Of course, as I often say, it’s all just shapes. Don’t let anything intimidate you. You’re sketching to learn, to experience, to relax, to celebrate and to immerse yourself in the now—don’t make it a chore. Don’t say or think that you can’t because it’s too hard. It’s not. However you express yourself, it’s fine.
Work fast and capture the basic shapes, or take your time and work slowly and meditatively—whatever approach works for you at the time. Ask yourself questions, if that helps you to see more clearly. For instance, how wide does that road look in the distance in comparison to the foreground? How does that tree limb join the main trunk and how big does it appear in relation? What kind of texture does that boulder have?
Trust your eyes and your perceptions! Draw what you see, not what you think you know. Draw what you’re feeling, too. If a different color scheme expresses your mood better than the colors you see, use them. Sometimes I like to add color to my sketches later, rather than trying to match the colors I see before me. It’s freeing.
Here, I went for more detail by using only a single, large waterbrush and a small dip pen loaded with watercolor for the more linear areas. (The biggest normal waterbrush is about the size of an average no. 6 round watercolor brush.)
From left to right: Large waterbrush, no. 8 round brush and a 1⁄2" (1.25cm) flat brush.
When you’re painting a landscape, the size of the paper you’re working on may dictate your tools or materials. I was working relatively small on the sketch of Cooley Lake here, and used a number of small strokes with my waterbrush. Other times, you may need a brush that holds a lot more water and pigment than a waterbrush can.