When doing sketches for future possible paintings or murals

SUGGESTION: if you are doing contour drawings, that is great! BUT if you then want to make these into paintings, you might consider doing some additional note taking...

Since painting deals with almost EVERYTHING ELSE, except LINE (which contour drawing ONLY DEALS WITH)...then perhaps you need to take a few more notes with that drawing.

1. do a quick value study: 3 values...the lightest, is your paper...then 2 more...the darkest areas, and the middle value...doing this, when you go to paint, you will have reference AS TO WHAT VALUE YOU HAD IN THE SCENERY!!!

2. also take notes as to the COLOR...general flat color: blue, greens, reds, etc. BUT ALSO, the color temperature shifts. Each primary color, also has variations in them....from PURE COLOR (out of the tube) to either lighter or darker (and these are caused not merely from adding white...as a color shifts in value, it also shifts in temperature!!! Warm to cool...)

3. ALSO, you need to become aware of EDGES... Which a line drawing does not always denote. Edges ... Their softness or hardness helps do two things: control where the viewer's eye travels, and also describes the closeness or distance an object is to the viewer! If the line is SHARP, obviously it is in FOCUS, and possibly CLOSER...if SOFTER, it is OUT OF FOCUS, and possibly further away....

Because a painter is working on a FLAT surface, we have to create THE ILLUSION of space, depth, and this is done by only a few things: COLOR (warm to cool)... VALUE (dark to light)...TEMPERATURE (how warm a color is... Red to orange to yellow to green to blue...these descend in temperature....BUT also, each color has warm and cool colors within them: A warm RED is a Cadmuim, whereas a cool red is ALIZERIAN....the warm red has more YELLOW, the cool red has more BLUE...

Any way...enough of that... Just think of these things, when you are out drawing, and keep in mind that if you want to turn that drawing into a painting, then take notes, or do small color notes, so that when you go back to your studio, you have something to refer to, and not just your memory!!!