Torngats 25 - Seaweed on the Beach

Seaweed is Abundant Along the Shoreline  

Bladderwrack seaweeds are important for fish and birds...  

...and it's fun to pop the bubbles, too.   

Free-floating clumps of seaweed are common in the open water and along the shoreline in Saglek Fjord. The brown algae shelters  small organisms which are a food source for fish and birds. Humans eat it this seaweed too, it's a good source of iodine and other nutrients.  

Torngats 23 - Bannock on the Beach

Baking Bannock on a Flat Rock over an Open Fire

At North Arm, open fire hearths have cooked food and fed families...  

... for hundreds of years.   

North Arm has been a gathering place going back many generations. Archaeologists have excavated ancient cooking fires and hearth pits going back hundreds or possibly thousands of years - exactly the same as ours here. With a fire made of driftwood, and some simple tools, we were soon enjoying bannock and char and tea, with good appetites. 

Art Every Day Month - Nov 27 -

Blanc Sablon Surf

Blanc Sablon Surf - high winds and heavy storm surge beat surf onto the exposed shoreline  

Source photo

Yesterday's forecast for high winds was accurate, and the predicted storm took all day to blow itself out. Here on the exposed shoreline, it was difficult to stand upright, let alone walk outside the vehicle, but the brilliant sunshine and the intense blue colors in the sea and the sky were worth the effort.

Preliminary Drawing - Pinware River 5 - Rocky Textures

Preliminary Drawing for Bones of the Earth series
"Pinware River 5, Labrador" Rocky Textures
Digital Drawing, 800px x 600px


Drawings are made up of marks of different sizes and shapes that resolve in the viewer's mind and suggest the experience of looking at something tangible - in this case, the rocky textures along a riverbank, above and below water.
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Preliminary Drawing: Littoral 1

Preliminary Drawing for "Bones of the Earth" series
"Littoral" - The Strand, Red Bay, Labrador.
Graphite on paper, 9" x 11"


At the same time as I am having fun observing the erosion effects of the rocks in this area, I am also having fun with the technical names of the features I am portraying.

The word "Littoral" relates to a shore, especially the sea-shore, and most particularly in a coastal region, the shore zone between high and low water marks.

I suppose I could have said, "Rocks at Low Tide" but that other word is a lot more interesting!

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Rocks 6

Rocks 6
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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"

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Shape. Well, form, really. Shape is the two dimensional aspect of what we see and Form is the three dimensional aspect. Cezanne said there are four basic forms: the cone, the cube, the cylinder, and the sphere.

Rocks are "formed" chunks of solidified magma that have been chipped apart and worn away to varying degrees. The more the rocks are weathered and tumbled by wind and wave motion - and depending on the softness of the materials they are made of - the smoother the surface and the more rounded the form they have.

To draw realistic looking rocks requires paying attention to how the 3D form of the rock produces highlights and shadows, and then to rendering them as lighter and darker 2D areas flat on the paper.

Rocks 5

Rocks 5
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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"
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Lines don't exist in nature. So why is it that we see lines everywhere we look? Well, lines are a shortcut that our minds use so we don't have to process all that other information.

In these three rocks we can see lines, or bands of contrasting material in the rock. These stripes of white running all the way around the outside of each rock are actually narrow layers of quartz sandwiched inside the rock mass. The wider the line, the thicker the layer of quartz. The banding looks different on each rock because the part we see follows the outside contours of that rock. We don't see the rest of the quartz layer that's on the inside of the rock.
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Rocks 4

Rocks 4
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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"
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There is a logic to the arrangement of lights and shadows in a drawing. Some of the light and dark tones come from the color of the object being drawn, and some more come from the highlights and cast shadows that are created by illumination on the object. As well, some light tones and dark tones are placed by the artist to make the drawing look better or work better as a composition.


In this drawing there is a single light source, the sun, which is coming from the upper right, and casting shadows under the left sides of the rocks. There are surface shadows on the rocks as well, indicating texture, and there is reflected light shining into the darkest areas of the still life and revealing hidden forms. The effects may appear subtle, but light and shadow are what make a drawing.
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Rocks 3

Rocks 3
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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"
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As we generally see rocks, they are part of a larger group, a pile of boulders, a beach full of pebbles, an aggregate of gravel in cement or asphalt.
If you select one single stone, weigh it in your hand and observe its contours and colors and markings, you will start to become aware that it has a unique appearance. You could easily identify this rock from a group of others. It assumes an individual quality.

In drawing these rocks, I set them out almost like putting characters on a stage, the "star performer" in the front and the "chorus" at the rear. To separate them, I made use of design techniques such as value contrast, overlapping and variations in sizes. But what really happened is that the individual characteristics of each stone become apparent. I think that's what the drawing really communicates.
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Rocks 2

Rocks 2

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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"

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In this arrangement, there are two beach rocks, which have been tumbled and rubbed by wave action for many years, and one pebble from a pile of gravel, which was crushed to a standard size and deliberately made sharp and rough for industrial purposes.

Just as there is a difference in the texture of these rocks, there is a difference in the way we react to them... the beach rocks are pleasant to hold, smooth and firm. The piece of gravel is easier to grip and the crystals of quartz exposed on its surface sparkle in the sunshine.

In the end, they are just rocks, but what a difference between them!

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Rocks 1

Rocks 1

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Graphite on paper, 6.5" x 10"

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Still life studies are great for training the eye's observation and also for developing the skills of technique.

Rocks are tricky objects to use for still life... rocks are not as attractive as flowers or fruit, and they are not regular in shape, and thus not as easy to represent as vases or books are.

And, if you still think that rocks are easy to draw, remember that our minds have learned to estimate the shape and weight of objects from the arrangements of lights and shadows that our retinas receive. And in order to look "real," a drawing of rocks must refer to the laws of physics every bit as much as a drawing of flowers or vases does.

Rocks are a challenge... and I enjoy challenges!

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