Outdoor Sketching (3 of 3): Drawing Open Spaces (Patreon)

When drawing outside, different subjects come with different drawing challenges. In the wider landscape, we have the unique situation of working with a very large space, and lots of distinctive natural textures. Drawing is a valuable way of gaining understanding of this subject.

In this instalment of Outdoor Sketching, we'll be looking at how to draw natural textures common in landscapes, and how to better portray space in our landscape drawing. 

Main image: West Pier with Gulls

Drawing Natural Textures

There are many unique textures present in nature, especially with landscape subjects such as water or clouds. Here are few, common to many landscapes. Remember that even these subjects can have lots of individual variation.

Clouds can be an interesting subject all on their own. To start, I've blocked in the shapes of the clouds, and then added large areas of tone. Even though the sky is bright, the white of the clouds is lighter, so we need to add some tone for the sky. Clouds tend to vary in how soft and hard their boundaries are; some have a very solid look, with a few 'torn' looking edges, whilst others are quite diaphanous. Here I've kept the edges soft with a few exceptions where the light catches some dense cloud.

Rocks, like clouds, come in a variety of types, but occupy their own range of solid and hard textures. The process of drawing is similar in that it requires working from large forms to small ones. I have started by blocking out some simple interpretations of the shapes, and then tightening this up to find the edges. These edges imply the texture – steady curves imply a smooth surface, whilst wobbly edges imply a more rugged texture. From here I add some broad tonal shapes to create a 'base' for the texture. The final step is the most time consuming, as the textures are built up. Darker pencils are used to create an extra layer of tone to establish the deeper crevices.

Waves are a constantly moving subject. The first thing you want to do is nail down the placement of them. It helps to watch for a few moments, as they will repeat common shapes as they hit the shore. Once you have a shape, start to block in some tone around the white areas of foam – for these to stand out, everything else needs to be darker. Here I've started by blocking out the rhythm, then defining shapes as I add some flat tone. To draw the broken up areas of foam, focus only on the dark shapes in between. These fit together like a jigsaw. They will be constantly moving, so it is fine to simplify them – try to focus on the type of shape they form – is it rounded or pointy? Is there a common direction? Here there is a swirling, marble-like rhythm. Once these shapes are defined, I go through with a darker pencil to add some directional lines. To finish, I work around the foam to add definition.

Portraying Wider Spaces

One major challenge to drawing open spaces is portraying the scale of the drawing. Without elements to help cue ideas about size, and indicate perspective, we risk things looking flat. 

The beach and water create a ground plane to this scene. Water will create a flat surface (save the waves), as it fills up any space it can flow into.

A ground plane is an important feature of any outdoor drawing, but is especially essential in a wider space. It provides a place for subjects such as trees and rocks to sit on. It is even helpful have one to relate to the perspective of clouds.

When drawing the ground, think about how it is undulating – this varies a lot depending on where you are, and may be anything from near-flat, to angled like a mountainside. Using contour lines can help describe this. Different textures can also help show this, as texture should follow a surface. 

Perugino – 'Landscape' The placement of the trees on the hill in this drawing are an effective device for describing the undulation. We know implicitly that the trees are attached to the ground, so their placement is an effective way of showing how steep the ground is.

Maejima Sōyū – 'Landscape' The illusion of depth in this drawing is created by consecutive layers of trees, which overlap mist, which overlap mountains, and finally another layer of mountains in the background.

Overlap is an important tool in portraying space and perspective. In our field of view, things that are closest to us overlap things that are more distant. Look for any excuse to overlap elements! Sometimes overlap is blatant, such as by having larger elements in the front of a scene overlap more distant ones, but other times is it more subtle, such as indicating where ground planes pass in front of subjects, such as with small hills.

Vincent van Gogh – 'Marsh with Water Lillies' Here we can see how Van Gogh has used his marks not only to indicate different textures, but also imply diminishment; as they are used to describe more distant things, they get smaller. The lillies also help convey perspective by shrinking as we get 'deeper' into the picture.

Scale and mark size can also be a useful tool when drawing outdoor scenes. As things get further away, they get smaller. When we want to convey a sense of space, try to look for ways to include this, be it with repeating elements such as plants or trees, or by using different sized marks.

Dog with Windmills

Sometimes natural features, such as rocks or trees can be hard to define a size for, as they can vary a lot. One way to avoid this uncertainty of scale is to include familiar elements, such as humans, animals, or buildings.

Rodolphe Bresdin – 'The Mountain Stream' We gain an understanding of the scale of the rock structures thanks to the figures in this landscape.

Paul Huet - 'Mountain View at Oisans'

Atmospheric perspective is another useful tool in portraying depth and space. As things get further away, the amount of air between them and us increases. Water vapour in the air scatters light, so the more air there is, more light gets scattered. The result is that the farther away something is, the fainter it looks. It will also take on a bluer hue, as red light scatters more easily. (This is why things appear bluer underwater.) This effect varies in strength; in places with low humidity and very clean air, it is noticeably weaker.

Over to You

When drawing outside, try to include a variety of different spaces and environments. This gives you a wider variety of subjects and help you practise with new textures and subjects. It is often a good idea to walk around the area you want to draw first and seek out interesting spots. 

Palace Pier

Don't feel like every drawing has to be a long effort. Experiment with different compositions and practising different textures through short drawings. This is especially true if you are looking for ideas to develop into bigger projects; doing lots of short studies is a good way of testing things.

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This is the third in Lancelot's 'Outdoor Sketching' series, commissioned using money raised here on the Draw Patreon. 

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