 9-18
Steps in completing the
second study of the Idaho
cabin.

Figure 9-19
A third study of the

Idaho cabin.

185

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

When

drew

the

beam

cattail leaves in

lying in the

hatching to suggest some more leaves,

as you see at 9-18B. I outlined the
cabin elements as you see, then filled in
each area separately with vertical
hatching as at 9-18C. The roof was

the impression of the grass being in

completed with hatch marks that run

the length of each shingle. Note that

front of the beam.

The second study of the little cabin

shown in figure 9-17. This shows

marks follow the slope of

the roof and that I left a little white
paper to indicate glare on the edges of
these hatch

the cabin as viewed from across a small

cattail

marsh.

wanted

to get a

9-18A and

simply drew a few

filled in between these with vertical

I first indicated a few grass

clumps in front of the beam and then
used vertical lines to texture the beam,
avoiding the grass marks I had just
applied 16l. If you look at this area in
figure 9-15, you can see how this gives

as at

grass,

is

the foreground, so

few of

the cattails in the near foreground

the shingles.

superimposed on the cabin, so when I

textured the cabin, as you see in figure
9-18, I let the cattails remain
untouched by the ink until last. Only

The

same

third study of the

cabin,

figure 9-19, shows the front with the

boarded-up door. This study has the
front in shade and the glare of the sun
suggested by the absence of detail and
texturing on the roof and on the left
side of the cabin. Again, the mountain
is simply suggested by a thin outline.

then could I tell just how much ink I

could add to them and not have them
blend into the cabin. The steps used to
complete this second study are shown
in figure 9-18. I had to suggest all the

Echo Rock, Mount Rainier

This study of Echo Rock was done
from a photograph taken from Lookout
Point on

Mount

Rainier in Washington

scene presents a quite complex pattern

shadows and highlights because of

of

the innumerable irregularities in the

Figure 9-20 shows the rocks of

Lookout Point in the foreground, a

rock surface.

snow or ice field in the middle distance

encroaching on the talus slope of Echo
Rock, and another slope of Mount
Rainier in the background. The pen
technique used in this study is just like
that used in the last chapter for figures
8-8 and 8-10, but this subject is
considerably more complex than the
earlier ones. The complexity comes
from the highly fractured rock on

working drawing you see

Mount

went over this a second time to

emphasize the very dark areas that
were within as at 9-22B. I then added

state.

Rainier.

The

earlier, desert

scenes tended to have smoother rock

outcroppings and promontories. This

started with the simple pencil

9-21.

pencil,
all

first

in figure

attempted to indicate

on the Echo Rock

outline,

in

where

the darkest of the shaded areas

were. This became too confusing very

quickly, so I just worked from the
simple outline of figure 9-21 and took

one area

time from the photo to

show the darkest areas with vertical
lines, as
I

at a

you see

in figure

9-22A. Then

186

Countryside Sketching

Figure 9-20
A pen sketch of Echo

Rock, Mt. Rainier,

Washington.

the intermediate darks by hatching over

the light areas of

my

sketch with

sHghtly wider spaced vertical lines as at

figure 9-23A. Next, I went in and
added some of the finer, dark details as
at 9-23B. I continued this process
across the whole sketch. I left the few
brightest areas of the rocks as white
paper as in figure 9-24A. Then I added

some
that

of the large, individual boulders

were on the talus

9-24B. The

slope, as at

was

complete
the talus slope itself. If left untextured,
it would have suggested snow, so I
used rows of dots to suggest the stony
final step

to

nature of this slope. These rows of

dots slope to show the direction that
the talus slope takes
right at
left at

down and

9-24C and down and

to the

to the

9-24D.

The foreground rocks were

material in the photo, so

of a dark

did not leave

any bright highlights when I hatched

them. The technique here was to
indicate the planes of the surfaces with
the direction of the hatching.

Observe that a perfectly credible

background mountain could be
represented by the minimal texturing
of figure 9-22 without the addition of

Sketching Mountain Countrysides

187

Figure 9-21

working
drawing for the Echo
Rock sketch.

The

initial

Figure 9-22
x'

The

first steps in

texturing the Echo Rock

ink sketch. (A) Use
vertical lines to indicate

the primary dark areas.

(B)
'\

Go

over these lines

with more vertical lines

to

show the very darkest

darks.

188

Countryside Sketching

the darker darks.

The white

areas

remind the viewer of snow.

subject such as this requires a

very good photograph to work from.

The one I had was taken by my son on
a beautifully

sunny

day, at just the

right time of day to allow

all

shadows of the incredibly rugged scene

show. If the day had been overcast,
none of this detail would have been
visible; if I had used such a photo as
reference, the result would have been
much flatter and not as highly modeled
to

the deep

as this study.

Figure 9-23

The next

steps in

texturing the Echo Rock

ink sketch. (A) Use wider
spaced vertical lines to
tone the medium areas.

Draw
"O

right over every

thing that

is

there

including the white

paper. (B)

Add more fine

medium

detail in the

areas.

Figure 9-24

The

final steps in

texturing the Echo Rock

ink sketch. (A) Leave the

white
paper. (B) Add rocks on
lightest areas as

the talus, the debris slope

at the base of the cliffs.
(C)

Add rows

of dots to

tone the talus and to

indicate the slope,
at

is

down and

which
to the

right. (D) In this area the

talus slopes

down and
the

to

left.

10
Sketching Rural

North America
Basic Structures

Homestead at Cades Cove

The Bales Place Near Gatlinburg
The Mill at Glade Creek
A Covered Crib at Cades Cove

A Pennsylvania Bam
Old Wooden Bam
An Old Manure Spreader
A Farmland Stream

A Covered Bridge
A Unique Bam
A Wooden Mill Wheel

189

190

Countryside Sketching

Basic Structures
As

countryside artist you have

absolutely no shortage of subject
matter regardless of where you travel
a

America. You, or your relatives

or friends, may have a cottage for
weekend and summer retreats. You can
quickly sketch such a structure as I did
in figure 10-1 with my technical pen.
Older buildings like this have an honest
charm about them that you can try to
capture in small studies with the pen
or with the pencil.
When you travel on vacations you
can accumulate a wealth of subject
matter for later sketching at home; and
the best part is that you can use your
camera to record details about your
subjects that might not show in the
photographs available or in the ones
in rural

you take of overall scenes. Once

you try to use your existing photos as
subject matter you will see what I
mean. Most of the time, unless you
took photos specifically for the purpose
of later sketching, you will find that
you cannot see enough detail to do a
that

good job of it at home. You then learn

to photograph an overall subject for a
composition, then move in and get
details recorded on film that you may
need later, and to get close-ups in the
darker areas that show up as solid
black on your more distant shots.
Figure 10-2 is a study from a
vacation photograph taken of the mill

3X0

used my
technical pen here. You can see

from

this figure that there really isn't

at

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

much

detail.

The

area of the drawing

is

too small to actually draw the

clapboards on the building.

them
them

suggested

in the

sunny portions and drew

in the

shaded areas to get the

tone that suggests shade. Another pen

study, again with

my 3X0

pen, from a

vacation photograph can be seen in

figure 10-3. This shows the railroad
station at

Goderich

in Ontario,

Since the popularity of

Canada.

rail

transportation in North America has

declined,
stations,

you can find many such old

most of which are no longer

Figure 10-1

simple rural scene.

Sketching Rural North America

Figure 10-2
The mill at Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

.5

-^
}^^m:

Figure 10-3

The

railroad station at

Goderich in Ontario,
Canada.

191

192

Countryside Sketching

They are slowly becoming lost to

us just as covered bridges and grand
old barns are being replaced with strip
malls, office complexes, housing and
subdivisions or developments.
used.

In this chapter,
I

developed

will

number

show you how

of different rural

subjects with the pen and with the

pencil.

You can use the working

Figure 10-4

drawings shown for each subject to

draw your own version of the subjects
and to practice some of the techniques
that I used. Then you will be better
armed to try those techniques on your
own subject matter. The working
drawings show you how much, or how
little, detail I start out with when I
begin a composition.

restored homestead at

Cades Cove, Tennessee.

Homestead
The Cades Cove

at

Cades Cove

area, about

twenty

miles from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, is a

beautiful valley that has been restored
to

its

pioneer day condition. There are a

number of buildings and a mill there,

some of which are subjects for this
chapter. As you enter the area one of
the first buildings you come to is a log
homestead. A sharp HB pencil was

used to do figure 10-4, a detailed, but

small, study of the homestead. The
pencil is capable of very detailed work
when you use sharp, harder leads. The
pencil

is

also excellent for capturing

generalized impressions that the pen

cannot do

in as short a time. For quick

impression drawings you use a soft,

broad point, somewhat as

in figure

Sketching Rural North America

10-9, which

is

quick (five-minute)

study of another building near

Gatlinburg.

When
with a

drew

light

the homestead
started
working pencil drawing as

in figure 10-5.

