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Today I went sketching in Hudson, New York with artist friends Janice Filkins and Gretchen Kelly. The City of Hudson is an old Hudson River town with fabulous architecture. It's filled with restaurants, antique shops, galleries, and small stores. You could stand just about anywhere and find something to sketch or paint!
We started out at the Hudson Opera House. I brought my Stillman & Birn Beta Series sketchbook that I reviewed yesterday, along with ink pens and watercolors. The sketch above is the Hudson Opera House, done from across the street with Private Reserve Chocolat ink and a waterbrush.
From there, we walked a couple of blocks to the exquisite Hudson Courthouse. This was done with Private Reserve Velvet Black and a waterbrush. The foliage was just starting to bud and there were flowering trees all over the town.
From the walkway to the courthouse, you can turn in any direction and find a charming scene to sketch. I could have stayed right there all day! I turned to the left and painted this row of colorful buildings. After two monochrome sketches, I desperately needed a color fix, so after drawing with ink and brushing out some values, I broke out my Koi watercolor kit to add splashes of color.
I am loving this Beta sketchbook! I've always been partial to stitch-bound/hardcover books, but I'm finding different advantages to working in a spiral.
