Martha Pechlivanidou

I just attended the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in LAX.  What an amazing track and golf course that is! Is anyone else involved in the golf scene?

IFLA Europe General Assembly 2013 takes place in Berlin!

You may not have considered being part of the core activities of the IFLA Europe GA or the BDLA 100 year celebrations but we would like to offer you an additional opportunity to benefit from the magnificent landscape diversity of the host city!
Within the framework of the GA and BDLA…[Read more]

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…

[Read more]

cool group!!! super excited to be a member here!!! thanks!!

If possible Luke, I would recommend travel sketches over travel photography.  I find sketching to be a more sought after, rare skill.  Furthermore, sketches reveal more about what you are looking at and how you interpret a scene.  I’ve brought personal sketchbooks to interviews that demonstrate the range of activities I do, where I’ve been, and my…[Read more]

what are people’s opinion about adding travel photography in one’s portfolio?

The Illinois chapter of ASLA is looking for a landscape sketch artist to teach a sketch / rendering class in Chicago in the Spring of 2013.  Any artist / designer who is interested in teaching a class please contact me at mbarcelos@valleycrest.com and we can discuss fees and travel accomodations. 

Thank you very much for your comment Glenn, I enjoy designing spaces for people a loooottt, and feel fortunate to be in LA. Just getting a bit impatient about finding a LA job lol. 

Kai, I would say keep it to one page. That is what I always try to do. Cutting out something less important every time I have something to add to it. Although if you feel you have enough pertinent material to add, do so. But definitely no longer than 2 pages. I personally like the one pager.

Might take a while, all I can say is stick with it if…[Read more]

Hi everyone, so nice to have a place for discuss about Landscape Architecture. I recently graduated from LA program, and looking for a job. How long should resume be for a new graduate? 

The vertical walls based on hydroponics are fundamentally unsustainable.They rely on constant monitoring by humans, they are artificial lige supporting systems unless they are fully emulating conditions that exist in nature which is rare. Unless a system is developed that invites spontaneous colonisation by plants – like porous sponge ceramics or…[Read more]

good morning everybody

Land8 online has invited me to provide a free webinar on sustainable site design, small scale sites and residential landscapes on November 7th. What type of information you would find most useful?

Simple Tips of Applying Colors to a Drawing:
Do you know when we stare at a color (Blue for example), we actually saw the opposite color of the color wheel (Orange), these blue and orange colors are known as complementary colors in the color theory (see below left for a test). 

Therefore two colors (Blue-Orange, Red-Green, and Yellow-Purple)…[Read more]

Hi Brian, Thanks for your response, somehow I missed it until now. Vellum is a bit pricey, so I ended up buying Canson light weight bond which works a lot like marker paper. I like your trace on foamcore style too. How do you mount it?