Friday, August 12, 2011

Southern Virginia


Looking East, graphite/white pencil on gray paper, 7x7
Sometimes, when driving home in the late afternoon, it's hard to keep my eyes on the road.  The sky is always beautiful.  I recently detoured to a side road and checked the view from atop what I've always known as Tharpe's Hill--just off Route 58.  I looked east towards my hometown of Clarksville and saw about fifteen miles of rolling hills and tree tops--all green.  A great place to live and breathe.

I'm still playing with my pencils.  This paper is from a Martha Stewart pad, something I picked up at Michael's, for crafting I believe.  It's acid-free--grays and browns-- but has a sheen; not the best for drawing but it was handy and fun.

19 comments:

  1. Love your sky! It sounds like a great place to live and draw. Martha makes paper?

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  2. well, there's two words I wouldn't have guessed I'd read in your blog: "Martha Stewart" haha! I love this pencil drawing of such a big expanse!

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  3. Wow! I can get lost in that sky. It's so vibrant. Nice use of your "handy and fun" materials.

    -Don

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  4. Oh Hallie! This is beautiful! Gorgeous job with graphite.

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  5. Your sky caught my eye when I saw it as a thumbnail on my blog page, the openness draws me in and I loved hearing about the actual location that inspired you to draw this. I am envious of your drawing skills.

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  6. Hi Carole. I think the paper is probably for scrap-booking or something crafty. I don't get to supply stores often so I just pick up some of everything. Thanks.


    Surprise Celeste. I actually like some of Martha's linens and paint colors (and was a stockholder for a while). When I'm driving I always look for a "Celeste tree." There are so many, it's impossible to find THE ONE.

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  7. Thanks Don. Growing up in the country, I did a lot of cloud-watching (watching trees grow wasn't that exciting).


    Thank you, Autumn Leaves. I've always loved pencils and skies.

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  8. Hi Robin. This sky reminded me of some of your crashing waves. Skies are fun--just make them up. For a while it looked like the lower part of a giant bearded face. I still enjoy sitting on the front porch watching the clouds drift and identifying shapes.

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  9. Wonderfully different textures in this drawing, Hallie. Compared to fickle clouds, watching trees grow is totally zen. It takes time but is so worth is. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."

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  10. Beautiful Hallie! I'm glad you're still enjoying your pencils. I can see why- you have a tremendous talent with them.
    I have a paper addiction. In my studio I have two dressers for supplies and most of the drawers are full of papers. I fantasize how I might use them all the time.
    Will you use your charcoal sticks next? :-)))

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  11. Thank you SamArtDog. We don't have any of your purple mountain ranges or desertification; we do have great skies and trees. I just did another "good thing." I read your blog from end to beginning and saw some beautiful works. I wondered, though--are you accident prone?


    Weekend--welcome back. I really enjoy the simple--pencil and paper.

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  12. Hi Pam and thank you. Don't save your paper; take it out of the drawers and use it. I have the awful habit of starting with junky paper, and I should know by now that the first drawing is usually the best.

    I was thinking of charcoal--that calls for larger drawings (and I do have the right paper). I also just bought something called liquid pencil--might have to read directions for that. I tend to think of drawing as resting between paintings; not enough angst to call them art. (I probably do 4 or 5 drawings every week--when I sit, I draw--it's a habit.)

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  13. Hallie, I swear that as many years as I take drawing classes, I will never be this good at it. Beautiful! I know that getting those clouds is quite a challenge. I love the versatility and eclectic mix of art that you do.

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  14. Mary, I swear I think you could do this. You just need gray paper, a black pencil, a white pencil, an eraser, and--most important--a little finger for blending. This is the first time I've tried a sky with graphite; I have been skywatching, though, for a long, long, long time. Who would know if I made a mistake?

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  15. I was back here a few days ago - and thought I commented. This summer has had me awfully busy, and I don't know where I am going or where I have been. Anyway, I don't know the area you mention specifically, but it totally reminds me of a drive we took a few years ago down a scenic highway in the Appalachians. The clouds seemed to drip up and over the landscape, and it was a marvel to see. The values with your pencils are great.

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  16. Thank you Dan. Since I never know where I am, I looked at a Virginia map--I'm about 100 miles east of the mountains. Rt. 58 runs along the southern border of VA and it's hilly in my area. Sometimes, on the crest of a hill, I can see for miles--just trees and sky (but I keep an eye out for deer and rabbits and turtles and dogs and cats and raccoons and possums and snakes). This might make you envious: It's a four-lane 60mph highway and, during a 20-mile drive, I might see only six other cars.

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  17. Hi Hallie
    Lovin' the pencil/graphite/smudgin' landscape...

    58 must come from the edge of the continent right across the state since I can pick it up just a few miles from my home here at the coast.
    Ilove the way you move through the world...
    all of this is fabulous:

    "I never know where I am, I looked at a Virginia map--I'm about 100 miles east of the mountains. Rt. 58 runs along the southern border of VA and it's hilly in my area. Sometimes, on the crest of a hill, I can see for miles--just trees and sky (but I keep an eye out for deer and rabbits and turtles and dogs and cats and raccoons and possums and snakes). This might make you envious: It's a four-lane 60mph highway and, during a 20-mile drive, I might see only six other cars."

    Not so here at the resort destination.

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  18. Thanks Donna. I've missed you and the Luna See newsletter--I think of you when I see the moon.

    Yes, I can drive two blocks--make a right on 58 and go to Virginia Beach, or make a left and go to Kentucky. We're not exactly a resort here on Kerr Lake (Buggs Island), but my town has TWO traffic lights. I do not miss the DC Beltway or the MD traffic.

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