Remember

these

working drawings are shown dark in

this book so they will reproduce well.
Actually, they should be as light as you
can make them on your paper.
started with the stone chimney in
I

figure 10-4, using short irregular lines

to indicate the stones.

Then

did the

planned from the outset to have

the roof lighter at the left and darker at
roof.

the right to help

form

center of

simply as white paper. After the

background mountain and trees were

added with a broad-point HB pencil, I
used it also to tone over the stone
work in the chimney and to carefully
tone the light caulking between the
logs. With the sharp HB point, I
emphasized the edges of a few of the
logs and sharpened up all other edges
on the homestead. The key in a
drawing such as this is to work
carefully, using the photograph as a
compositional guide, but using your
artistic

to just

building by having the greatest

much

logs

on both

Then

did the

wide

visible faces of the

building, leaving the lighter caulking

Figure 10-5

The working drawing

for

the homestead at Cades

Cove.

sense to produce tone variations

not visible in the photo to create a

drawing with artistic merit, rather than

interest at the near corner of the

contrasts there.

193

copy what the photograph does

better.

small, detailed pencil

sketch such as this takes as

to complete as a
size

would.

much

time

pen sketch of the same

194

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-6
.

The Old

Bales Place near

Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

This was drawn this size

with a 3X0 technical pen.

The

Bales Place Near Gatlinburg

All of the art

work

book,
reproduced
This allows

in this

unless noted otherwise,

is

very close to full size.

you to observe all the strokes and to
learn the various techniques by trying
to duplicate them. You have to know,
however, if you see some beautiful pen
work reproduced somewhere that you
want to use for practice, that chances
are it has been reduced considerably
before being printed. This means that
you will not be able to obtain the same
effect you see because you just can't
at

draw

lines as thin as those you are

using as guides. Figure 10-6 is a 3X0
technical pen sketch of the Bales place

outside Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Compare

Figure 10-7

same

This sketch was drawn fifty

percent larger than the previous
one, then reduced to this size.

this sketch with the one in

Figure 10-7. Note that they are the

and that the lines appear

10-7 than in 10-6. This
because figure 10-7 is reduced from

much
is

size

finer in

Note how much finer the

is than that in the

work

previous figure.

line

195

Sketching Rural North America

its

original size.

The

original,

shown

in

twenty-one square
inches, while the reduced version in
figure 10-7 is about fourteen square
inches. You have to remember this
when you do use reduced pen work as
practice subjects. In such cases, you
should make your drawing larger than
the one you are working from.
Another example of the effect that
reduction has on pen work can be seen
in the next subject, the Glade Creek
Mill. When you have a tiny drawing,
you can only get so many ink lines in a
given area. Somewhat larger drawings
allow you more flexibility in this
figure 10-8,

is

regard.

Compare

the toning of the

shaded side of the building in both

figures 10-6 and 10-7 to see what I
mean. There are many more lines
-drawn in 10-7 than in the same areas
of 10-6 to create the same tone.
For contrast, I have included a fiveminute pencil study of the same subject
in figure 10-9. A broad-point 4B pencil
was used here. Tone studies such as
this are

good

start to

complete a more detailed pen

practice pieces before

or pencil drawing of a specific subject.

They

help you to plan your lights and

darks so that your center of interest

well established.

Figure 10-8

The Old

Bales Place near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. This is drawn

half again larger in area than the smaller one in figure 10-6.
This allows more delicate treatment of the detail. This sketch is

shown reduced

in figure 10-7.

you

is

196

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-9

A
VV

five-minute pencil

sketch of The Old

Bales Place.

The Mill at Glade Creek

Not

from Babcock, West

Virginia, is the Glade Creek Grist
It is

wooden clapboard

Mill.

building that

has darkened with age and has a big,

iron water wheel. This is the subject of
figure 10-10, a technical pen study.
The clapboards and the light-colored
stone with darkened mortar were the
predominant features. In order to
properly emphasize these features in
my drawing, I elected to use an outline
approach with hatching and
crosshatching.
then, after

The working drawing

had inked the outlines and

was as you see

erased the pencil lines,

The techniques
here aren't much different from

in figure

applied

10-11.

those discussed earlier, excetj)erhaps

way

hatched the clapboards.

Note that instead of hatching over
entire areas at one time, I took one
clapboard at a time and hatched the
upper part of it, leaving a little white
paper on the bottom of each board.
The building looks like this, the lower
edges of each board being lightened
for the

far

considerably from the effects of rain

and sun.
Note that the ink work in figure
10-10 is relatively open. Even in the
dark area behind the waterwheel, you
can still see the individual pen strokes.
This approach works best when you
intend to have a drawing reduced and
printed. Figure 10-12 is a severe
reduction of the full-size drawing, yet

America^
Sketching Rural North

n K

Figure 10-10
An ink study of the mill
at

Glade Creek, West

Virginia.

c^

^^

197

198

you can

Countryside Sketching
still

see just about

all

of the

strokes, except those in the very

darkest places such as the

window

panes and deep behind the waterwheel.

Open pen work is necessary for the
master drawing for greeting cards and
note paper where such severe reduction
is

usually used.

^JJ>-Figure 10-11

The working drawing

for

the sketch of the Glade

Creek

Mill.

America
Sketching Rural North

Figure 10-12
A reduced copy of the ink
study.

Figure 10-13
A covered corn crib at
Cades Cove, Tennessee.

199

200

Countryside Sketching

A Covered Crib at Cades Cove

One

of the

many

The body

reconstructed,

pioneer-day buildings at Cades Cove,

Tennessee, is a covered crib. This
structure

is

covered

in a

way

that

provides shelter for farm vehicles also,

something

our present day

carports. It is open on all sides with a
large expanse of roof overhang.
Figure 10-13 is a technical pen study
of the crib. The working ink drawing,
after the pencil lines were erased, can
be seen in figure 10-14, along with an
like

indication of the step-by-step

completion procedure.

first

drew

by

first

of the crib

was completed

inking the dark spaces between

the boards as

10-14E, then
texturing the boards with horizontal
at

10-14F and 10-14H. Note,

however that the shaded side, 10-14F,
lines as at

has denser hatching than the light

front of the crib. To emphasize the
corner I did not bring the hatching of
the front of the crib

show

all

the

way

to the

10-14G. This
emphasis prevents losing the distinction
of the corner as often happens when
the tones of each side, the darker and
corner

this at

indications of the horizontal slats that

the lighter, are too close together.

formed the roof under the shingles

you see at 10-14A. Then hatched

The
shown

as

The
was then
darkened as at 10-14C. The underside
of the roof was completed by toning
each

slat

individually as at 10-14B.

spaces between the slats

the rafters as

at

10-14D.

Figure 10-15

pencil sketch of the

covered crib

at

Cades
Cove.

pencil study of the

same

subject,

10-15, uses the same

highlight emphasis at the corner as the
ink version. Note how this leaves no
in figure

doubt that there is a corner there. A

sharp 4B pencil was used on rough
paper for this sketch.

America
Sketching Rural North

Figure 10-14

The working ink drawing

and some steps in
completing the sketch of
the covered crib at Cades
Cove.

201

202

Countryside Sketching

-1

<

^'/

Figure 10-16

stone and

wood

barn.

A Pennsylvania Barn
Figure 10-16 shows a technical pen
drawing of a Pennsylvania barn, partly
wood and partly stone, built into a

The roof was sagging in a few places,

so
showed this by the direction of the
shingle lines as well as by some

bank of earth.
Not all of the stones

shading as at 10-18B. Finally, I

completed the roof by showing the
edges of some of the shingles as in

in the

barn

foundation have been drawn. There

no need

to

do

is

this, since the viewer's

eyes will fill in the missing ones and

the clutter of so many of the same
thing

is

avoided.

Figure 10-17

is

the working pencil

drawing over which I inked. Remember

to make your working pencil drawing
very light and easily erasable. Some of
the steps I used to complete the sketch
are
I

shown

in figure

by indicating the

10-18C.

The

was started as
at 10-18D, by drawing some of the
stones and making a few of them
darker than the others. Then hatched
stone foundation

over the stones and the blank paper

between them to get the shading on
the back wall.

were

used hatch marks that

closer together to

show

the

darker shading on the barn wall under

10-18.

started with the roof as in

10-18A

lay of the shingles.

the overhang (10-18F).

I

did the interior in

two

steps. First,

Sketching Rural North America

crosshatched the dark areas, then

hatched the woodwork so that it

receded into the interior without
blending completely into the dark
crosshatching. This is shown at
stones on the

were completed one

bank

at

the

at a time, as

can see at 10-18H. I drew the ground

using groups of short hatch marks,
each group varying a little from the

left

show the irregularity of

where the animals all walk.
The tree at the right of the barn was
done as shown in Chapter 5, Drawing

you

Rocks and Stone Walls, figure 5-49.

horizontal, to

the ground

10-18G.

The

203

Figure 10-17

The working drawing for

the stone and wood barn.

Figure 10-18
Steps to complete the

stone and

wood

barn.

