Sketching at Home

I am doing my best to draw every single day.
Sometimes at home, sometimes in public.

This particular day it was at home.
A Trader Joe's bag, beside the TV.

I smudged the journaling to protect the privacy of another.
No deep dark secrets about me (not today anyway).

Faces in the Crowd

I keep  saying that I want to learn to do quick sketches of people.
Saturday morning was a great place to start that since there were lots of people downtown at the Saturday Morning Market.
I did a couple of easy sketches first - buildings, tents, trees, backs of people...that kind of thing.

I finally made myself begin to make quick marks that resembled people.
As soon as I began that, the lady at the table next to us started looking over my shoulder watching me.
I almost froze but decided that it didn't matter anyway. I would just keep sketching and hope for the best.
I couldn't have asked for a kinder onlooker.
She was like my mother, constantly giving me positive affirmations and murmurs of encouragement as I pushed forward (even though I secretly wished she would quit watching me work and thought that my sketches were less than stellar).

I will hesitantly share them here- only because it will force me to do more.
Which will in turn make me sketch more, which will increase my skill, which will help me share more, which will encourage you to sketch people too.

Ahhh, the circle of sharing ones artwork, right?

Evidently I was so intent on sketching that I was unaware of the actual faces that I drew.
I spied a vampire on the page after I got home (mid page on the left).

In looking at this page now (and then actually), I can see that I REALLY need a lot more practice.
I will certainly work on that.

Market Sketches

Here's another sketch that I did on Saturday morning.

This tent was right in front of us.
As the day progressed, the shadows did as well.
My sketch doesn't reflect that but I'd love to go back next week and do a series of sketches showing the changing shadows from the tree on the top of the tent.

As before, I added color after I got home.
I didn't work from a photograph (even though I had one) as I was away from my computer so I made up most of the colors...except the green cucumber.
And the tree colors.
Oh, and the tent...

Filling Your Time With Creative Endeavors

Over at the Sketchbook Challenge blog this month, the theme is "doodling".
This is one of my favorite things to do!
I always carry a travel art kit with me - it includes several folded pieces of paper (usually Exact Vellum Bristol) or a ready made sketchbook, travel watercolor paints, Faber Castell Pitt Artists Pens and a pencil & eraser.
When I find myself with a minute or two , I pull out a piece of paper (or sketchbook) and a pencil or pen and fill my time with emptying some of the images rolling around in my head (which can be kinda scary now that I think of it).

There are times that I allow the stress of living in this world occupy a larger space there (in my head) than it should so drawing  is a great way to get my mind off of the negative things.

I've had a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook for a while now but (evidently) put it on a higher shelf in my studio...I have found it again and started using it to see if I like the paper. I believe it is a 200 gsm paper.

I haven't found the "perfect" sketchbook yet...
I suspect that there will never be that "Perfect One" because my sketching habits change, the medium that I color my images with changes as well as the size that I am willing to carry around.
But I sure am enjoying the hunt for one!

Before Christmas (seems like that was sooo long ago, doesn't it?) I was working on a few small handmade books to submit to Christopher Park Gallery in town (they are carrying my work!).

Here is a sampling of the original sketches that led to some of the cover art for the "Little Books" series.

It's a little difficult to see - I drew the images with a harder lead pencil (2H) (which makes a lighter mark).
It was all I had at the time. I have since switched my "regular" sketching pencil to a "F" lead.
I'm not sure if I'll be pleased with that either...I'll keep switching around until I am happy with the results.
And I love drawing with the "2H" pencil, I just don't like the lightness of the scanned image.
I know that I can adjust that in post-editing...but the truth is - I not very good at "post editing" images.
I usually just scan images and use the file as is.
(I did go back and adjust the brightness/contrast just to get the lines darkened up).

Perhaps I should resolve to take a class on that...

I had started drawing all the cats after this little angel came into our life
(cute kitty photo alert).

He has not only cemented himself into our hearts but onto our couch as well!
(I snuck that photo in rather seamlessly, didn't I?)

In drawing the cats, I began branching out to the Big Cats.
Lions and tigers quickly followed.

Here's one of them. I love the curly, flowing mane.

I'm still working on him though.

This is the way that a lot of my artwork evolves.
I begin with a loose, often very ugly sketch but it serves to remind me later of what I originally had in mind.
It's a great "jumping off" point.

I hope that all of you are flexing your creative muscles this New Year!
Get your sketch on!

Wonky Flower

I apologize dear (and lonely) readers for my lack of posting.
How do I explain that the days just fly by before I realize that they have flown?
I suppose I say just that, eh?

I do have a new toy though...
she has been sitting quietly in my studio, waiting for me to come back in there and pay her some attention.
I drew a wonky, silly flower tonight.
Then ran it through my new toy and viola!
A screen print.

Yes, I found a Thermofax machine on Craig's list!
DIRT CHEAP...
So, check your local list for new toys.

That wonky flower?
Here she is.

This is one of the prints that I made with it (on paper).
I drew it with a Pitt Artists Pen and it burned a screen just fine.
Nope, no carbon copy - just a Pitt Pen Drawing!

Ideas Revisited

I had so much fun drawing the "sprouts of ideas" on the previous post that I started a close-up of them on another page in my sketchbook.
I am trying out a couple of different drawing pens (all fine liner). I truly LOVE the Pitt Pens but I got to thinking that I might be missing out on other really good pens by not experimenting with different ones.
This is a mix of Pitt and Copic Multiliners.
If you look closely (and rest assured that I did!) you can see the difference in the thickness of the lines.
I love the thinner lines that I can get with the different sizes of the Copics but I haven't tried them to see if they are really as waterproof as they advertise to be.
I'll try them out and let you know what I find.

Drawing on the Road

Not to be confused with sidewalk art...
Not that  I have actually drawn ON the road...
but while on the road...

Never mind.

This is a small-ish handmade book that I have been working in.
It's the one that I carry in my bag when I go to ballgames and/or appointments where I know that I will have time to draw a little bit.
I painted the left hand page before the book was bound.
I drew on the right hand page after binding,
sitting at a basketball game.
I used Pitt Artist Pens to draw and a travel watercolor kit to paint.
You really can create artwork anywhere...
I did a post over at the "Sketchbook Challenge" blog that tells exactly which pens, paper and paint that I use in most of my journals and sketchbooks.
I do not receive any compensation for recommending these products, I use them because I love them and I am used to working with them.
You could check it out if you're interested.
I will occasionally switch things around but usually use the same three basic supplies when I sketch/draw.
I talk about those things in the article, um post.
Tomorrow I will be sharing a new drawing that I am working on.
Check back then!