Looking Down

Lately, I’ve sketched quite a few vistas where I’m looking down.

There’s all sorts of sensations to try and capture when you’re looking down. Do I let the viewer wander down gently on a meandering path? Or do I drop them off the edge of a cliff? Can I make you feel like you’ve plunged down when you hit an air-pocket in a plane? I am not sure I’ve articulated what I want to do before each of these sketches but maybe I will next time I draw a scene from a high-up viewpoint, and see if that helps me paint a clearer picture.

This is from the top of the Fortini Trail in South San Jose. Drawing with two inks and graphite as the rain starts to come down and creates some interesting effects. I let it patter down on my page for a good while and do it’s thing.

The view looking down a steep street in San Francisco. Trying to capture the ups and downs of the road over the hills.

Sketch in the early evening on a trail in Almaden, San Jose, looking down past the homes to hills in the distance.

And the view from a little hillock overlooking Almaden Lake.