LOOK OUT! Here's a LOOKOUT!

Details!  Details!  Details!  I have a love hate relationship with them!  When it comes to sketching them, they have me hook line and sinker!  Of the many times I hiked up to the Barrier Lake Fire Lookout in all seasons, the photo I captured in the collage below, is one of my favourites.  It was late spring, there was still a skiff of snow present.  The Lookout Lady just arrived for the season to begin her work.  This Fire Lookout sits high up on McConnell Ridge with a  grand view of the Bow Valley Corridor which is the area she is responsible for watching over.

I opted for a non-smooth surface for this project.  Like I mentioned before, it lends a rough rugged look.  I learned that lots of sketchers trace their project from the photograph.  That was surprising news to me!  I have been drawing my entire projects free-hand which I will continue to do.  As I got deeper into laying the outlines of this Lookout, I wondered did I get in over my head with the details!  As I began adding  colour, I felt the love pour out!  It's all in the details:  shovel, chain across the deck entrance, wind flag, clothesline, chimney, signs, buckets, door handle.    

During one of my hikes up here, the colourful wind flag was replaced with a Canadian Flag wind sock.  This was a small simple photo to sketch and was done on a piece of coloured pencil paper that measured 6 inches by 8 inches.  Life at a Lookout intrigues me!