Washing up

Drawing from April, tasks I hate. Yet again the sink is full, not just with crockery but with bits of food two. After two thousand times of asking my hubby to scrape leftovers into the bin, is it any wonder I get fed up with having to clean up the mess? Then there is the water problem. Splashing it everywhere, the seal round the sink is starting to break down. The sink was only put in about three years ago! It’s really annoying. Is this what men do to avoid chores???

Tree or decorations

Since we haven’t got a tree this Christmas I haven’t put any baubles or decorations up. But that didn’t stop me getting an old box of them out to draw. The #bandofsketchers prompt for Christmas Eve…. Now I’m having a caramel chocolate and a glass of port while watching ‘the day after tomorrow’ I guess they put it on because its full of snow…..

Diana Rigg?

I do love drawing people, but there is less chance now of finding a subject. So when BBC 4 just showed a half hour interview with Diana Rigg in a programme called Face to Face from 1997? The image of her was full face far away, full face close to and profile images, so her face was fully in view was for approximately ten minutes. It’s a good bit of practice, as if you were drawing from life. The face never stops moving so you have to try and fix where the eyes are, how far apart, how long the nose? And the shape and size of the mouth. Plus the face shape. How long is her chin? How high her cheeks. Trying to see all of the face, not looking too closely at just one bit, so it fits?

Books

Today’s sketch of one of our bookcases. I’m too short sighted to see it well… For #bandofsketchers prompt: books.

Two other artists posted photos of their bookcases, we all have appear to be bibliophiles, with large collections of books. I’m glad, I don’t understand how you can go without them. Yes you can buy them online. But there’s nothing like a real book in your hand…. And I can say from experience that if you drop a book on the bath it dries out better than a phone!

Glass bottle doodle

First doodle
Finished doodle

I drew some flowers in an oval area in ArtRage oils. Then transfered it to my Sketch app and added the shape, a bit of shading and the background. Finally I transferred it to Photodirector to add some lighting effects. I tried to draw something that looks like a glass jar.

Running horse

After chatting about drawing horses and the gait they have when they walk, trot, canter and gallop, I tried to remember how I used to draw galloping horses. This is a quick three minute sketch on the Sketch app. That’s why the legs are a bit muddled. I added a bit of shade underneath to sto it floating… Might get some pencils out instead of drawing them digitally….

Horse in snow

For as long as I remember I’ve drawn horses. I used to read horsey books. I’ve only ever sat on a donkey when I was a child and I’ve sat on a horse and been led on a walk a couple of times too. Sitting up on a horse gives me vertigo, and I certainly don’t think I’m built for it. But that said, I do love horses.

I used to draw them all the time when I was little. My bedroom wall was covered with either drawings of Asterix the Gaul, Elizabethan men and women wearing ruffs and dappled grey horses. It was always dappled grey. I used to watch show jumping on the TV (horses jumping over fences) and looking at the way they moved. I got so good I even sold one for sixpence when I was at junior school….. I felt really guilty!

Over time I have stopped drawing them as much, but sometimes I just have to draw them…

Drawing after Bob Ross

I was just watching a programme with the artist Bob Ross, he was painting a winter scene with autumnal colours and snowy highlights, so I decided to draw as I watched. I’m trying to get to understand my different drawing apps. I don’t think I did too badly, I just about managed to keep up and this took me about half an hour.

I am not sure I can get the whole image on the screen. Because I’m using a different device I seem to be into block editor mode….that’s better….

Old sketch

17 April 2020 was a day I drew a days diary. The final day of drawing with Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers. I went on to draw more afterwards. We didn’t know at that time that the virus was just going to keep going. We thought it would soon be over. We thought maybe we could conquer it! There was some optimism still out there. Now things don’t look so good. But you just have to keep going. I haven’t felt much like painting, but I haven’t stopped drawing yet!