///

'
j

V -\

V.

,W,

*/^A/{,,

204

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-19

An

old barn being

dismantled.

Old Wooden Barn

The

partly dismantled barn

shown

in

like that

shown

earlier in

Chapter

3,

was near Farmington

Hills, Michigan. The land on which it
stood for many years was cleared for a

Perspective Shortcuts, figure 3-9.

housing development. I took a series of

photographs before it was completely
destroyed; this sketch is from one of

large errors show up quite prominently.

The primary challenge here was in

was attracted to the contrast

between the dark, silhouetted, vertical

wanted

boards and the light, horizontal ones

on the near side.
My working drawing, shown in the
inked stage in Figure 10-20, was done
from a large perspective set-up just

disappearing in the dark.

figure 10-19

them.

the perspective correct

important in a drawing

is

Getting

very

like this, as

inking the underside of the roof.

all

the

beam and

any

rafter

structure to be visible as opposed to

shown

in figure

proceeded as

10-20A by inking

the

darker cracks between the roof boards.

Then, as in 10-20B, I put down a layer
of hatching over the whole roof. Next,

Sketching Rural North America

205

Figure 10-20

Some

steps in

completing
the barn sketch.

w
this

was followed by

a layer of

crosshatching as in 10-20C. Until this

beams and rafters

as white paper. Then I hatched these as
you can see in 10-20D. A similar set
of steps is shown at 10-20E and F for
the corner of the roof. The silhouetted

was done,

left

the

>^f/4:"'

boards on the far side of the barn were

completed by using closely spaced
hatching and crosshatching, as you can
see in 10-20G.

The remaining

steps in completing

this sketch are evident

10-19.

from Figure

206

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-21

Old barn and manure

spreader. This illustration
is

about one half the size

of the original.

Sketching Rural North America

207

An Old Manure Spreader

shows you the working drawing of the

Old farm vehicles are disappearing

as rapidly as old farms and farm
buildings are. When you see something
from our agrarian past, get some

of the spreader in figure 10-23 so that

photographs, as these items make

you might see the difference

excellent sketch subjects.

The

old

manure spreader

at

10-21.

started to complete the inking

strokes.
in the

foreground of figure 10-21 was drawn

from photographs taken by a friend of
mine who commissioned me to do a
large drawing of a farm scene
incorporating the spreader. Figure

10-21 is a portion of that drawing,

reduced to about half the size of the
original. Correct perspective is
important in a drawing of a piece of
machinery such as this. I used the
principles discussed earlier in the

chapter on perspective to establish a

box that looked "right," then

drew the

spreader inside the box. Figure 10-22

the reduced size of figure

spreader

used my 3X0

pen
technical pen
in the

both drawings the original, large

size one that is reduced in figure
10-21, and the partially completed
drawing of figure 10-23. By comparing
these two illustrations you can see that
there are fewer lines in any given area
in the smaller drawing. Remember this
when you use reduced line work as
practice subject matter: you cannot
for

obtain quite the same delicacy of line

work when you draw

a subject smaller

you can when it is drawn large.

Nothing about the barn in the
background of figure 10-21 was done
differently than in other barn studies
as

Figure 10-22

The working drawing

the manure spreader.

for

208
in this

Countryside Sketching
book.

The background

partly like those in figure 4-5

trees are

and

partly like figure 4-11 in Chapter 4,

Backgrounds, Composition, and Drawing
Techniques.

The

Figure 10-23
manure spreader
partially inked.

A Farmland Stream
Rural sketching need not be confined
to structures. There will be many
really picturesque bends in country
roads and quiet streams that border

guide

once cultivated land that you will run

across in your countryside wanderings.
These too are fit subject matter.
Figure 10-24 shows a little stream
running through a pasture that is
bordered by woodland. This

from the

composition would serve as well for a

country road setting by drawing a dirt
road as in figure 10-25 instead of
drawing the stream. Notice that the
roadway is suggested by using groups
of hatch marks, basically horizontal,
but varying slightly in their angle to
give the impression of irregularities in

the roadway.

Figure 10-26 shows my pencil

working drawing before I started
inking. I completed the stream sketch

by using the steps shown in figure

10-27. The pencil working drawing
shown at 10-27A. Using the pencil

is

completed all the

clumps of foliage as at 10-27B. Then I
did the tree trunks and branches as at
10-27C. I imagined the light coming
lines,

right so

trunk areas
suggest

first

light

this.

with slanted
with vertical
interior as at

left

some

on the right

where

side to

did the background trees

lines as at

10-27D and

lines for the darker

10-27E. The grass and

weeds are done with more or

vertical lines,

of the

less

packed close together

want shade suggested.

setting like this requires a great

from what you

nature or what you see in a

deal of simplification

see in

photograph. The sort of continuous

mass of foliage must be simplified to a
few major clumps, and the background
must be reduced to just tone. If you
tried to use little leaf strokes for the
background trees in this sketch, they
would all simply blend in with the
nearer foliage and destroy any sense of
depth and distance.

Sketching Rural North America

Figure 10-24
farmland stream.

Figure 10-25

country road.

209

210

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-26

The working

pencil

drawing for the farmland

stream sketch.

Figure 10-27
Steps in completing the

and background. (A)

The pencil working
trees

drawing. (B)
foliage

Add

Draw

clumps

all

first.

the

(C)

the tree trunks and

branches. (D)

Add

the

distant foliage with

slanted lines. (E)

Add

the

dark under the distant

trees with vertical lines.

Sketching Rural North America

211

Figure 10-28

covered bridge on the Thornapple River near Ada, Michigan.

A Covered Bridge
Figure 10-28

is

a pencil sketch of a

covered bridge on the Thornapple

River near Ada, Michigan. No two
covered bridges are alike, it seems, but
any of them are great sketching
subjects.

My
bridge

finishing the interior of the bridge are

shown in figure 10-30. used a broadpoint 4B pencil as well as a sharp 4B in

I

pencil
is

drawing the way a pen sketch does, it

is doubly important to make the
working drawing as light as you can
when doing pencil work. The steps in

working drawing

shown

a pencil sketch

in figure

for this

10-29. Since

does not allow for

erasing the underlying working

doing the
point

interior. First,

with the broad

placed the darkest darks, as in

10-30A. Then

used the same point

212

Countryside Sketching

lightly to tone the lighter

as in 10-30B.

The same

beam

darkened some of the boards as

10-31D before I took the sharp

faces,

pencil then did

the dark, shaded sides of the

little

fence

indicate

some

of the

wood

The
bridge basically was

10-30C. Finally, I used the sharp

4B point to sharpen up the edges of all

nearer boards, as in 10-31E.

these darks.

done as explained

The
as

outside of the bridge

you see

in figure

10-31.

was done
First, a

Techniques, in

tone

The broad-point 4B

pencil was used

and tree indications also.
To emphasize the near corner of the
bridge so that it would not become
indistinct, I pressed my kneaded eraser
on the sunny side right at the corner to
make it a bit lighter, and I slightly
darkened the shaded side at the corner.
for the grass

both of these steps. Then, using a

sharp HB pencil, I indicated the cracks
between the boards, as in 10-31C.
Next, with the broad point again, I

IB

'^

.jr
y

Figure 10-29

The working

Chapter 2,
figure 2-5 and related
in

text.

was placed all over the outside, as in

10-31A. Then the shadow from the
overhang was put in as at 10-31B. The
broad-point 48 pencil was used for

11

to

grain in the

as at

exterior of the

at

HB

pencil

drawing for the bridge on

the Thornapple River.

Sketching Rural North America

Figure 10-30
Steps in completing the
interior of the covered

bridge.

Figure 10-31
Steps in completing the
exterior of the covered

bridge.

213

214

Countryside Sketching

A Unique Barn
One

of the restored

farm structures

Cades Cove near Gatlinburg,

is a barn that is built over
two cribs. A pen sketch of the barn is

that

left

the middle of the roof lighter

than the two ends. This

at

in this sketch

Tennessee,

suggests a highlight and breaks up the

seen in figure 10-32.

monotony of a uniform roof.

The side and end of the barn were

The working drawing

for this

I inked it and
seen in figure
10-33. The marvelous shingled roof
was the first element I completed. First,

subject, as

it

looked after

erased the pencil lines,

drew

is

irregular lines to indicate the

rows of shingles
I

(figure 10-34A). Next,

toned the underside of the shingles

that projected above the ridge as in

10-34B, and

hatched the shadow

from these in 10-34C. The shadows

from some of the shingles that did not
lie flat were next added (10-34D), and
finally some texture lines completed
the roof (10-34E and F). When you do
this step, do not uniformly cover the
whole roof. Note that in figure 10-32

completed as you can see

10-35.

barn built on two

cribs.

in figure

the spaces between the

boards were drawn (10-35A), then

some of these spaces were exaggerated
(10-35B). The shadow from the
overhang was then added (10-35C).
The texturing of the side boards was
done as you see in 10-35D and E, with
the corner being emphasized as in
10-35F, with the bright side being left
very light and the dark side being
darkened.
The lower part of the barn and the
ground can be completed by observing
figure 10-32 and reviewing the steps
of figure 10-14E, F, G, and H.

