Practicing on a weird format

 I was given field sketchbooks that are 5 by 8 inches, which must fit well in a pocket (if I had one). Using this format when I was drawing outside or in waiting rooms and such places, I found the format kind of odd. The height of portrait mode lets you get closer to a subject, and this more horizontal format encourages a more panoramic view- incorporating larger amounts of information and making it hard to decide on a point of interest or focal point.

 Out in open air cafes, I produced lightweight pencil lines with unbalanced, indecisive compositions that I felt uninspired to finish or adapt to any purpose later!

I shot a panorama and attempted to draw it out roughly as underpainting. This was done with acrylic gouache, which I had not used before. As it turns out, the colours were far to concentrated and intense, and it would have worked better ragged on thinly with a more precise drawing on top. Precise but NOT DETAILED.

Kind of a mess. Since gouache is opaque, I should be able to correct this in subsequent layers.

I used the iPad to capture line positioning in spots critical to cramming it all in perspective.

The colours dry so darker than when mixed. I can also see where limited palette would be better. Getting the sun to shine is challenging.