Light study

I was very inspired this week by the color photos from the depression that were all over the web. One in particular caught my eye (image is property of the Library of Congress):

I wanted to try a new painting method with it. This is the result. I'm pretty pleased with it.

Illustration workshop sketch

Here is the initial sketch for the workshop I'll be attending in June. The assignment was to pick one spread from a manuscript and illustrate it.

I'm working on sketches for an illustrators' workshop in June. I will end up with a final illustration for one spread of a children's picture book. I'm also doing character sketches to go along with that final one. I haven't done this before, but signed up because I wanted to learn, and develop my portfolio more, so this is a perfect opportunity.

I'm having so much fun with this, not only in doing the main characters, but also focusing on having the scene tell its own little story, and having interesting little "asides" that add to the visual interest of the piece. Book illustration is much more than just drawing what is in the text! You get to make up your own ideas as well, which makes it a lot more interesting and fun. I'm really enjoying this process.

Illustration Friday sketch

I've learned about an online artists' project called "Illustration Friday"--each Friday a new theme is posted, and artists create a piece of artwork interpreting that theme. 

It happened coincidentally that I'm working on a new piece that fits with this week's theme: Star Gazer. So here is the sketch for it.

- January 9, Dog park sunset

 

Another day at the dog park, a bright day with the afternoon sun starting to set and making the snow light up in colors. I love that! 

By the way--no, I'm not sitting out there in 25 degree weather sketching! For winter purposes, I take a shot with my camera phone and draw it later when I get home.

- Jan. 2 - the bouquet

Well, I've gone back & forth on whether to include this second, dismal sketch, which as you can see is pretty much a failure. But since the point of this isn't to produce masterpieces, I guess it really does belong here anyway. It was a very pretty bouquet at the grocery store which I looked longingly at, but didn't buy because I can't afford luxuries like flowers. So I thought I'd sketch it instead. 

My excuse, therefore, is that I was drawing from memory, which I'm not good at, and also that I was trying watercolor pencils, which I've never liked, and as it turns out, I still don't!

I used to get discouraged when a painting or drawing didn't turn out--you can put tremendous pressure on yourself if you feel like you have to be brilliant all the time. But that all changed one day when I went to a special exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute, which was a show of Van Gogh and Gauguin. Gauguin isn't as much my taste, but I love Van Gogh. And as I walked through the halls and saw all these legendary paintings, I was surprised to discover something: some of them were so deft, so fearless, that I couldn't believe it. I stayed and stared and leaned in as close as I dared to study the brush strokes and color usage. And......some of them were crap. Yes. Sacrilege, I know; I'm sorry. They were not all great successes. Some of them are now priceless masterpieces simply because they were painted by the hand of the master. But they were crap.

So I figured, if Van Gogh could paint crap sometimes, then who in the world am I to feel like I can't do the same? Since I made that discovery, I've gotten much more bold and free with my painting and drawing. Sometimes I fail pretty spectacularly. Sometimes I come closer to getting it right. This sketch, obviously, falls into the former category.

- January 1 - Inca at the dog park

 

 January first, at the dog park with my faithful companion, Inca. I love walking through the woods in the winter, and have finally found the thing that makes me willing to brave even the coldest days: a bomber hat with real rabbit fur lining. Inca is intrigued by it, and would kind of like to pick it up and stash it somewhere for further investigation, so I have to be sure I don't drop it on the floor when we come home. But ohhhh, it's so warm, it wraps around your face, your chin, your throat, it's heavenly.

We have the best dog park in the world; 25 or so acres of fields, woods, a river and a pond. It's paradise for dogs.

- The journey begins

A friend brought me a blank book from his trip to China. Its covers are hand painted silk, and its pages accordian fold, so you could stretch it all the way open if you wanted. It was too pretty to actually write in, so I put it on a shelf--for 2 years.
 

But I finally have an idea for my beautiful Chinese silk book; it will become a sketch journal. The point is to sketch things/places that I visit, to help hold memories for me. The point is NOT to create masterpieces; each sketch takes maybe 10-15 minutes. Though, I am hoping that my 'quick sketch' abilities improve as I go along.

I want to cultivate the habit of sketching on location more often. I love plein aire painting, even though I'm not very good at it! So hoping that practice makes perfect, I will be working on using my sketchbooks and travel paint sets on a regular basis to capture memories of days, times, and places.