Figure 10-32

First,

Cades Cove, Tennessee.

215

Sketching Rural North America

Kvt^V^

^M

Figure 10-33

Working drawing
barn.

Figure 10-34
Steps for completing the

barn roof.

Figure 10-35
Steps for completing the
side of the barn.

of the

216

Countryside Sketching

Figure 10-36

pencil study of the

wooden wheel on

the

mill at Cades Cove,

Tennessee.

A Wooden Mill Wheel

The mill at Cades Cove uses a
wooden mill wheel. The wheels on

the darks

the

same

first,

other mills used as subjects in this

book were all iron. My sketch of the

This

Cades Cove Mill is shown in figure

10-36. I used a 4B pencil on smooth
paper here and followed the working
drawing of figure 10-37. completed

features as

then

lightly

used the

pencil to tone the lighter areas.

is

study in which
sharpen up the
had with the earlier

a simple little

made no attempt
I

to

covered bridge pencil sketch. I just

wanted this to be a simple, soft
impression of the wheel.

Sketching Rural North America

^^

,P'
Figure 10-37

The working drawing

of

the mill at Cades Cove.

-^^iz^vX

217

11
Sketching the English

Countryside
Basic Structures

Sketching
Sketching
Sketching
Sketching
Sketching
Sketching

English Gardens
English Country Churches
Castles

Stone Circles
at Lee Bay
Thatched Roofs

219

Countryside Sketching

220

Basic Structures
Anyone who has traveled beyond the
major urban areas of England knows
the variety of beauty that the English
countryside contains. To Americans a
pioneer cabin from the late eighteenth
century is "old" and charming. In
Britain, you can see countless stone

works, obviously the work of man,

that are said to have been constructed
about 5,000 years ago. One such is the
remains of the great stone circle at
Avebury, which is sketched later in this

If you are a
beginning artist, this will seem to be a
confusing thing to try to do. The
following example will show you what
I mean.

of the nonessential detail.

West of London is the old, pretty

town of Abingdon. It lies in the
Thames valley near Oxford where the
Ock River joins the Thames. The view
of Abingdon from the road along the
Thames as you come around a curve in
the river

English

chapter.

The English countryside contains

dominated, as so

is

town scenes

tower. There are

wealth of material for all artists, the

problem being not that of finding
suitable subject matter but rather

are,

many

sides of the river,

by

trees

many
a

church
on both

and there are many

buildings clustered around the church

choices available. This chapter contains

and spreading out beyond and on both

sides. It is truly a quaint scene. I used a
photograph I had taken of this scene as

a small selection of pencil as well as

the source for the sketch in figure

selecting

pen and

from the overwhelming

ink sketches that cover

some

11-1. This

is

very quick impression

Of everything

of the breadth of the subjects available

sketch of that scene.

Great Britain. Many of these

sketches are examples of the application
of techniques described earlier in the

photograph presented, I felt

the vertical church spire and the tall,
vertical chimneys of the older buildings
along the river immediately around the
church were the essence that I wanted
to capture in this study. So I simply
ignored all the rest in the photo and

in

basic chapters.

Some

go

of the sketches

beyond the techniques covered earlier,

and for these I have included step-by-

what

new. In
the case of the more complex subjects,
I have included full-size working
drawings so that you may practice the
techniques yourself by doing
essentially the same drawing that I did,
and, what is often important when
step instructions for

is

trying to learn particular techniques,

doing the drawing the same size as

stated

many

times in the early

chapters, the artists primary problem

is

further

made

simple as

the tree outlines as

could to emphasize the

triangular impression that you see in

figure 11-1. This
I

is

what

often that of abstracting the essential

elements of a complex and confusing

scene to capture the essence of the
subject and to ignore or repress

much

mean when

talk about simplifying a subject.

It

involves a mental process of

elimination.

The

sketch of Abingdon

simple one; however,

did.

As

that the

it is

is

a very

not just

panorama that needs simplification

when you choose a subject. Figure
11-2 shows a small part of the Hailes
Abbey ruins in Gloucestershire,
England. Here, I wanted to portray the
interesting, jagged

remnants of

once

Sketching the EngUsh Countryside

Figure 11-2
pen study of
Hailes

Abbey

ruins,

Gloucestershire,

England.

Figure 11-1
An impression of
Abingdon, on the
River.

Thames

221

222

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-3

The working drawing for

the Hailes Abbey study.

highly decorative stone window.

My

primary simpHfication here was to

eHminate all the complex expanse of
ruins that I could see through the

window. The lower part of this sketch

was used as an example of how to
draw smooth stone earlier in figure
5-39.
a

The

Hailes

Abbey

sketch

is

also

very simple one. You can see this by

comparing the working drawing of

figure 11-3 with the completed study
of figure 11-2. All that completion

required was the addition of some lines

to indicate the texture of the stone

the

shadows

that

fell

across half the

archway. The next subject requires

somewhat different approach to
simplification.

and
a

Sketching the Enghsh Countryside

223

^^'i

Figure 11-4
The garden by a stone
house at Filkins, near

Oxford, England

Sketching English Gardens

English gardens are often an orderly
but profuse arrangement of flowers

and shrubs. Such subject matter is

frequently incomprehensible to the

contemplates sketching
needed
it. The simplification approach
here involves a reduction of the
overwhelming detail that the flowers

beginner

who

224

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-5

The working drawing

for

the house at Filkins.

^t^<ig:P\M\M
'^N^

\>^!:^-'
-:2>2

and foliage presents to view to a

grouping of relatively few masses. This
approach led to the sketch of figure
11-4, the garden in the front yard of a
stone house at Filkens, near Oxford,
England. There are only a dozen and a
half individual masses of vegetation
visible in this sketch.

To verify

this,

working
drawing of the garden scene, and count
them. Here I did not draw leaves and

look

at

figure 11-5, the

flowers, rather,

outlined the masses of

vegetation to which

had simplified the

luxuriant growth that my photograph
showed.
The only way you can create visual
I

Sketching the English Countryside

separation of sketch elements that have

similar values (tones)

is

to

The

somewhat

and alternate lights

and darks. If you do not, everything
becomes one solid, intermingled mass
with no individual distinction. You can
see in figure 11-4 how this principle
allows each of the groups of flowers
and shrubs to be distinctly evident.
Figure 11-6 shows the steps I took to
distort those tones

complete the vegetation part of the

drawing and that allowed me to retain
the visual distinction. After drawing
the outlines as in the

left

half of figure

used a continuous line

squiggling around and over itself to
darken the lower part of each mass and
11-6,

leaving a light silhouette of the

immediately in front of
line

is

it.

mass

This kind of

useful to represent foliage as

it

suggests the myriad of individual

florettes
this.

and leaves

in a

scene such as

often use this line also to

represent tree foliage

When

when drawing

had all the

individual masses darkened as shown
small sketches.

Figure 11-6

in

steps in completing

the ink drawing of the

garden

With

at Filkins. (A)

continuous line,
darken and texture the
lower part of each floral
grouping so it silhouettes
a

the light tops of the

grouping in front of
(B)

Then put

marks

in,

few

it.

leaf

leaving the tops

white paper. (C) Tone

the shaded side of the
as

light stone slabs.

225

2ih f^S
226

f'i

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-7
A reduced reproduction of
the garden and stone

house

then made the foHage

groups "rounder" by adding some tiny
circles and leaf-Hke squiggles above the
dark indications. This is seen in figure
11-6B. I was careful not to overdo this,
however, because the round impression
is achieved by graduating the value
(tone) from dark at the bottom of each
mass through medium in the middle to
figure 11-6A,

light at the top.

The

light tops also give

the impression of sunlight striking the

mass. Then, as shown in 11-6C, I

shaded the stone slabs that fenced the
garden by using slanted hatch marks.
This choice of line was deliberate so
that the toned stone slabs

would look

at Filkins.

from the toned

masses
and thereby not blend in with them.
The line work in figure 11-4 is all
different

relatively open.

By

there are no places

this,

foliage

mean

where the

that

lines

pack so closely together that they tend

to

form

a solid black.

work reduces

Such open

line

rather well without losing

You can see this in figure

11-7, a reduced copy of figure 11-4.
In the remainder of this drawing, I

its

character.

utilized techniques covered earlier in

this book.

was

The

stone in the buildings

light in color, so just a

few

of the

stones were indicated by thin lines.

The

stone slabs forming the fence around

Sketching the English Countryside

Figure 11-8

pen and ink impression of Jims Garden in Abingdon, Berkshire,

The geometric pattern of the wall is the focal point of the sketch.

England.

Figure 11-9
The layout sketch for

Jims Garden. Note that

there is only one pattern
for each square in the
wall,

see at

227

Countryside Sketching

228

the garden were

somewhat rough, so

used clusters of hatch marks to suggest

the shadows formed by the high sun
under the irregularities in each slab.

