Plein Air Drawing with Lesley Wamsley
/Plein air artist Lesley Wamsley teaches you how to draw in your home.
For this workshop, you will need :
- drawing utensil (pen, pencil, color pencils, crayons, markers, etc.)
- reductive element (this is generally an eraser)
- something to draw on (piece of paper, cardboard, notebook, etc.)
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Born in West Virginia, Lesley Wamsley (b. 1982) is an artist living in Brooklyn, NY. Her paintings focus on observing subtle relationship within the landscape. She holds a M.F.A. (2012) from the State University of New York at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY and a B.A. (2004) from Miami University, Oxford, OH. Recent shows include Women’s Work, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY; Optimism, 20/20 Gallery, New York, NY; and Watch It Burn, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. Awarded residencies include The Constance Saltonstall Foundation, Ithaca, NY and Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY. Her work is held by The Museum of Modern Art Artists’ Books Collection, New York, NY. She is an adjunct professor of Drawing and Visual Thinking at Fordham University, New York, NY.
Step 1 : Think about composition
Lesley does this by creating a grid to begin. You can begin playing with your composition here by loosely sketching elements onto the page. Lesley will talk about composition throughout the workshop, and you can see why it’s so important. In this composition, Lesley will blend the natural chaos of the outdoors with the tidy and orderly interior of her home.
Step 2 : Start with the background
Working back to front allows you to have more detail in your image without smudging or altering the foreground information. Consider the hues and temperature of the colors you are using! Paying attention to neutral tones with hues of warmer or colder temperatures.
Step 3 : Start with your lightly saturated colors and move into more vibrant and darker colors
This helps keeps your drawing crisp and filled with valuable contrast! Always think about your composition and which elements you want to include, highlight, and which ones might do well to be a bit hidden from your final piece.
Step 4 : Pay attention to the light
The light will necessarily change as you draw, but that’s to be expected as you move through observational drawing or painting.
Step 5 : Finish your drawing
Sine you’re relying on observing the composition in person, at some point, you will have to move along. Be sure to put the finishing touches and know that no work has to be perfect to be good.
