SCRIBBLING AND DOODLING

A little scribbling while watching TV.

I guess it's good practice to help loosen up my sketching. And, as you know, I can use all the help I can get, right?

I am noticing the looser my lines, the poses look more natural, less stiff.  Plus, scribbling is easy and fun. It's easier with a pencil then ink over it and erase but I'm trying to migrate toward pen and ink from the start and skip using a pencil altogether. 

Anyhow, I'm trying to force myself to scribble 20 or people a day until I start seeing an improvement in the lines I use (fewer and more purposeful) and the quality of the shapes I'm getting (more natural poses, better proportions). 

A FEW WEEKEND SKETCHES

 Here's a few sketches from a very sunny weekend for the most part.

I drew the house Saturday and the tulips Sunday -- from two slightly different views.

This church was sketched from Streetview and photos. It's located in Negros Occidental, Philippines, where my son, daughter-in-law and grandson will be heading in a couple of weeks. 

 

This is Walmart in Albany. I drew this one day but for got to get a photo of it and went back the next but didn't quite match the view I had the day before  -- Oops.

ART SUPPLIES AND BREAKING IN A NEW SKETCHBOOK

When I crack open a new sketchbook I always get a knot in my stomach. All those pristine unsullied pages. Full of hope and potential. But what if I mess up? What if I make a mistake? What if ...?

Stillman & Birn Beta series sketchbook. 

Even though I know sketchbooks are for practicing and experimenting with new techniques, who wants to keep looking at a "failed" sketch every time you open it up?

I'm not alone in that feeling, apparently. I see plenty of bloggers and plenty of videos on Youtube sharing that same sentiment and giving advice on how to overcome the gloom of potential failure when starting a new sketchbook.

Mostly, the advice is to remind yourself that sketchbooks are for practice and the place to make mistakes. And yes, I know most of my drawings are silly and uncoordinated, and I recognize at least most of the mistakes I've made with them. But I still like to put them out there for the world to see ... and judge. Maybe it'll make some other artist feel good about their own talent.

Kind of like when you think your life sucks but then you see someone else who has it worse than you, you don't feel so bad about your own situation. So I guess while a lot of artist inspire others through their immense talent, I inspire others through my lack of talent. Hmm. I guess that's kind of good and bad, depending on how I want to look at it.

Anyhow, I took some advice from some of the great sketchers out there, such as Liz Steel  who says she begins her sketchbooks by first sketching the tools she uses to draw in them. And Teoh Yi Chie (Parka) who travels often and sketches his tools for each new sketchbook before he leaves on a new adventure. More as a packing list for him than to break in a sketchbook which is a good idea as well.

Most of the tools I'm using for my current  Stillman & Birn Beta hardcover A5 sketchbook.

I like the idea of sketching your tools because it's easy and fun. Plus, it makes you think about what tools -- pens, pencils, inks, etc., you want to use for the near future. It's also good practice on composition of your first sketch in a new book. It allows you to add as much detail or as little detail as you want, and it gives you color samples of your palette that you can refer back to when you need to.

Have a sketchy day.

GOING INTERNATIONAL

I was cruising around Google Streetview the other day and landed in Negros Occidental, Philippines, where my daughter-in-law is from. Found a great public market to draw.

Here's the streetview image.

I also came across some photos in the Pasadena, Calif., newspaper of a newly constructed apartment complex that I decided to sketch. 

Here's the image from the Pasadena newspaper.

Although I don't get a chance to travel, Streetview lets me go a lot of places. -- If only in my mind (for now).

SKETCHES FROM MY SKETCHBOOK--Late March-Early April

Here's a few sketches from late March and early April. As mentioned in the prior post I've started sketching from some of my photos from when I lived in Hawaii.

Hulihee Palace in Kona.

An alleyway off First Avenue in Albany Oregon.

The tools I'm using in this sketchbook. Always a fun way to break the ice in a new sketchbook.

A reader in a coffeeshop. drawn from a photo.

Also drawn from a photo.

Guitar player drawn from a music video.

Also drawn from a music video.

A FEW SKETCHES FROM MARCH

Here are a few sketches from March. I've been going through my Kona, Hawaii photos and decided tosketch a few so I'll have more coming. I just finished the Hulihee Palace that I'll post in a few days. 

I'm hoping to start sketching my triathlon experiences albeit from photos while I lived in Kona. 

LAVA JAVA in Kona, Hawaii. 

Farm Scene. Part of my Rural Life sketchbook.

I forgot to post anything from the last day (day 5) of #Oneweek100people2017 sketching contest so here are a couple from that.

A presbyterian Church in Albany, Oregon.