Portrait of a friends nephew. I’ve just started it using a dark grey pencil crayon. It needs some more work and I will try and include some of the background to make it more cohesive. I need to work on the shading. If I squint my eyes I can work out the tonal range. Clearly the forehead needs darkening on the left hand side. I’ve only got today and tomorrow to finish it!
I just found this photo, and my mind is taken back to a Sunday afternoon in Prestatyn, Wales. We were visiting family and decided to call in here to have a coffee and cake. The place was part cafe, part second hand shop. The window ledges were covered in succulents (money plants). I remember a huge Teddybear on one side of the room with a big nose. A teapot sign hung in the window. The cafe was near the railway station.
Teddy bears and teapots cafe, Prestatyn
Taking a sketchbook out helps me remember places, it gives me a reference point, and as it takes time to draw the image its not like a photo, it’s got less information but you can choose how it looks (miss things out, add things).
I don’t always remember my sketch books, but when I do, and I have the time to draw or paint I really enjoy it.
I was trying to draw a face that had a child like quality as an example for the children’s book project I’m doing for college. I used black ink fine liner pen to draw and shade it and add some freckles. I was worriedcthe shading was a bit to strong so I decided to use a charcoal pencil to add a bit of softness. Then I coloured the eyes and the lips (I’m planning to use black and white drawings with small coloured highlights). Each drawing is different but it’s helping me decide what I’m doing.
I placed this skull inside a roll of sellotape to give an idea of scale. It’s sitting on an A6 sketchbook. I think we found it on a walk about ten years ago. I think it’s a rodents skull but the jaw is missing. I have it in my office room and use it when I want to do a still life (death)… A memento mori?
What is death, what happens when we die. To be left as just the bones. Oh sorry, getting a bit maudlin.
The #bandofsketchers prompt today was sad. I looked for Sad images, but it came up with handsome or pretty people, sad cat memes and info about seasonal effective disorder. So I drew myself pulling a sad face. Black fine point ink drawing.
The monoprint was made by rubbing paper onto black paint brushed onto silver foil and then scratched through a bit. I then cut out a shape to fit to the shape of the woman body and arm, side of the face and hair, (basically the shaded side of her face and body). This was a bit nerve wracking as I only had ten minutes to do the cutting out, sticking, and drawing the rest of the portrait. I used the monoprint from a stock of them I’d made already.
In January I started a back to life sketchbook for my college course. This was day ones drawing, a falcon on my mouse at, pens and my computer mouse. I continued drawing every day from then on, I have done all sorts of drawings and I’m still doing them (today was some ice cubes). That effort has been interesting, sometimes confusing, difficult to maintain if I could not find something to observe and draw. But it has been rewarding. My imagination has been stretched and expanded. My ideas generation has improved. I would recommend drawing everyday to anyone who is interested in art.
One of tonights choir group, each week I’ve been drawing a participant as they sing. It’s good practice as they are moving and the shadows move with them. If you notice the image is slightly distorted. That’s because I had the sketchpad flat on my desk and it’s caused a slightly elongated drawing that is tipped slightly to the right…
It’s something to check on when you are drawing, sometimes it can cause a lot of distortion if you are not careful.
Pink summer Fushias. Looking forward six months and they will be here in June or July. A riot of colour covering our wet and soggy gardem and back yard. I can’t wait. Flowers are uplifting and cheering. They make great subjects to paint and though green has been proved to calm the mind, I think the colours of flowers add joy and happiness… .