Category: Sketching Blog
Weehawken and Hoboken: Ongoing Sketches by Karen Little
This page was started in 2018 and is updated as new sketches are made.
If you’d like to join me outdoors for sketching adventures and maybe lunch, please sign up on my MeetUp! page, Weehawken and Hoboken Outdoor Sketching.
Questions? Ask Karen Little – info@littleviews.com
Note:
All art and photos on this website are the property of Littleviews.com and Littleviews-Crafts.com and may not be reproduced without permission.
Sketching Weehawken Neighboorhoods
The Urban Sketchers has world-wide members who love to sketch how they “see the world one sketch at a time.” Each group within this organization represents a geographic area, usually a city. One of the biggest groups is in New York City, right across the Hudson River via an easy bus ride from my home.
Unfortunately, miscellaneous injuries prevent me from walking or standing for long periods, which makes the New York group events difficult to attend. For support, I often use a 3-wheel walker and now I’m trying to figure out how to incorporate it into outdoor sketching activities, urban or not.
Until a Hudson County Urban Sketchers group is formed in New Jersey, I decided that it’s time to “see my own area one sketch at a time.” I’m calling my own newly formed, one-person sketching group “The Doors of Weehawken” until more people get involved.
Sketching while using a walker has its benefits, whether you are 100% fit or not. Walkers have pouches where you can store your art supplies. They are also big enough to hold a 3-leg stool, which is what I’m sitting on in the above picture. And last, it holds an inflatable “foot rest” which I’m using as a lap desk.
Currently I’m developing a style into which I can fit my “doors” theme. I am starting with graphite (pencil) as it is the easiest art tool to manage on a wobbly surface.
My first drawing is a door on Fulton Street. Best, while sketching it, I met a neighbor who loves street artists. A few years ago, one drew his beloved Victorian Home which is a half-block from where I sat. His doors will certainly be included in my current project.
Should I decide to also use watercolors, like the small picture at the beginning of this article, I’ll probably sketch on the street and paint at home. The problem with Weehawken is that because it is next to the Hudson River, there is always a strong wind; strong enough to lift the heaviest of art supplies and send them sailing down to the next door.
I’ll be posting my drawings as I go, so please check back periodically to see what you can see or sign up for our newsletter which will tell you when to take a look.
About the artist
I started drawing in elementary school, then dabbled professionally in conjunction with my technical writing career. I’m now ready to make drawing and painting a more important part of my life.
Contact me if you are interested in forming an Urban Sketchers group in Hudson County, NJ or if you just want to stroll around, pencil in hand, to see what you can create.
Karen Little – info@littleviews.com
PS: All art and photos on this website are the property of Littleviews.com and Littleviews-Crafts.com and may not be reproduced without permission.
Karen Little’s Sketches: Baseball Batters
One of my hobbies is pencil sketching, so this week’s work depicts baseball batters which I base on references seen in newspapers, magazines, and around the web. I call this work abstract reality because I’m interested in posture and creases in clothing rather than creating photographic-likeness pencil sketches.
All the images are drawn freehand on Canson Mixed Media paper. I reproduced the sketches using my iPhone’s camera. If you would like help or comments on your own sketches, contact me (Karen Little) at info@Littleviews.com and I’ll be happy to help!
About the artist
I sketched these baseball players mid-April, 2018. All are for personal use, however, if you are involved with a team and would like sketches of various players, contact me and we can arrange something.
Do you sketch sports figures and would like your work posted? Let me know and I’ll set up a page!
Karen Little – info@littleviews.com
PS: All sketches on this page are the property of Littleviews.com and Littleviews-Crafts.com and may not be reproduced.
How to Take Photos of Shadows
Reach for your cell phone’s camera to take pictures whenever a potential shadow-shot appears in front of your eyes.
Be ready to take photos on bright, sunny days because those are the ones in which shadows really pop!
You’ll find interesting images near fences, plants, benches and of course, people. Best? Shadow photography provides the ultimate selfies! If you are lucky, touches of color can show up in your otherwise monotone snapshot for added interest.
Always be on the alert for a good shot. The photo below, for example, is a picture of me taking a grocery cart back to its station.
On sunny spring and fall days, look for silhouettes of flowers and foliage on adjoining sidewalks.
Parking lots are perfect places to find shadows and painted directional lines add color.
Also, be aware of abstract images. What is seen as a shadow is often not what’s seen in reality.
People wearing specific types of clothing, like hats, make for interesting subjects.
Pay attention to where the sun is in the sky. The shadow pictures you take in the morning will completely change in context at noon as well as later in the day.
Sun streaming in through windows creates playful shadows, too, especially for those of you who have plants, art, and knickknacks in the vicinity.
Horizontal and vertical lines always add texture to your shadow pictures. In the example below, I used them to frame my selfie.
Introduce shadow-friendly objects in your picture and let your viewers guess what they are.
Shadow pictures often evoke feelings and I used this one to show respect to my departed friend.
Last, be sure to capture exaggerated shadows of very tiny plants for highly graphical imagery.
More info on the web . . .
- How To Create Intriguing Shadow Photos With Your iPhone: Also check out all the tutorials offered by the iPhone Photography School
- 5 Quick Tips for Awesome Shadow Photography Images: from Photodoto.com
- How To Capture Amazing Shadow Photos: Article by Christina Harman on Contrastly.com
- Photographing The Perfect Shadow: by David Peterson on digital-photo-secrets.com
Questions? Comments? Ask Karen Little at Info@Littleviews.com.
All rights reserved by Littleviews and Karen Little.