The shingled roofs were drawn as

described earlier. Be careful, however,
some

to get

light pencil indications of

the correct perspective lines before you

start to ink

such roofs. Nothing spoils

the sketch of a house

more quickly

observation that each of the square

was identical that the pattern

of circles came from the way that
adjoining blocks were oriented one to
another. These observations are shown
in my layout sketch in figure 11-9. The
little illustration at 11-9 A shows the
blocks

one pattern used for

this,

drew

blocks. Using

all

the circles over the squares

you can see in figure 11-9, and then

drew the shrubbery and flowers over

as

than improper perspective in the

roofing.

this.

Often, the simplification necessary to

a complex subject easy to sketch
comes with the recognition of the
geometric patterns involved in the
subject. The sketch of Jims garden, in

light, pencil working drawing of

garden scene took quite a while to
do, but the inking was then rather easy
to complete. Note that in figure 11-8 I
used the same principle of alternating
the values to complete the shrubbery
as in the previous garden sketch. In

make

11-8 has as its

focal point a beautiful cement wall with
a pattern of interlocking circles. This

Abingdon,

made

wall

is

first

thing

sketch

in figure

of square blocks, so the

making

did in

was
Then

my

layout

to establish the grid of

squares.

made use

of

The

this

this case,

shrubs a

also

little

to get a little

made some

of the

darker than the others

more

distinction

between

them.

my

Sketching English Country Churches

English country churches vary in
architectural character throughout the
nation.

They make

excellent sketch

subjects for artists wanting to include

historic old structures in their
portfolios. Sketches of these buildings

work

beautifully in pencil as well as in

ink; in ink, they

can be sketched

loosely with a broad-point pen or with

whatever degree of detail is desired

with a fine-point pen. The subject
matter works very well regardless of
technique.

St.

James Church, Avebury

An example of a loose,
broad point pen sketch of
Church, Avebury

fairly quick,
St.

James

in Wiltshire,

England,

is

shown

in figure

11-10.

makes the church

secondary to the ornate, covered stone
and wooden beamed gateway to the
church grounds. The wooden pillars
that support the large roof of the
gateway have curved members going
several ways to intersect and support
the massive roof. I took the
photograph from which I did this study
on a sunny day. The dark wood and
the shadow created by the roof made
the interior and the shaded side of the
structure quite dark to the eye. I tried
to capture this feeling, that with the
viewers eyes adjusted to the sunlit
church in the background, the dark,
Actually, this sketch

near

wooden

structure

was

just

Sketching the English Countryside

229

Figure 11-10

loose, quick

pen study of

St.

James Church, Avebury, WiUshire, England.

"underexposed" to the eyes. Therefore,

1 did not show any of the details of the
support members, even though they
were closer to the viewer. This lack of
detail and the perspective lines of the
gate roof tend to pull the viewers eyes
to the church bell tower in the middle
ground of the sketch. Note that the
treatment of the foliage on the tree
that lies between the gate and the
church is as suggested earlier in
Chapter 4, Background, Composition, and
Drawing Techniques, figure 4-12.

St.

Materianas Church,

This building
rocky,

lies

Tintagel,

Cornwall

on the rugged,

windswept north coast

of the

Cornwall peninsula, about seven or

eight hours from London. It is near the
ruins of Tintagel Castle, the reputed
birthplace of King Arthur.

pencil study of St. Materianas

is

shown

in figure

quick

Church

11-11. The pathway

leading to the door passes

among many

gravestones and stone crypts. 1 hinted

at these in the foreground of figure
11-11, but did not develop them in any

230

Countryside Sketching

because I wanted the center of

interest to be the church bell tower.
Much detail in the foreground elements
would tend to distract from the bell
tower. This sketch was done on
smooth paper with a broad-point HB
pencil. The few sharp lines were done
with a sharp HB pencil. The working
detail

drawing for

this sketch

is

shown

in

figure 11-12.

Figure 11-12

was reduced using

grid overlay as described in Chapter 2,

around figure 2-19, to do

the smaller pen sketch of the same
subject in figure 11-13. I used my
artists fountain pen for this sketch. As
I mentioned earlier, this pen has a
Techniques,

somewhat broad
is

point, even

called "extra fine."

though

Note the

it

suggested the stone work of the church

with short horizontal lines. It was
impractical to
this scale

draw

individual stones at

with such a broad point.

work holds up very well

Bolder pen

when

photographically reduced. You

can see this in figure 11-14, which is a
reduction of figure 11-13. Keep this in
mind if you do sketches for use on note
paper or postcards. Scale the size of
your image area up, do the drawing
large and with a bold, open approach to
the line work, reduce it to the size you
need for printing. You will be very
pleased with the results.

Figure 11-11
A quick pencil study of St. Materianas Church,
Tintagel, Cornwall, England.

Sketching the English Countryside

231

^J^^^h
Figure 11-12

The working drawing

St.

of

Materianas Church.

-tf

fi

"ftp"

Figure 11-13
A quick pen impression of
St. Materianas Church
using a bold point.

232

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-14

work
Compare

Bold, open pen

reduces well.

the line reproduction here

with a similar reduction

of fine pen work in
Figure 11-7.

When you

try using figure 11-12 as

monument in figure
The photograph was taken

sketch of the

a guide for practicing this subject, be

11-15.

sure that you use some very light

the dark interior of the church, the

pencil lines to indicate the correct

light

came from a high window to the

right of the monument. This gave some

perspective for the short lines that

represent the stone work.
like this one, or

Any drawing

any one showing a

building, can be ruined

if

is

incorrect.

Make

the lines

strong side lighting that

intricate decorative

made

work

work above

kind of drawing requires a careful and

most
it

in pencil.

of the detail.

My

working

drawing, which you can transfer to

your paper to use for practicing this
subject, is shown in figure 11-16.
Notice in figure 11-15 that

in

from the tourist attraction of

Clovelly, on the north coast of Devon,
is the little village of Woolfardisworthy
West.
the

just a mile or

main road along the

coast. In addition to the

Pub

(this

is

two south of
North Devon
Farmers

Arms

a sketch subject later in

this chapter) there

is

a beautiful old

church. Within the church

only used

outlines

far

It is

where I really needed them

suggest some of the undrawn

Woolsery Church,

Woolfardisworthy

Not

the

accurate working drawing that locates

light,

however. They can be erased if you

complete the drawing with pen and
ink, but they cannot if you complete

Monument

the

reclining figure easier to suggest. This

the

perspective of the stone or brick

in

photographed a monument to Richard

Cole. This photo was the basis for the

decoration.

to

used the tone as much as

possible to define the shape of adjacent

features.

also used the device of

eliminating

all

detail in areas that

wanted to appear brightly lit, such as

the upper part of the reclining figure.
used my 3X0 technical pen for this

drawing.
I have mentioned several times in
other places in this book how open pen
work reduces well. Several reductions


233

Sketching the English Countryside

w,, /

t&rir"-

-.1

j||

,.^.

'"^^^
"

V''iiiiiiiiiii|'';::::~;jWifSo>'"'-~V('.wiq|||||^

N(iim(ii(<((i.

work were shown as

The drawing of the
monument was done in an open
manner even though it was with a very
fine pen point. This kind of work also

Figure 11-15

of bold line

An

examples.

Church,
Woolfardisworthy West,
North Devon, England.

reduces well, as you can see in figures

11-17 and 11-18. The latter is carried

ink sketch of the 17th

century monument to
Richard Cole in Woolsery

a bit too far as

some

disappeared, but

of the lines have

felt

that

would show you the extent

you can reduce pen work.

an example
to

which

234

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-16

The working drawing

for

the Richard Cole

Monument

sketch.

Figure 11-18

Open pen work can

tolerate great reduction

before the line

work

begins to deteriorate.
This reduction of the
Richard Cole Monument
sketch is at or perhaps

beyond the

limit, as

some

of the lines have

disappeared and others

have run together.

Compare this with
figures 11-17 and 11-15.

Sketching the English Countryside

J^A

I
E

t| i'ilM^/k

n.*;_,-:v*"--

%),

^^^ fc^MM

Figure 11-17

moderate
reduction of the Richard
Cole Monument sketch.
The open line work of
the original holds up well
under reduction.
This

Church

The

is

at Eastleach Turville

village of Eastleach Turville lies

near the southern part of the Cotswold

district west of Oxford. The pretty

church with its (typical) adjacent

graveyard is sketched with a bold pen
in figure 11-19. The working drawing,
for your use in practicing this subject,
is shown in figure 11-20. This sketch
was large enough, even though 1 used
a bold pen point to draw it, that I could
little

draw

little

rectangles to indicate

of the stones in the

some

church walls.

