For those that aren’t familiar with Thursdays Drawing. Thursday is a day that I devote to drawing. A scene is selected and then each week I’ll draw anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours until the drawing is completed. Which means usually I’ll barely put a dent into the drawing each week – as some of these scenes take upwards of 16+ hours in total (usually four to nine weeks). Today is the start of a new drawing . . .
Introducing Thursdays Drawing project – Takakkaw Falls. According to Wikipedia: “Takakkaw Falls /ˈtækəkɔː/ is a waterfall located in Yoho National Park, near Field, British Columbia, in Canada. Its highest point is 302 metres (991 ft) from its base, making it the 45th tallest waterfall in eastern British Columbia.”
The reason why I selected this scene is because I want to experiment with several different techniques to create a smoky atmosphere with the waterfall:
- Sfumato, which means to “to tone down” or “to evaporate like smoke” (Leonardo da Vinci used this technique in some of his paintings). While I won’t be using the technique precisely because this is a drawing, my goal is to have some of the rocks behind the waterfall evaporate like smoke . . . as well as some of the actual rocks coming in from both sides of the drawing. Hoping to make the breathing waterfall become the star of the show.
- Values, with the exception of the waterfall and immediate surrounding rocks, two values (high-to-middle values) will be used throughout the piece.
Takakkaw Falls, a graphite drawing (12×9) is being drawn on Bristol Vellum paper. Today a tortilium was used to develop an outline of the falls and shape of boulders/slabs of rocks. Next week, the rocks will begin to be drawn in ~ the characteristics of the rocks will be barely there in order to effectively reach the level of sfumato where they will be coming in from both sides.
Thanks for checking in and here we go, another project . . . click onto the image for a larger view (warning: it doesn’t look like much at this stage!!!) ~
Takakkaw Falls, #1
Oil Pastels by Mary 
This is the beginning, great! Noe I’m so curious to see how it develops…and maybe I’ll learn a little bit…
robert
Thank you very much Robert – I’m hoping to be able to pull this one off for not only the concept but also perspective. Appreciate your encouragement!
Great start!
Thanks Elena!
I missed this first one, but have just looked at #2. It’s progressing really well. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia!
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Thanks Frank! Have a great week ahead ~
How exciting! I love watching the image emerge!
Thank you Resa – this one might take a while so stay tuned. Have a lovely Sunday!
I’m working my way back …. ooh and another to keep watching …. sfumato … a lovely word to play with and capture …. Nice work Mary !
Hi Poppy, so great to see you. I’m still working my way back to everyone’s blogs after a long break. This one might take a bit of time to work out ~ thanks for stopping by!!
“Evaporating like smoke” must be a grand scene to watch for… 🙂
Thank you Maniparna – I’m hoping I can pull off the effect that I’m after. I guess we are all going to see what happens as the drawing takes shape.
Look forward to watching your progress, Mary. 🙂
Thanks Geralyn!
Beautiful start, thanks for sharing your work in progress. I also like the idea to devote one day of the week to drawing!
Thanks so much – I started a couple of years ago with the urging of “Z” of http://playamart.wordpress.com/ an awesome artist and photographer living in Ecuador and found it to be a great exercise that keeps drawing fresh for me.
Good morning Mary…so glad I caught this at the beginning stage – will now look forward very much to the progress. Have a wonderful July 4th weekend. Janet:)
Hi Janet, thanks very much and glad you saw the beginning. I don’t know how successful I’ll be with trying to employ sfumato, but I can see where I want to take the piece – keeping my fingers crossed. Hope you have a wonderful 4th of July as well – take care.
Looking forward to watching the drawing evolve.
Thanks very much Gallivanta!!
You show such patience in these series; and keep us wanting more
Thank you Derrick – oh yeah my Thursdays drawings take a whole lot of patience on my part and also all the fabulous followers of this blog. Because sometimes it goes on and on – once was 16 weeks (yikes). Thanks very much and have a wonderful weekend with your walks and in the gardens.
Looks like a beautiful start, Mary! Looking forward to your progress!
Hi Laura, thanks very much! Will take a few weeks – stay tuned!!
How wonderful to be able to see the development stage by stage. This certainly will help me appreciate the drawing even more. Thank you, Mary! 🙂
Hi Amy, thanks very much. I thought that perhaps the scene will go more quickly than others, but after doing the initial sketch and thinking about what’s involved it will mostly likely take a bit more time to complete. Have a great weekend, happy 4th!
Leonardo da Vinci! I’m in.
Spot-on Prospero!! You are good – yes, Leonardo, and I can promise you this . . . my final work will be in a totally different category than Mr. da Vinci’s!!! Although I’ll still have fun with working the scene out and seeing if I can work some magic with graphite. Have a wonderful weekend my friend. Princess Ariel needs some pampering this weekend ~
Did you know, Mary, that Leonardo was also a botanist? Of course he probably had ADHD and should have been on Methylphenidate (Ritalin).
In a different category! Perhaps 21st century graphite will do the trick. Gives you an unfair competitive edge, but I won’t say anything if you won’t.
I suspect your are so right Prospero about Leonardo – of course if they had put him on Ritalin he have been a totally different character, void of his wild gusto for exploring, I’m sure we wouldn’t be able to marvel at all the wondrous things he accomplished. A botanist? I didn’t know that.
I might have the advantage of 21 century graphite, but I’m positive that at my level I won’t even come close although I do like a good challenge ~
“…but I’m positive that at my level I won’t even come close”
Don’t sell yourself short, Mary da Vinci.
So funny Prospero – do appreciate the nod and compliment though. I’m off to fix a creative mess (ha!).
looking good, and like Fun 🙂 ……. and I love the phrase “evaporating like smoke” will look forward to seeing more! Debi
Thanks Debi. I haven’t tried this technique in the true sense with graphite so will be a great drawing project and challenge. I can see it in my minds-eye how I want it to look, so hopefully it works. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hi Mary, I am sure this will be a beautiful drawing, just like your others. i have always loved waterfalls. Growing up in Oregon, we had plenty of them around us to visit. I look forward to seeing your progress.
Hi Janell, thanks very much. This waterfall is really a neat structure of slabs of boulders and a significant drop in elevation – so I’m really excited about giving it a shot with graphite. Ah you grew up in a gorgeous part of the country, so many inspiring areas with the coast and forests – can only imagine. Have a wonderful weekend.