Alrighty, then! Whew... I made it to a hundred little sketches for the month of November. This doesn't seem like such a big deal when one does the math: 100 sketches in a month is 3-4 per day. The trick is that if one somehow misses two days, then suddenly there are 10 sketches to do!
The hardest part for me is deciding what to draw. I want these sketches to be fast... responsive... interpretive... not careful pre-linocut drawings or long value studies. To that end I tried to stick to pen; if I used a pencil my inclination to go all crazy with subtle values would lead me down time-consuming paths.
I also want to work from life as much as possible, but it's November (now December). Daylight hours are short (especially up here in the north country) and there's rain and cold (and soon snow) to contend with and I am a wimp. So at the moment this means a lot of drawing indoors... interiors of coffee shops, my house, the laundromat. I did find one nice day to go to the Maine Wildlife Park before they closed for the season, and a couple of nice days for sketching landscapes near home.
To break things up I also worked from movies and a YouTube video described as Cat TV. (Footage of birds coming in and out of a feeder station.) I'd watch for an interesting frame, hit the pause button, and draw as fast as possible. The temptation to slow down and try to get a likeness on movie frames was huge, but I kept reminding myself my goal was to get the idea down quickly and move on.
It was a satisfying adventure, but rut ro! Now it's December. Here we go again!
In the meantime, here's a little flip through the sketchbook... I think I missed turning a couple of pages, but you get the idea. This month I'd like to be more deliberate about overall page composition, so we'll see how that goes. Onward!
Love your sketches. You are more ambitious than I, but I've been thinking about one a day for a while now.
ReplyDeleteHi Ivy! That's a great idea, let me know how it goes! I'd love to see some of your sketches, too. :-)
DeleteOr perhaps 50 a month - just a few more than one a day.
DeleteSherrie, how much time are you committing to this each day? Do you aim for about 10mins/sketch = 30mins/day or longer?
PS I wish my pre linocut drawings were this good....no wonder my reduction cuts are so flawed!
Hi, mysterious Unknown. :-) Yes, I try to keep them to 10 minutes or less, so 30-45 minutes per day. That's not much, but if one misses a day the time starts stacking up quickly and it becomes a chore. Do what's comfortable! It's the doing that counts, I think!
DeleteI love the video, I have sketchbook envy :o) I tried to join you aiming for 50 as it was halfway through the month but I have only managed 30! Hey ho, December is another month so it's onwards and upwards. It's a great challenge. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteExactly... do what you can do. You have 30 more than you did before, and spent that much more time looking and sketching than you would have done without.
DeleteVery nice. Your drawings are wonderful, and the video an eye opener of what can be done. The multiple boxes on a page for each drawing, I thought a page per drawing, but the boxes are better for a view of progress. I found your blog via Lisa's blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Salty Pumpkin! Yes... the goal is thumbnails... generalyl 2 x 3 inches or so. Some are bigger... sometimes I just fill a page with random sketches and call it 2 or 3 or 4 and move on. Your sketchbook, your rules!
Deletecongrats on getting them done and the video is very helpful to show how you sketch :)
ReplyDeleteAnd here it is the 10th and I'm already behind for December! Argh!
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