Earlier in this chapter, in figure 11-13,

I

did not use rectangles, but just lines

to indicate the stones. Notice that in

this

somewhat

stylized technique, the

gravestones in the shadow

at

the back

of the church, to the right, are simple

white spots against the dark shadow. A

bold pen drawing like this requires the
elimination of even more detail than
would normally be the case if a fine

point were being used. You have to

learn by a lot of practice

how

to

suggest certain features by using a

bare minimum of line.
Figure 11-21 shows you a photo
reduction of the full-size drawing. It

would be an

interesting practice

exercise for you to reduce the working

drawing of figure 11-20 to this size

then complete it with a fine-point pen
and compare your result with figure
11-21.
Pencil on abrasive tracing vellum
produces a bold, interesting result. I
reduced the working drawing of the

Eastleach Turville church and placed a

sheet of tracing vellum over it. Then I

drawiog of figure 11-22

directly on the tracing vellum with no
need to transfer my working drawing,
since I could see clearly through the
vellum to the outline beneath it. I used
did the

235

236

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-19
A stone church

at

Eastleach-Turville in the Cotswold District of England.

_iniD-.,fiip

vJh^%>^

Figure 11-20

The working drawing

for the

church

at Eastleach-Turville.

mm

237

Sketching the English Countryside

Figure 11-21

reduced
reproduction of the

church

at

Eastleach-

showing how
well the bold pen lines
Turville

reproduce

when

reduced.

Figure 11-22

pencil study of the

church

at

Eastleach-

Turville.

sharp HB pencil (actually, a

mechanical pencil with 0.5 millimeter
lead) to draw figure 11-22. This is a
great way to do tone compositions to
try out different lighting before you
start a larger drawing. Notice that I

indicated the shaded parts of the

church with little, broad strokes of the

pencil packed closely together to
indicate stones.

did this instead of just

using random lines as 1 did in the pen

version of figure 11-19.

238

Countryside Sketching

-K^.-'-"^^
-^
j^,'

^'

**

y*

,)5a>^t>*s

Figure 11-23
A pen and ink study of Restormel Castle, near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England.

Sketching Castles
Almost

all

castles

and

castle ruins in

stones. This

was

the case with the

England are stone. Some of the

previous subjects under the heading of

techniques for rendering stone that

were covered earlier in Chapter 5,
Drawing Rocks and Stone Walls, apply to
this subject, but frequently your point

churches.

of

view

will include so

much

of the

structure that you will not be able

do much about drawing individual

to

the stone

The challenge is to suggest

work by the judicious use of

short lines that carry the proper

perspective and indicate that there are

horizontal rows of stones making up
the walls. This

11-13.

was

the case in figure

239

Sketching the English Countryside

Restormel Castle
Just outside the

Cornish town of

Lostwithiel stands the ruin of a small,

round
castle

castle called Restormel.

is

The

in the center of a beautifully

kept park, an
a hilltop that

HB

millimeter mechanical pencil with

overlooks miles of the

and worked by placing the tracing

vellum directly over the working
drawing and doing the pencil work
directly with no intermediate

is

a technical

pen sketch of the entrance of the

castle. The working drawing was
simple, just as you see in figure 11-24.
I used very light lines in addition to
those you see to give me the proper
perspective for the courses of stone in
the walls.

enormous grassy area on

countryside. Figure 11-23

What

what you see

pencil study of the reduced-size

working drawing can be seen in figure

11-26. This study was done on the
rough finish tracing vellum that I
mentioned earlier. used a 0.5

was

did

similar to

in figure 8-4.

In this sketch of Restormel Castle I

used the device of showing more of the
stone work when I wanted to darken
the tone to show shaded portions of
the walls. The alternative was to use
hatching instead as in figure 11-13. To
indicate sunlit parts

just

showed

less

of the stonework.

This sketch reduced nicely also, as

in figure 11-25.

you see

Figure 11-24

The working drawing

of Restormel Castle.

lead

transferring of the outline. Just as with

the ink version, I simply showed more
of the stonework where I wanted to
darken the values to show shaded
walls. This use of tracing vellum allows
you to quickly try different value
schemes without the bother of redoing

the basic outlines for each. Drawings

on tracing vellum do not have

to be

240

Countryside Sketching

fm
Figure 11-25

This kind of open pen

and ink line reduces well.
Compare this with the
full size drawing of
Figure 11-23.

''^.*i'

Figure 11-26
pencil study of

Restormel Castle.

L_

.-N^

'

'^

j"*^~ -


241

Sketching the English Countryside

just "preliminary" either.

They can be

backed up with white paper and matted

and framed just as any drawing on
opaque paper can.

small with rough surfaces.

all

sketching such
basically

smooth

stone.

the

South of London,

in

Sussex,

is

one of

of

It is

an outline approach, with

fine-point pen, that indicates

Bodiam Castle

way

Figure 11-27 shows you one

some

of

narrow cracks between the massive

is essentially a two-

stones. This sketch

there are just the

the prettiest castles in England

tone study

Bodiam Castle. It lies in the center of a

moat that is more like a pond or small
lake. Bodiam is constructed from large,
smooth stones, so its texture is quite
different from that of the churches and
the previous castle that were just
covered. In these cases the stones were

walls and those that are shaded. There

Figure 11-27
ink study of Bodiam
Castle, Sussex, England.
This is a simple two-tone

An

study.

sunlit

is nothing wrong with a simple

approach like this to record an

interesting structure that

you saw

while traveling. Not all of your

drawings have to be fully detailed
studies.

242

Countryside Sketching

llA

.,

,.',

Figure 11-28

The Merry Maidens

prehistoric stone circle

near Mousehole, Cornwall, England.

'

.''.7XN(.'^S)>Jl\v>.'n^lvNi'J\y%',. ,\

</ifi,.

Figure 11-29
If

the stone circle were in a depression,

all

would be below the horizon and the

clusters of grass marks would contour both
the horizontal ground and the sloping sides
of the depression. The shadow at the right
side of the depression also serves to indicate

how

the ground slopes.

243

Sketching the English Countryside

Sketching Stone Circles

There are many prehistoric stone
circles throughout Great Britain. It is
fascinating to walk among the stones
and realize that thousands of years ago
people were also walking there and

by
showing the clumps of grass marks all
running horizontally. The grass marks
are always used to indicate the slope of
indicated this fact to the viewer

the ground.

touching the same surfaces.

If

these stones had been arranged in

ground, they would

have been below eye level. Figure
11-29 shows what the study would
then look like. Three things tell the
viewer that all is below ground level:
the stones are all below the horizon,
the clumps of grass marks show the
slope of the depression, and the shaded
right-hand side of the depression also
a depression in the

The Merry Maidens of Mousehole

The

stone circle called

all

The Merry

Maidens, located west of Mousehole on

the southern Cornish coast near Land's

End was the subject in the

backgrounds section. See figures 4-23
drew
to 4-25. Here in figure 11-28,
I

the complete circle of

all

nineteen

These are small stones

compared to those used in many of the
stones.

other

circles.

The human

figure

included in the sketch gives you an idea

of the size of the stones.

When you

helps to

show

configuration. Figure

its

11-31 shows the layout for this study,

with the double arrows indicating how
the clumps of grass marks are used to
show the ground configuration. Notice

draw something like this, where there

is no reference for the viewer to
determine the size of objects, you
should include a figure or some

also that the ellipses that define the

familiar item that will establish the

The Great Stone

scale.

3X0

This study was done with

my

some

perspective preparation so that the

foreshortening will be proper.

actually

layout as you see in figure

11-30, with the perspective ellipse as

the base for the stones.

Then

drew

the stones around the perimeter of this

using the horizon as a guide for

ellipse,

their height.

opened up since they are

farther below eye level.

The

Circle at

village of

Avebury
in the

Avebury

lies partly within

complex, parts of

Wiltshire countryside

technical pen.

subject like this requires

made

circle are

You can see from the

figure included for size that the tops

a large stone circle

which are said to date from five

thousand years ago. Many of the 180
original stones have been removed
through the centuries and used for
construction purposes in the area.

The

ones that remain testify to the huge

size of those that were taken away. I
took several photographs at Avebury
and used one that showed the great

were all below eye level. This meant, as

you will recall from the chapter on

of the village that

perspective, that the tops of

ancient circle for the sketch in figure

stones

must be

slightly

all

the

below the

horizon line. This made it easy to

locate each stone and get its height
correct.

The ground was

level

size of the stones

and also showed part

now

lies

within the

11-32. This is a pencil sketch on

vellum tracing paper on which I used

both broad-point and sharp-point HB

pencils. The sketch was done directly

244

Countryside Sketching
Horizon

Figure 11-30
These are the perspective considerations for sketching the stone circle
on level ground. The grass marks should all be horizontally grouped as
the double arrows show.

Horizon

>l(S^

Figure 11-31
If the stone circle were in
a depression, these would

f.

.><Ai,

.^V>\.|/l-.-N

..

be the perspective
considerations.

The

grass

marks would contour the

shown by
and at
arrows
the double
B. On level ground the
grass marks would be
depression as

*-

.*''

horizontal as at A.

