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A Quick Figure Sketch

HUNTINGTON BEACH PIER by TOM BROWN

 

“PIER GROUP”
12x16 oil on canvas
Available here

     I painted this during an invitational plein air event in Huntington Beach. I’m often asked how I could do this on location, since everyone was moving constantly. Here’s the backstory if you’re interested.

     I began with a very sketchy outline of the big masses of the pier, and used simple sketchy marks to indicate where I wanted to place figures.

     Then I focused on creating the actual figures because they would be the hardest part. For this I used a technique I call “mental snapshots.”

     I would glimpse a walking figure and instantly close my eyes to memorize that image; really lock it in. Then without looking at the figure again I blocked in a general suggestion of the gesture. Really loosely, just a few smears of ochre wash. This can take as little as 20 to 30 seconds. I repeated that for the next figure, and so on, until I had the entire group of people suggested.

     Once I had that established I began refining all the figures together. I continued to watch pedestrians and I added clothing to my sketchy figures based on what I was now observing. There were a few rub-outs along the way, but when I had them done I took my time with the background buildings, posts and other details. It was very challenging, but lots of fun.

“A TREE IN EARLY MORNING FOG” by TOM BROWN

 “A TREE IN EARLY MORNING FOG”
12x16 oil on canvas
Available here
This is another of my personal favorites. I painted it as a demo for artists in a plein air workshop I was conducting. We had gotten a very early start and fog was still in the air as I painted this. I wanted to capture that very transient effect in this painting. Hope you like it.