We enjoyed an outstanding weekend workshop sketching India with internationally acclaimed artist, David Rankin.  David shared his sketching techniques that he developed over 30 years traveling throughout India.  On Friday evening, while enjoying a cup of chai tea and spicy samosas (provided by his lovely wife, Deanna), we listened to David tell us the difference between a sketchbook and artist journal.  A sketchbook is a living, traveling studio that travels with you.  You can put anything into it, like your thoughts, likes, things that catch your eye, etc.  A journal is different.  It has a unique point of interest or a specific goal and covers one subject or destination.  You take pictures and sketch later.  As an example David mentioned the Himalayan journal that he created for the Artists for Conservation "Flag Expedition Grant" he was honored to receive in 2007.  It contains 300 small watercolors related to the goal of that expedition.  Take a look...click here.

David said that in this workshop we would be drawing some very challenging subjects....and he wasn’t kidding!  He went on to say, “you can’t make a mistake; it’s amazing what a little watercolor does to your sketch.”  When traveling, he suggested taking your camera, Paynes gray, a couple of brushes, pencils and your sketchbook.  David likes the blue XL Mix Media, 7” x 10”, 98 lb, by Canson, because of the weight of the paper.

Our Sketchbook Tour began....we started sketching using a pencil.  We imagined that we were inside the airport terminal, looking out the window at the plane that we would be traveling in....”now sketch it and do it quickly.”  David said that sketching quickly is a very valuable skill to develop.  He gave us 3 to 4 minutes to sketch the plane.  This was a complex subject.  Where to start the sketch was the question from the class.  We knew from previous classes with David that you start sketching a bird with its beak and for portrait of a person, with their hair or hat.  The answer, “start with what’s closest to you.”  We started with the tail of the plane.  David reminded us of his “stop, look, go” technique...more on that later.

Next, we sketched ‘Bob and Judy sleeping on the plane’.  We started with Bob and sketched the top of his head or hair and attached the shape of the face to it; added the pillow, placed the nostril and eyes.  Repeat with Judy.  Breakfast at the Imperial Hotel was our next sketch...start with shapes and add another shape, etc.  David said that the skill is to ‘do it’ quickly, using his ‘stop, look, go’ technique and key is ‘don’t lift the pencil off the page.’  The next day we added Paynes gray to our sketches after watching David demonstrate.  We also did several other fast sketches of an auto rickshaw and birds with only a 15 second peak at the reference.  The objective was to improve our observation skills.  David said, “you need to tap into visual memory, so that when you see something in a moment you can then sketch it quickly.”

TIP: “Stop, Look, Go” technique - Start sketching, stop but keep the pencil on the page, look at the image and decide where to go next.  Don’t lift the pencil off the page.

At the start of the workshop on Saturday and Sunday morning, David guided us through his Meditative Drawing technique to quiet and center us.  But first, he shared why he paints India...how it all began.  After art school in 1967, David practiced yoga with his teacher, Alice Christensen and his guru, Swami Rama of Haridwar, India.  David made many trips to India starting in 1970.  In 1985, he had a vivid dream to “paint India”.  A Goddess came to him in his dream, startling him and with clarity said, “Begin with my birds!”.  His “Painted Storks of India” was his first.  David told us to pay attention to our dreams and intuition.  He went on to define meditation as not a prayer...you are not asking God for anything.  “If for any reason God, in full form, appears in front of you, don’t ask Him for anything.  If you don’t ask, God may be here to give you ‘more’.”
With cell phones off, we positioned ourselves comfortably around a live plant (‘Money Tree’ on Saturday and on Sunday an orchid) that we were to draw.  The concept of one-pointed focus in yoga is called ekagrata (a state of calmness from a state of evenness).  And we began...for the next 10 to 15 minutes we focused on drawing the plant.  David said, “Start drawing at the top of the plant closest to you and draw what you see.”  For the orchid, David instructed us to find the blossom nearest to us and at the top.  He went on to say “don’t draw through the blossoms, but draw front and then back, draw the spatial relationship.”  Then, for the next 5 minutes we moved into a yogic breathing pattern, breathing gently in & out.  That was followed by 10 minutes of stillness/silence.  David said to go inward and quiet your mind’s conversation.  Relax the voice in your mind and go into stillness.  Some of us found that very hard to do....right, Laurie?

Now for the more challenging subjects David promised.  We painted a camel with rider as a silhouette against an orange sunset, the Amber Fort, which was more about the drawing than perspective, and a two-page landscape scene of the back side to the Taj.  In complex subjects, ask “how would I paint this?”

Click these links for detailed examples of the sketching/painting of the Camel, Amber Fort and Taj Mahal

          Sketching:     Camel     Amber Fort     Taj Mahal
          Painting:        Camel     Amber Fort     Taj Mahal

Here are tips that David gave us:

Remember to draw shapes.  It’s not hard if done in pieces (shapes).

Draw with a singular line, not 5 lines!

Where are the lightest, brightest, whitest parts of the painting?

Where are the darkest darks?

David was trying to eradicate our fear of challenging subjects.  David challenged us to avoid those prejudged feelings of “I am not” or “I can’t”.  And suggested we change the statement to a supportive statement like, “How would I paint or draw that?”  David said that when he asked this question, an answer came to him in a ‘different form’.  He went on to say your own intuition delivers guidance to you, but you need to ask.  Intuition is ‘female’...develop your ability to hear her, let her tell you ‘what to do next?’  “Be patient and coax your own creativity along.”

This was a great weekend workshop in so many ways....thank you, David and Deanna, too.