245

Sketching the English Countryside

Figure 11-32

pencil study of

some

of the great stones

still

remaining

Avebury,

at

Wiltshire, England. This was drawn on tracing vellum.

Figure 11-

The composition drawing

for the Avebury stones.
on the vellum when

was placed over

the composition sketch shown in figure

When finished this sketch,

my kneaded eraser and pressed

11-33.

took

it

relatively simple.

it

on the background trees and buildings

where they came up to the stones. I
lightened these background elements by
doing this to gain a

little

aerial

perspective (the farther away an object

seems) and to thereby

give a little more prominence to the
two foreground stones.
is,

the lighter

it

The composition
the

two stones

of figure 11-32

is

had to observe that

wanted to include in
I

the sketch were each proportioned as

squares with the spacing between

about one and a quarter times the
width of the near stone. Placing the
two squares as you see in figure 11-33
then allowed me to properly place the

remaining few elements relative to the

stones in my photograph.

246

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-34

pencil sketch of a

headland at Lee Bay

near Linton, Devon,
England.

Figure 11-35

The composition drawing

for the Lee

Bay sketch.

Sketching the English Countryside

Sketching
Much

at

247

Lee Bay

of the north coast of

Devon

is

rugged and rocky. At Lee Bay, a few

miles west of Linton in North Devon,
the low tide exposes a vast beach that
allows some interesting views of the
rocky headlands that border it on the
east and west. Figure 11-34 is a pencil
sketch of the view seen more than a
quarter mile seaward from the high
tide shoreline. This sketch was done
with sharp 3B and HB pencils on
rough paper. In the working drawing,
seen in figure 11-35, I established the
shape of the headland and indicated

where the rocky face was visible and

where the vegetation covered the rocky
surfaces. I drew the vegetation as you
see in figure 11-36. At 11-36A, I used
the sharp 3B point to make little dots
with white paper between them. Then,
as at 11-36B,
went over these dots
I

with a slightly broadened HB point to

darken the remaining white paper but
not completely remove the dots. This
then gave me a texture that suggested

could see.
Drawing the rocks required a good

the foliage

what

deal of simplification of
actually see.

squinted

at

could

the

photograph to eliminate some of the

visible detail and to determine how the
primary dark lines of the cracks in the
rocks ran.

Then

11-37A. Then,

drew

you see

cracks, about as

to get

just these
in figure

some

visual

separation between successively

receding cliffs, I darkened alternate

ones as you see in 11-37B.

The human figure was added to

more interest in the setting by

provide
looking

at

the headland. This simple

device tends to direct the viewers

attention toward
figure

is

looking

what the sketched

at.

The dark patches between

the figure

and the headland represent the very

wet sand reflecting the dark rocky
cliffs. The rest of the sand was not as
wet and appeared lighter in color.

Figure 11-36

/^"^Sftm

Steps in finishing the

vegetation on the Lee Bay

headland sketch.

Figure 11-37
Steps in rendering the
rocky part of the Lee Bay

headland sketch.

Countryside Sketching

248

Figure 11-38

The Farmers Arms, Woolfardisworthy West, North Devon, England.

Sketching Thatched Roofs

One cannot admire

hatching that suggested the shadows

the quaint

admiring
dozens of thatched roofs. They are
simple to sketch in either pen or pencil.
British countryside without

All that

thatch

is

required to indicate the

layered lines following the

is

slope of the roof.

pen and ink example of

a thatched

seen in figure 11-38, a sketch

of the Farmers Arms Inn and Pub at
roof

is

Woolfardisworthy West in North

Devon. The buildings are painted white
and, at the scale drawn here, show no
features of bricks or stone.

The

doorways and windows were

just indicated this

with the

lines of

thatched cottage in the

Bossington, in Somerset,

is

hills of

shown

in

the pencil sketch of figure 11-39. This

was a white building, and was

surrounded by beautiful stone walls
and shrubbery. The shrubbery was
drawn as you can see in figure 11-40.
This is the same technique as in figure
11-36, but this time a mechanical
pencil with 0.5 millimeter lead was
used on rough paper. The round
chimneys were an interesting feature of
too

this cottage.

all

slightly recessed into the walls, so

cast because of the recesses.

The Barley

Hampden

Mow

in Clifton

near Abingdon in Berkshire

Sketching the English Countryside

249

Figure 11-39
A pencil study of a
thatched roof cottage in
Bossington, Somerset,

England.

Figure 11-40
Steps in completing the
foliage in the pencil study

of the thatched roof

cottage. (A)

Dots with

slightly dulled sharp

Toning over the

dots with a broader point
point. (B)

pencil.

Figure 11-41
pen study of the Barley
Mow, an inn in Clifton
Hampden, Abingdon,
Berkshire, England.

250

Countryside Sketching

Figure 11-42

Another study of the

Barley

is

uniquely constructed inn. Figure

11-41 shows the beam work in the one

end of the structure. Figures 11-41 and
11-42 are two pen and ink views of
this charming building. It is painted
white, so in the sketches there is no
indication of texture or color in the
walls, except

shade as

at

where they are

the

left in

in the

figure 11-42.

These two sketches were done with a

3X0 technical pen on smooth paper.
Not much detail is actually drawn at
this scale,

but a

lot is

hinted

at.

Many

Mow.

panes of glass are evident in each

each pane is
drawn with just two or three vertical
lines. The thatch is suggested by the
long, loose hatch marks that follow the
little

window even though

slope of the roof.

The

bricks in the

chimneys are suggested by

lines.

The

few short

essential shape of the

beams and the dark,

many-paned windows contrasted
building, the dark

against the white walls are the

necessary features to document this

unique building.

12

A Parting Word
The

subject of sketching

since there

is

as

much

is

personal approach will begin to

develop. I hope that some of the

endless,

variety in the

techniques one can apply as there are

suggestions in this book, along with

no one way
to draw anything; each of our drawings
will be as personalized as our
signatures. However, just as we all had
to learn to write our names by having
someone say ".
do it this way,"
learning to draw can be made easier by

the illustrations of

people sketching. There

is

your own artistic individuality.

you use your travels to take
photographs and accumulate other
subject matter for sketching, you will
If

find that the thrills of the discoveries

when they

made

you travel are multiplied

because you relive them when you use
your photographs as sketching

more natural to you, these

techniques can be used in doing your
own original work. When you reach
your

own

as

reference material.

Good

where you are working from

original subject matter,

and

to

feel

the stage

approach the

white, help get you further on the road

practicing the techniques that others

later

creation of certain effects in black

have learned. Then,

how

your

luck with your countryside

sketching!

251

Other Books by Frank Lohan

Pen and Ink Techniques, Contemporary

Wildlife Sketching,

Books,

Inc.,

Inc.,

Contemporary Books,

Chicago, 1986, 240 pages,

indexed.

Chicago, 1978, 93 pages.

pen and ink sketching book for the

Chapters on materials, drawing

beginner,

it describes the materials

required and gives ten basic step-by-

techniques, and basics of perspective

step demonstrations as well as

introduce this book on

reference sketches covering a wide

songbirds, trees, animals, flowers,

variety of subjects.

mushrooms, water birds, reptiles,

amphibians, and more. More than 600
individual drawings are included to
show the artist how to draw each

Pen and Ink Themes, Contemporary

Books,
This

shows

Inc.,
is

Chicago, 1981, 106 pages.

book
look around

a sketch-filled idea

artists

how

to

subject in pencil and in pen.

that

themselves to find sources of subject

matter to sketch.
Pen and Ink Sketching Step By Step,

Contemporary Books,

Inc.,

Chicago,

1983, 130 pages, indexed.

Thirty-six step-by-step pen and ink
demonstrations are included in this

book.

The

subject matter covers barns,

owls, raccoons, mountain lions, deer,

ducks, songbirds, toads, stone lanterns,
boats,

how

and more.
253

to sketch

Bibliography
Guptil, Arthur L. Pencil Drawing: Step

By

Step.

New

Chicago:
Contemporary Books, 1986.
.

York: Watson-Guptil,

Wildlife Sketching.

1949.
Norling, Ernest. Perspective Drawing.
.

Tustin, Calif.: Walter Foster Art Books.

Rendering In Pen and Ink.

Edited by Susan E. Meyer.

New

York: Watson-Guptil, 1976.

Lohan, Frank. Pen and Ink Techniques.

Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1978.
.

Henry C.

New

York: Watson-Guptil, 1957.

.

Ink Drawing Techniques.

Pen, Brush, and Ink.

New

York:

New

York:

Watson-Guptil, 1949.

Pen and Ink Themes. Chicago:

Sloane, Eric.

Contemporary Books, 1981.

.

Pitz,

Funk

Pen and Ink Sketching Step by

&

An Age

of Barns.

Wagnalls, 1967.

Watson, Ernest W. Outdoor Sketching.

New York: Watson-Guptil, 1946.

Chicago: Contemporary Books,

1983.

Step.

