João Crisóstomo

Tips of the Week: Drawing a Tree
A simple 5 mins tree with Chartpak markers:  First outlined it with red or 6B pencil and render leaves with Grass Green and Nile Green; trunk with Buff, Suntan and Mocha.  Finally outlined it with black Sharpie and hit it with Prismacolor pencils – Poppy Red and True Blue.  Always apply markers from lighter to da…[Read more]

Matt – From what I understand, the U.S. Botanic Garden does not support the lawsuit.  I believe this to be true because out of the three organizations, the U.S. Botanic Garden has the greatest legal resources and influence.   If the USBG was unhappy with the trademark request as filed by UT, they would have joined the legal battle to stop it and w…[Read more]

Thanks for your insights.   Having worked on a Pilot Project for some time I have a great deal of respect for SITES and the comprehensive approach it brings.   I can’t believe that there is some kind of a power struggle going on over what is essentially the bookkeeping.  However, stepping back I don’t think that any one of the partners should ha…[Read more]

Matt – Currently, SITES is not a separate entity.  The Executive Committee is made up of the ASLA, the Wildflower Center which is a part of UT and the US Botanic Garden.  SITES staff who work with the various committees and lead the development of the metric and educational materials are located in Austin at the Wildflower Center.  Liz Guthrie, Ma…[Read more]

Since the petition from ASLA and press release from UT are contradictory, please help me understand what’s going on with the following questions:

• UT States: “UT has never had a formal partnership or any legal agreement with ASLA, despite our efforts over the past two years to develop one.”    ASLA states : ” The SITES trademarks were developed th…

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In regards to the ASLA SITES Petition update,  publicly airing dirty laundry is rarely a good idea.  Particularly when it is smattered with childish comments and obviously intended to discredit a former partner.  Landscape Architects and many others in the site design industry have worked tirelessly to prove our value to the green building in…[Read more]

The legal petition from ASLA and the formal response from UT definitely tell two different sides of the story.  Regardless of which side you fall, we should all agree that litigation is not good for SITES or the profession as a whole.  SITES v2 and the reference guide are scheduled to be released in the next couple months and projects will f…[Read more]

Charles – you obviously have not read SITES closely or either don’t understand it.  It is a performance base metric – the opposite of prescriptive design.  Also, I challenge you to certify a project.  In my work, I have found that those who believe they have been “doing it for 40 years” have great difficulty meeting the minimum criteria.  

Interesting.  Two entities fighting over who will make money selling another guide to prescriptive design.  There is nothing new in the SITES project except adding points up to get to some magical level so you can pin a gold star on your wall.  We really don’t need another entity telling us how to design sustainable projects.  We have been doi…[Read more]

Hi Heather – definitely disappointing to see. Just saw the announcements; have read both press statements that describe very different points of view. What do you think the key disagreement is and what will take to resolve?

Better attitude can affect your drawing skills immensely Ever since I have changed my attitude to be better and looser, my drawing skills improved drastically. These are what I have changed: * I will no longer want to compete with my peers, just want to draw better than my wife, that is all. * I begin to realize that the more mistakes I have made…[Read more]

TIP OF THE WEEK: How to place people in a sketch
It is very easy to place people in sketches or perspectives with the following rules:
1. You must assume yourself is a 5 ft tall person and people you are drawing are all 5 ft. tall just like you.
2. Draw an eye line on paper, then sketch or trace people with their eyes located on the eye line.
3.…[Read more]

Do you have hard time drawing good looking trees?  Here are some tips:
1. Use of a black pen and outlines the tree with one of the four leaf languages –    Concave, Convex, Wendy and McDonald.
2. Don’t draw any details inside a tree, just apply it with 45 degree strokes,solid     color or leave it blank.
3. Use only one language per tree or grass,…[Read more]

Tips of the “Loose Sketch” with Marker and PenBeLoose Graphic Workshop – Mike Lin

Tips of the Loose Sketch with Marker and Pen
Often when you like make sketches to be loose and lovely with markers and pen, here are some tips to help you achieve great results and satisfactions:

• Paper: Use of paper towel, napkin or any rough texture…

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