Cat Shots

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Cat Shots

This is a fun exercise I did for Este MacLeod’s video on Sketchbook Revivial 2022. You can’t see them now, but every cat started out as a number, 1-9. Este was one of thirty teachers for this free annual online event hosted by Karen Abend—and this demo was one of my favorites. It’s an exercise in pure creativity where possibilities start to roll onto the page. My mind is still thinking about what else I can do.

I can’t say enough about Sketchbook Revival. It’s kind of like an intensive two-week sampler course where every day for two weeks registrants receive two new instructional videos featuring two different artists by email. The two weeks ended Monday but they are available (you can still sign up) until April 18th (and did I mention its free?)

Videos focus on different ways to fill a sketchbook and introduce a variety of people to follow more online, and all kinds of mediums and techniques.

It can be overwhelming for sure—Each video is about an hour long and trying to keep up with two every day is too time consuming. This year, though, I found a way to keep on top of it. First,

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Inspiration — 52 Card Project #13

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Inspiration — 52 Card Project #13

I barely got my card of the week finished on time this week for my 52-Card Project. And by “on time” I mean that for this personal project I have committed to myself (and only myself) that I will create a card every week, and I will post it on Mondays—after the week (ending on Sunday) has just passed.

So this deadline is self-imposed. And let me just say that I am really proud that I value my commitments to myself as much as I would, say, to a boss. This is relatively new in my life. There was a time when I came last, but now, I understand that life is short and there’s nothing more important than being true to your Self.

Ironically, the reason I almost missed my deadline is that…

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Drawing practice

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Drawing practice

One thing I like to do when I feel like drawing is to practice drawing people while watching “talking head” art videos on YouTube. I can’t remember who this Youtuber is now, but I liked her clothes so I started in with my polychromos colored pencils in my art journal. While her mouth looks a bit odd here, at the time I thought it actually caught the sense of it. Mouths are hard to draw—especially when showing teeth.

I think her blouse is about the same color—but then I went rogue with the colors of her hair and the background.

I used to watch more art videos YouTube, but

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Character Sketches Part 2

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Character Sketches Part 2

Following up on the character sketches I was working on last week for a Skillshare class, I now have my character drawn in four poses: neutral (although she looks a little arrogant), surprised, sad and disgusted. The 3/4 pose is going to be more difficult—and then to finish the exercise I’m going to paint one of them in a final piece.

Like I said about this little class project, I am focused right now on

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Daily warm-ups—a new to me approach

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Daily warm-ups—a new to me approach

One of the things I’m instituting in my art practice—or at least re-committing to—is a daily warm-up in my sketchbook (practice and play). The problem I’ve come up against before when I try to open with a daily warm-up is that I skip it.

The blank page looms, I don’t know what I want to do that day—so I don’t. I either have other art projects in progress or I have an idea for some final piece, and I launch into those instead.

But practice and play for no other reason than to practice and/or play is an important part of an art practice, i know that, both for building skills and discovering new ideas. Not to mention fun.

So I think I have the answer. I’m going to

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Experiments don't always turn out

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Experiments don't always turn out

This was an experiment in my sketchbook. Copied and cut out one of the wonky characters I’d drawn yesterday and put her on a chair with a rough background. Not exactly successful—but it was fun. Sometimes that’s all I can do—try something and have fun doing it. I’m not sure I learned much, really. Well, okay, the watercolor curtains kind of look like curtains…maybe I can start there with the next experiment…

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