255

Index
Blocking in the masses of a composition, 66,
67, 68, IQ, 73

Board and batten; drawing, 115

Bodiam Castle; drawing 241

Abingdon; sketch, 221

Adobe building; drawing, 142-46

Alamo; drawing the, 158-59

Bond paper, 12
Brick walls; drawing, 85,
Bristol board, 12

Alternating tones, 17

Aqueduct in Texas; drawing, 154-57

Artistic license, 16, 64
Artist

2>2>

Brush; drawing with, 8

fountain pen, 6

Cabin, abandoned; drawing, 182-84

Castles

Background and middle ground, 42-53

Background pine trees, 46
Background trees, 43-47
Bales Place; cabin drawing, 194-97
Barley Mow Inn; drawing, 249-50
Barn
and manure spreader; drawing, 206-208
in Pennsylvania; drawing, 202-203
mountain; drawing, 179-81
old wooden; drawing, 204, 205
stylized; drawing 118-20
unique; drawing, 214-15
Beech tree; drawing, 110-11
Birch tree; drawing, 109

Bodiam; drawing, 241

Restormel; drawing, 238-40
sketching, 238-41
Cathedral Rock; drawing, 147-48
Cathedral ruins; drawing 85-86
Center of interest, 17, 52, 54, bb
Chapel of the Holy Cross; drawing, 166

Church at

Eastleach Turville; drawing,

235-37
Churches, English; drawing, 228-37
Composition drawings, 18, 24
tonal, 52
Composition; "S" shaped curve, 66, 67
Copying a subject; transparent overlay, 29

Black willow tree, 45

257

258

Countryside Sketching

Coquille paper drawing, 67

Corn crib; drawing, 199-201

Corrugated roof, 21, 27

Cottage; drawing, 249
Country Inn; drawing, 249-50
Covered bridge; drawing, 211-13
Crib, rustic farm; drawing, 200-201
Crosshatching; pen technique, 22, 23
Crowquill pen, 4, 5
keeping point clean,

H
Hailes Abbey; drawing, 221-22

Haze or mist impression in background, 44

High key drawing, 146
Hillside rocks; drawing, 69, 70

Homestead at Cades Cove; drawing,

192-93
Horizon

in perspective,

35

4,

l,LK

D
Desert rock formation; drawing, 71, 72
Drawing hillside rocks, 69, 70

Drawing oceanside rocks, 68-69

Drawing wood texture, 19

Eastleach Turville Church; drawing,

235-37
Echo Rock; drawing,

l&5-?>?>

Indian dwelling; drawing, 149-50

Ink; drawing, 8

drawing, 227-28
10, 17, 19
useof, 82, 85, 93

Jim's garden;

Kneaded eraser,

Lee Bay; sketching, 246-47

Lichens, on rock; drawing, 96
Line width; modulated, 6
Linen paper, 14

Elm tree, 45

English Country Churches; drawing,

228-37
English countryside sketching, 219-50
English manor house, 54-60

Enlarging or reducing a subject;

transparent overlay, 29, 30
Erasers, 10, 11
kneaded, 10
Erasing shield, 11

Farmers

Arms Inn and Pub; drawing, 248

Fieldstone walls; drawing, 91-94

22
Footbridge and stream; drawing, 74-75
Foreground rocks; drawing, 78-81

Fixative, 10,

Manor house, 54-60

Merry Maidens of Mousehole, stone circle;
drawing, 243-44
Mill

Cades Cove; drawing, 216-17

at Glade Creek; drawing, 196-98
at Pigeon Forge; drawing, 191
Mine railway; drawing, 160-61
Modulated line width, 6
Monument Valley; drawing in, 149
at

Monument, Richard Cole; drawing, 233-35

Mountain
barn; drawing, 179-81

pond; drawing, 175

road; drawing, 174
Mountains; drawing, 167-88

Mushroom rock; drawing, 166

Garden, English; drawing, 223-28
Garden, Jim s; drawing, 227-28
Grid to copy, enlarge, reduce a subject,
28-30

O
Oak tree, 45
Oceanside rocks; drawing, 68-69

Index

Old farm wagon; drawing, 162-64

Old Mission; drawing, 151-53
One-point perspective, 36
Outline; minimize when possible, 81

259

Q
Quadrille paper, 11

Quarry; drawing 76-77

Overlay, transparent; for copying,

enlarging, reducing, 28

Railroad station; drawing, 191

Rain
Paper
bond, 12

drawing, 176-78

Reduction of ink drawings, 194, 199, 226,

bristol board,

232,234-37,240

12

drawing, 8, 11-14
linen, 14
parchment, 14
quadrille, 11
tracing vellum, 12
watercolor, 13
Parchment paper, 14
Pen
Artist's fountain, 6

crowquill, 4,
felt tip,

fiber tip, 8
filling

forest;

Random stone walls; drawing, 85, 86

with ink, 6

replaceable nib, 4,

technical drawing type, 7

technical; different point sizes, 7

Reflections in water, 124, 128-31

Representational drawing, 49, 50

Restormel Castle; drawing, 238-40

Rocks
and stone walls; drawing, 64-100
as masses, 64, 65
foreground; drawing 78-81
Rocky headland; drawing, 246-47
Rocky mountains; drawing, 170-72
Rocky overlook; drawing, 164
Rocky river; drawing, 126-27
Rocky stream; drawing, 81
Rocky waterfall; drawing, 73-74
Roof; corrugated, 21, 27
Rubble walls; drawing, 81, 84-85
Rural scene; drawing, 190

technical; ink for, 7

Pen techniques, 22
Single-point perspective; example, 161

Pencil

hardness,

8,

Spatial perspective, 34

17

mechanical, 17
Pencil techniques,

17-22

Pencils

drawing, 8
sharpening,
Perspective,

8, 9,

10

34-40

one-point, 36
spatial,

34

two-point, 37-40

Photographs; drawing from, 157

Pine tree; drawing, 112-13
Pine trees in background, 46
Plow; drawing an old, 165
Pond; drawing, 175
Prehistoric stone circle; drawing, 53,

242-45

James Church; drawing, 229

St. Materianas Church; drawing, 230-32
Stippling, 57, 58
pen technique, 22
Stone and brick walls; drawing, 82-100
Stone circles
Avebury; drawing, 245
Merry Maidens; sketching, 242-43
prehistoric, 53
sketching, 242-45
Stone
smooth, 82
walls; drawing, 89-90
rubble, 82
textured, 82
Stone quarry; drawing, 76-77
St.

260

Countryside Sketching

Stream and footbridge; drawing, 74-75

Stream, farmland; drawing, 208-209
Stylized drawing, 49, 50

u,v
Underground stone chamber, prehistoric,
95-99
Vanishing point

36-40
left; perspective, 37
right; perspective, 37
in perspective,

Techniques
pen, 22
pencil, 17-22
Texas aqueduct; drawing, 154-57
Textured stone, 82

Thatched roofs; sketching, 248-50

Tonal composition drawings, 52
Tonal range; in pen drawing, 22, 23
Tones; alternating, 17
Tracing vellum, 12

Transferring a composition, 31
Transparent overlay for copying, enlarging,
reducing, 28-30

Tree
beech; drawing, 110-11

109
112-13

birch; drawing,
pine; drawing,

Tree shapes, 45
Trees
black willow, 45
elm, 45
oak, 45
rough bark; drawing, 102-108
smooth bark; drawing, 109-11
weeping willow, 45

Two-point perspective, 37-40

Vellum, tracing, 12
Vignettes
pen, 172-73
pencil,

165-66, 174

w
Water
drawing, 124-38
reflections in, 124,

128-31

Watercolor paper, 13
Waterfall; drawing, 130,

132-34

Waves; drawing, 128-29

Weeping willow tree, 45
Wharf; drawing a, 131

Wood and wooden things; drawing, 101-21

Wood grain
drawing, 103
drawing with pencil, 20
Wood texture
drawing, 19
ink drawing, 25
Wooden barn door; drawing, 116-17
Working area, 14
Working drawings, 17, 18, 24

Countryside Sketching
r^^.;".>

you've ever wanted to savor the rustic settings of natural America through pen and
ink sketching, here's the complete book to instruct you on how to render charming
If

countrysides, Indian dwellings of the Southwest, old barns, covered bridges, and more.

Fundamentals for sketching trees, rocks, buildings, lakes, waterfalls, mountains, and
backgrounds are given to provide you with a solid base to create (or recreate)
picturesque landscapes, antique homesteads, and quaint vistas. More than four hundred
glorious, detailed, step-by-step sketches will take you from primitive line drawing to
more advanced techniques, culminating in your own original masterpieces.
Frank

J.

Lohan

is

the author of Pen

WildUfe Sketching: Pen, Pencil, Crayon

& Ink Sketching: Step by Step, Pen & Ink Techniques, and
& Charcoal Techniques, all from Contemporary Books.

CB
CONTEMPORARY
BOOKS
CHICAGO NEW YORK