Lunch time ink

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Warm-up sketch for flower journal

Warm-up sketch for flower journal

Sketching at lunch is great, I have limited time, so I really have to focus quickly. Perfect combination for ink only drawing. I am officially behind in my challenge–yesterday was packed with so much activity I didn’t get a sketch in. That means I have to do two today or three tomorrow! It’s a work day, so I will try to at least get one done. The gladiola is a warm up sketch for my flower journal.

I want to start drawing the same subject several times–just to get to know it better. I always want to move on to something new, but I feel I need to spend more time with the same subject. I think I am ready to do that.

Lunch time sketch

Lunch time sketch

Seeing

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Ink pen and water-soluble crayon

Ink pen and water-soluble crayon

This week at #sketchbookskool is with Cathy Johnson. I love her work and I really like her lessons. First homework assignment was birds (or a squirrel, or some little creature). Unfortunately there isn’t a bird in site right now due to all the snow we are getting, but luckily for me I take a lot of photos. These gulls were at the Searsport Harbor a couple of years ago, I have always admired them and thought they would make nice painting subjects. Gulls are not as easy to draw as one might think.

One thing I really like about this lesson is the idea of learning about your subject–drawing as if you were working on a field guide. There are a lot of different types of gulls. These are most likely Herring Gulls, but the one with the dark eye could be a Thayer’s Gull.

The gull in graphite is not as successful as the one I did in ink. I find it interesting that I seem to do a better job when I use tools that I can’t erase! Funny.

Graphite and water-soluble crayon

Graphite and water-soluble crayon

Last day in Maui

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Back to homework for #sketchbookskool. This lesson was a challenge for me mostly because I just couldn’t find three items to draw. I finally decided on a couple of nice large leaves from the yard. I will redo this assignment when I get home. I also don’t have my watercolors with me, so used water soluble crayons…which work, but they aren’t the same.

Always sad to leave Hawaii, but I am ready to get back to Maine, my family, my Big dog and all that crazy snow!

Maui Lobster

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I have sketchbook Skool homework to do, but decided to take the day off. John and I took a walk on the beach and I scored three nice beach finds. A lobster tail, a shell and a poor tiny dead urchin. Perfect drawing subjects. Tomorrow I will go back to homework.

Selfies

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Okay, Selfies are difficult! But, clearly the more you do the better you get. And, I like the fact that you always have an available model. I don’t think I can keep up with one a day, but maybe one a week!

This is me really concentrating in the mirror. Graphite on paper. Tense!

For now, it’s Friday and time to move on to the next lesson. Love #sketchbookskool

Art on Maui

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My week here started off pretty poorly as I came down with the flu the first day here. Finally after 6 days of being sick, I feel better, not 100%, but considerably better. Between naps I was able to get one piece done, the Queen Emma Lily. I just could not concentrate on sketchbook Skool while sick.

This weeks lessons are selfies! Boy are they difficult, but good lessons. We are to do the following:

2 selfies using a mirror
2 selfies from a photo
2 contour “quickies”
1 from memory

I have only included my homework so that I can look back and see how I have improved in the future. This assignment has been somewhat painful. However, I want to get better at faces, and this is the way to do it!

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Seeing

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Opaque watercolor and sharpie pen. Portland Head Lighthouse

Opaque watercolor and sharpie pen. Portland Head Lighthouse

Sketchbook Skool has started! This semester is called “Seeing”. First assignment for this week was to draw toast. Ugh. I can’t say that was really enjoyable, but I get it. The goal is to get you to see things as shapes that aren’t associated with labels. Just draw the nooks and cranny’s. I was lucky enough to have some homemade bread that was stale enough to qualify as toast. I drew it for as long as I could.

Second part of this lesson was “Fast and Slow”. I have to admit this was kind of right up my alley–but a different take on how to start a piece. The instruction was to use one or two colors of paint to “draw” simple lines indicating the subject, and quickly. No more than 60 seconds to start. After you get that down, you draw in the details with a pen and really look carefully at all the complexity and proportions–take your time, draw for about an hour.

The most difficult thing for me in this was actually choosing the subject. I didn’t have anything from life that I was interested in drawing, so I just decided to work from a photo I had taken last May. I love this composition with the lighthouse and the Big dog. Buildings are not something I would normally choose to draw, so that was an added challenge. Proportions aren’t perfect, but no one really knows that but me. Fun assignment, and I definitely learned from it. And, I am inspired to maybe to do a Big Dog sketch book–he is such a fun subject.

Bread: micron pen

Bread: micron pen

Day 10

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Inktense and colored pencil

Inktense and colored pencil

This #AJChallenge day was fun because of the research involved. I learned about a few medicinal plants that I was unaware of. My goal was to find something that fit the category that I would have a photo resource for. I found it! Rose Hips. According to webMD: Rose hips are used for stomach disorders including stomach spasms, stomach acid deficiency, preventing stomach irritation and ulcers, and as a “stomach tonic” for intestinal diseases. They are also used for diarrhea, constipation, gallstones, gallbladder ailments, lower urinary tract and kidney disorders, fluid retention (dropsy or edema), gout, back and leg pain (sciatica), diabetes, high cholesterol, weight loss, high blood pressure, chest ailments, fever, increasing immune function during exhaustion, increasing blood flow in the limbs, increasing urine flow and quenching thirst. Wow! Pretty cool.

This rose hip was found on Ram Island in the Penobscot Bay–from a wild seaside rose–not a rugosa, but a smaller native rose.     Tomorrow the challenge is to draw your lunch or dinner. I am not sure about how interesting that will be…I will have to really think about what I choose to eat now!

Challenge Day 9

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Water-soluble crayon and ink pen

Water-soluble crayon and ink pen

So happy to get a resource photo for the turkish teapot from my friend Mallory. I really like to draw either from life or from my own photos, and it’s fun to include friends in my search! This is a great teapot, And, a challenge to draw. The great thing about the #AJChallenge is that every day I get an opportunity to learn about something new. So many of the subjects i would never choose on my own, I am really enjoying the discovery part of this project.

Today’s challenge was coin or paper money. I happen to be visiting my parents, so I asked if they had any interesting money. Turns out my Dad had a little box with some old coins and paper money from his Uncle Norman. He hadn’t opened the box in several years. It was fun to open up the paper money and look at the different coins. I didn’t enjoy the sketching part of this, but I really loved the discovery.

My Dad's box of coins

My Dad’s box of coins