A Way of Seeing

Gestalt or nuance? When we look at a photograph, I sense that we focus more on the gestalt, but when we sketch and paint, we are inevitably drawn towards more considered scrutiny of form, texture, color, light and shadow, and the relationship of objects. It’s my experience (of course, echoed by others), that painting becomes a way of seeing that deepens the perceptions and experiences of the artist. This quick pen and wash study is my first in my new Stillman & Birn Zeta notebook. And through the process, I saw the lookout scene with new eyes. I like the way the paper takes the pigments.

Having recently resumed sketching and watercolor art after a long, long hiatus I was, at first, cautious, afraid actually, of using the bush and water-based pigments to do anything beyond wash exercises. So, I thought, it was better to get my hand back in through sketching. Yes, that would be a way to wade into the waters of a spontaneous medium that celebrates boldness, a medium intolerant of fools. What to sketch? Why not cairns. Yes, cairns. They are everywhere in the Cascades and while some disdain their presence as they violate to ethics of ‘leave no trace,’ I often find them stunningly beautiful.

The cairn at the ridgeline at Maple Pass points north towards the jagged peaks of the North Cascades. Even though secured to the earth through force of gravity, they are, nonetheless, ephemeral as they do get knocked over, and added to.

The big cairn on the summit of Alta Mountain anchors a high point in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, a place to pause and gaze. And we did, resting, snacking, and telling mountain stories as our eyes looked north.

Other favorite mountain destinations are the summits that host the historic fire lookouts. I have only hiked to 13 of Washington State’s over 90 fire lookouts. But they have all been spectacular. Of course, I have my favorites. I have been to Granite Mountain Lookout 11 times. As a subject, there is a lot to recommend for both photography and sketching. I have posted numerous spherical panoramas of it at my gallery at 360Cities.net.   And now, one of this recent pair in pen and ink. It’s a little study and I had fun with it. However, I find the boulder fields difficult. It’s not yet easy to make a fast and loose rendition. Perhaps those with fewer boulders, like Alpine Lookout, Shriner Peak, and Kelly Butte will be more accommodating.

It soon became evident that I would have no lack of subject material, even in the dead of winter, as my deep library of mountain images would provide inspiration for interpretation. And, instead of feeling that I have to render each scene accurately, I know I will feel much freer if I adapt the attitude, that as much as I need to deeply see my subject, my job is to simply use it as a reference to create a sketch or painting that stands alone as its own unique statement.