Searching For Success In A Hot Mess Sketch
- At September 07, 2023
- By katzp
- In Process, Recent Work, Teaching, Travel
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La Palette, a famed historic bistro at the corner of Rue Jacques-Callot and Rue de Seine in Paris, has a storied past as a gathering spot for art students.
It’s reported that Cezanne, Picasso and Braque were also frequent patrons.
Step inside and you will find a variety of palettes and paintings adorning the walls above and around the bar.
It’s an interesting place with tons of atmosphere. It’s also a complicated building to capture in a sketch with its varied awnings and angles. There’s just a whole lot going on in the scene.
La Palette 2017 Version #1
I’ve sketched this bistro on location on two difference occasions – six years apart. First in 2017 and again in 2023.
Overall, I’m happier with the earlier version as it’s a lot less complicated. And I think I did a better job of capturing the light and shadows.
La Palette Paris Verision 2 – 2023
Although the line work in the more recent version #2 is livelier, overall it feels like a bit of a hot mess. That said, as with many things, parts of it are promising.
Mostly I think what didn’t work in version #2 is the composition. There are way too many elements competing for attention.
It doesn’t help that the strong color on the dark woodwork pulls your eye in so many different directions.
As a way of thinking about what actually worked and searching for success in the midst of a hot mess, I played the cropping game.
I picked out pieces of sketch #2 that were stronger than the whole. It’s an interesting way to rethink composition possibilities.
None of these crops is an ideal sketch on its own, but each of them shows promise as a potential zoomed-in, stand-alone composition.
See what you think and feel free to weigh in with your comments.
Around The Corner
Tall Crop Right
Front Corner Low
Horizontal Crop
Tall Crop Left
Sharron Schoenfeld
I agree Pat, the earlier painting is less complicated and easier to read. But! They’re both awesome, you are so good at sketching plein air!
katzp
Thanks Sharron. I love being outdoors with the paints. There’s something about being in the moment that is so engaging.
Bonnie
I love this perspective…choosing pieces that are stronger than the whole.
katzp
It’s a helpful exercise, Bonnie. The opportunity is there to even go back and look at earlier work that was discarded along the way to see what might be learned from the bits that work.