The Perfect Frame

[By Stephanie Bower, Seattle in Hawai’i] Using a frame to help you create a sketch is often really helpful…using the frame as reference, you can immediately see how high or low something is relative to the sides of the frame, and also how far across right or left using the top of the frame.  Doorways, arched openings, are great frames to use for sketches.

However, what do you do when sitting in a natural scene, like on the beach in Hawai’i?  Use a natural frame!  Beach 69 was probably the most beautiful beach we went to, as it’s shaded with really beautiful, sculptural trees, some of which grow horizontally.  I couldn’t resist this view through the trees–sketched and painted in the sand, under an umbrella…ah, paradise and the perfect frame!

Similar concept here, a morning sketch from the lanai with a peekaboo view to the water.  I used the palm trees to measure how high my horizon line was and to located other elements in the view…

It was a much needed trip to the sun…

a welcome break from the rainiest winter on record in Seattle!!