Creating a Pencil Drawing for a Painting - Guernsey Cliffs - Art and Photography

I am staying on the island of Guernsey for the next weeks and I have spent the last couple of days gathering photo reference for a series of painting of Guernsey especially coastal scenes. I was born in Guernsey so it's always nice to visit especially when it is summer.

My favourite area of Guernsey is the south coast cliffs especially around areas such as Icart Point. The south coast of Guernsey has inspired many artists to paint including 19th Century painter William Trost Richards and Renoir.

Before I get into a painting I always do pencil sketches first so I can plan the composition. This is the final sketch of the Guernsey south coast cliffs which I will refer to when I start my oil painting (hopefully tomorrow).

I feel it's important to do a pencil sketch of the scene you are going to paint as you get an idea of what the painting could look like. Pencil sketches also help to establish the overall tonality of the landscape which can then be applied to the painting.

In order to establish my tonal ranges in my drawing I used five pencils including 4H, 2H, HB, 2B and 4B. I use 4H pencils for objects in the distance, in the case the headland. I will use softer pencils to achieve darker tones as I sketch elements in the foreground.

Here are two of my reference photos that I have used. I really like the shadows in the cliffs as they are backlit by the sun, they should create a dynamic contrast between light and dark values in my painting...when I start it.

The south coast cliffs of Guernsey are truly beautiful, I can't wait to start my painting.

I hope you liked this post, I have more art on my website: samuelearp.com