Urban Sketchers Midwest

On Tuesday, Nov. 24 I decided I needed to get out of the office over lunch, and went to the Western entrance of The Prairie Center just West of Olathe. If you haven't been there, you might want to check it out some weekend. If you follow 135th street west out of Olathe, you'll find it. There are trails that wind back through 300 acres of tallgrass preserve...you can read about it here: http://bit.ly/1YA0dXS

For this painting, I decided to focus on the shapes and pattern of colors rather than a slavish representation of what I could see. I ended up painting the sky a bit darker/gloomier than it really was, and intensified the colors of the distant hill. Overall, however, it's not far off from the real scene. It's a small painting at just 8" by 8" - but it's a convenient size for sketching, especially on a chilly day when I'm confined to my car. 

I used a new paper from a North KC company called Shizen Design - http://www.shizendesign.com Check out their website for more info, you have to register, or look them up on Facebook. The paper is 100% post-consumer waste and has a very rough texture and deckle edges. It varies a little bit from sheet to sheet in how it absorbs water and paint, but the texture I get from it is worth a little bit of uncertainty. I bought the paper at Artist & Craftsman's Supply on Southwest Blvd in KC, MO. If you haven't been there, I would also suggest you check into it. Looks small on the outside, but it's much larger than you would imagine.