Tag: sketching

Day 172 (wed 6/21) Watercolor Crayons

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In my last “Artsnacks” package I received two Art Crayons… watercolor crayons!! They are fat and difficult to use for detail, but are also really creamy and fun. Once applied, they don’t smear or feel chalky or waxy, but water can be added for interesting effects. I think these could be really fun on a mixed media journal page.

Here I used watercolor crayons to fill out the background and hair, dipping a wet brush in the crayon to pick up enough to add shading and definition to the face, and highlighted with silver sharpie marker and white gel pen.

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Fun and fast for cartooning, too. 🙂 I guess I need a few more colors.

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Tomorrow I’ll sketch the same face in pencil.

Day 144 (Wed 5/24) sketchy humans

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Drawing people accurately has always been a problem for me, so I thought I’d work on a few general shapes today. I’ve always worried too much about accuracy, I think, and used a pencil, erased, adjusted, etc… ending up with stiff-as-boards not-quite-right-humans. So today I thought I’d sketch a few people I took photos of this weekend while we were at the Hampton Roads Winery. (I took the photos specifically for this purpose!)… I didn’t allow myself near my pencil. Agh, so stressful! But a very good exercise. I’m sure if I do this more often (like, a LOT) I might get a more free feeling shape. I was avoiding faces but then went for it. My people are still stiff and choppy, but I’m pleased with my beginning results. They ended up nicer than I’d anticipated. No finished art, but good quick studies. Yes, my dog is that large. And yes, that is a goat tower. The winery boasts the tallest goat tower in Virginia. 🙂 Do you love the laughing woman and baby?? That’s my grandson, and my sister-in-law (much prettier in person), and the girl seen over and over is my granddaughter.

When you just DO things, and keep doing them… you get better at them. (duh)

Day 8: sketching?

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Today I decided to try the line drawings again. It’s the end of the Christmas season (Friday was Twelfth Night), so all the decorations must come down. I tried some of my Willow Tree nativity scene, one of my very favorite things. (I hate putting it away!) The creator has already done all of the art, I just have to copy it in pen. The first couple things I sketched in pencil first, thinking I could capture the shape better, but truthfully that made it more difficult and stilted. I think maybe looking less perfect but more instinctual might be better in some cases. Even if it isn’t quite “right.” That’s art, right??
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I got a little better as I practiced, and the last one is my favorite. Less is more. A lesson I’m seeing over and over, everywhere. I used a different pen as well, an inexpensive Japanese  kuretake brush pen. The others were Staedtler pigment liners. Great pens. But the brush pen brought a nice organic feel.

 

 

 

I tried the angel several times. (the truly ugly ones aren’t even here, even though I probably should post them all.) D0ing the pencil sketch helped me see her lines more clearly I think, but I really only liked my last attempt, although I like the line of the skirt on the one before that.

 

my 365 days in pencil…

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(…or paint, crayon, watercolor, ball point pen, marker, lipstick, scrapbook paper, restaurant napkin… whatever is handy.)

My goal is to make one little piece of art every day for a year. Big or small, simple or detailed. 365 days of practice. What is it that keeps me out of my studio now? It is simply the rest of my life crowding in and convincing me that I don’t have the time. Ridiculous, but I always fall for it. And my life is not that complex. I DO have the time. You can tell what truly means something to someone by watching how and where he invests his time. And so, a twofold purpose to this 365 project…

The first: to see improvement in my work, improvement that only comes through practice and experience. I’m no artistic genius… even a small throw-away scribble can teach me something, and I’d rather try to be as good as I can be myself, than just continue to avoid knowing how limited I really am.

And the second: to develop and improve a positive state of mind and body, and develop consistent habits. Focusing on a small project can be so relaxing for me. It is nothing but healthy. And I think trying to undertake a big overall project with a commitment like this will help develop much needed strength and focus in other areas of my life as well, even if I am less successful at it than I hope to be.

I welcome constructive criticism and advice. Consider this an open forum, and please participate. And invite other people to follow… I don’t plan to chat, just to post my pictures and be held accountable. If I don’t post, ask me why!!