“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton
Cervená Lhota, or red village, is a beautiful renaissance château located in Czech Republic. Normally the castle or château would appear a vibrant red color, but since I wanted to play with reflection and charcoal it is just black and white. Since doing this drawing I thought it would be fun to do a similar sketch using the rich clay, terracotta colors of contè crayons.
19 x 24 Charcoal
To see what the château really looks like check out Château Cervená Lhota.
Banff, Alberta, Canada
…one of my favorite places to visit for many reasons: beautiful breathtaking scenery for myself and my husband, quaint little gift shops for my girls, and an awesome candy store for my son.
12 x 18 Charcoal Sketch on blue-tinted paper
I am always amazed at the beauty that surrounds us, whether prairie or mountain, sky or earth, old or new – all you have to do is stop and look (or maybe I should say see). 🙂 Inspired after a trip to Banff I decided it was time to try sketch a landscape. I have to say that it was an experiment and I never intended to finish it. I wanted to know what effect black and white charcoal would have on blue-tinted paper. When I started the sketch I struggled with the cold feeling. I really wanted to add brown tones to warm up the sketch, but refrained and I’m glad I did. I enjoy the cool feel it created. It fits with our week in Alberta – cold and snow! 🙂