Sketchbook Drawings of Zion from the Thomas Moran Paint Out

Tonight at our Watercolor Society meeting I showed my sketchbook from the "Footsteps of Thomas Moran" paint-out. It reminded me that I had not posted many of the drawings on the blog. So here goes:

This was a pencil study of an old snag in East Zion. I decided to throw in a few watercolor washes in the style of Thomas Moran.

I was really looking for a place to duck into the shade one afternoon when I sketched this image of the Pulpit and the Altar along the river near Sinawava.

Thomas Moran had sketched from this vantage point where the Zion Visitor's Center now stands. However I chose to sketch the West Wall showing the back of The Streaked Wall, the Beehives, and part of the Sentinel.

I did this study of a tree along the Virgin River near Big Bend. I was using the technique of drawing negative shapes to create the branches and foliage.

The Temple of Sinawava rises abruptly on the East wall behind the entrance to the Zion Narrows Trail. You have to look practically straight up just to sketch it. In the photo below I am holding my sketchbook high to check my drawing.