Ok, it is tough keeping up on the weekends. It just is.
But here are simple ink sketches for Saturday and Sunday, days 21 and 22, both fun fall plants. Daisies are blooming around right now!
Please, don’t eat the daises. (remember that show?! - best title ever!)
Mushroom foraging… ok, so these are really not growing around here but they sure are charming. I love mushrooms!
The Great Gatsby! A musical!
A giant WOW! We saw it at the Papermill Playhouse last night. It was unbelievably amazing. The costumes, the music, the acting, Jeremy Jordan, the sets, the Costumes!!!
So as we slog through another rainy day I am reliving the energy and fun of the show and doodling some flappers kicking up their heels in a joyous Charleston!
Funerals are hard
Seeing and experiencing the raw emotion, pain and loss
Bringing up difficult memories
They gut you and drain you
After attending a funeral yesterday of a good friend’s ex, and seeing their teen kids who will navigate the rest of their lives without a father, just wrecked me.
After I was home I just could not get a focus on what to do or to draw.
My sketchbook project seemed inconsequential
And outside of my grasp
Took a short walk to clear my head and realized that sketching something was actually tremendously important.
Drawing and making art is where I connect with my soul, my being. It’s where I find my angels and inspiration
It is where I am grounded and whole and alive
I needed to draw, and I needed something timeless… and so shells. The spirals of infinity. The beauty of nature. The power and eternity of the sea.
Sketching these tiny shells brought me so much peace. Tiny shells and tiny sketches- but tremendously soothing
After I was done I sat on the couch with a view of the yard and watched blue jays swooping and darting all around. A blue jay party like that is a rare occurrence in our yard. It was so joyful and special it inspired my sketch today.
I drew it quickly and painted it quickly to give it a little movement and spirit
These moments of presence and grace are the best reasons for this daily practice.
Feeling shifts already as I complete day 19 of 100…
Green tea
Specifically Matcha Green Tea
Every day - I drink 1-2 cups of organic matcha every day
For the antioxidants
The flavonoids
The anti-cancer benefits
The anti-inflammatory benefits
It was a bit of a crazy weekend with the Art Walk on Sunday. Not a lot of sketching time for sure. Live outdoor shows are very all consuming - and exhausting! But, they are fun and I saw so many friends, neighbors and clients. And the weather was beautiful after a total wash-out on Saturday.
I have been working on this page of illustrations for a few days, doing a drawing a day - and then I added watercolor today. And more green tea leaves, so showing it all as one.
It is fun to keep a sketchbook journal and draw one thing each day. I had started that practice back in January and did it for the first half of the year. Somehow I fell out of the practice, I am not sure why… but I loved it and I think it’s time for a return.
Sketching every day! Matcha tea every day! btw Jade Leaf organic matcha is my personal favorite and dissolves better than a lot of other matcha powders I have tried. Though they are all a bit resistant.
What are you drinking? and what are you sketching?
I am born and raised in Brooklyn (well until 13 - but those are some formative years!), so it has always had my heart. And I have always been in love with the bridge.
This sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge from Dumbo, is the first step in a series experiment.
Maybe I am cheating here a bit, as I drew it yesterday and added watercolor today - so counting it as one each! I get a pass as I am buried in prep for the Maplewood Art Walk and Music Festival that is happening tomorrow. It’s my first show in 6 months and I always forget how consuming the prep is.
I have a fear of plein air painting! It’s a loss of control thing I guess… you gotta just jump in and do it in the moment. No planning or roughs, no control over the elements… the wind, the sun, the rock hard apples falling!
But on Wednesday I had an opportunity to participate in a Plein Air event at Greenwood Gardens. It is such a beautiful and amazing place that I couldn’t pass up the chance.
I decided to keep it simple and low stress by focusing only on sketching
And taking photos for reference for more sketches, and for larger paintings.
Bringing a sketchbook and pencils/pens felt less scary. And would give me the time to walk the grounds and gets tons of photos.
I was very impressed with fellow artists who brought easels and oils, and spent their time on one piece in one location.
Greenwood gardens has such varied and interesting locations with a mix of plant and architecture that I wanted time to really walk around.
I collected lots of reference pics and also had the very soothing experience of drawing 2 different locations on site
The first two I drew yesterday on site and painted when I got home.
The summer house detail I drew Friday from my photos. Best part was I felt like I was there again.
I intend to do more plein air and on site sketching so I get more and more comfortable with it. It’s also a really great way to loosen up your drawings and trust your instincts.
I don’t love hauling the stuff, including a chair, which was invaluable.
What are your thoughts about working live
Have you tried plein air painting or drawing?
Tons of distractions today, putting our crazy little dog on high alert - he startled me any number of times! Pens, brushes and pencils flying out of my hand!
But I stuck with it and did a bit of doodling…
These 1970s groovy ladies are preliminary sketches for bigger ideas. You gotta start somewhere.
I almost gave up today but I knew I would be disappointed with myself if I didn’t commit to putting some ink and paint to paper. I am happy and satisfied that I stuck with it.
There will be more to come...
I have sketching and posting daily and made it through the first week. Some days were definitely more challenging to carve out the time.
But it is so worth it. It’s fun to look forward to, and very satisfying when completed.
Posting them on the weekends will be difficult as family is a priority. But I can catch up with the postings on Mondays and just make sure I do the sketching.
So it stays fun and achievable - which is key!
Yesterday we went to Montclair State University for their open house event and this is a sketch from one of their buildings. Love the red Spanish tile roofs!
And those vivid red rooftops inspired my desire to paint more red… hence the cherries today.
Vivid juicy and chock full of anti-oxidants.
My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper
My pens… Micron, 05pt
Pastry case at Bovella’s Bakery
Super tired today but still showed up in my sketchbook. Happy I did, it is very satisfying as I head to the couch for a little nap.
I met a dear friend at Bovella’s Bakery in Mountainside recently and I was totally captivated by the pastry cases. So inviting, charming and captivating.
I thought I was done, but was lacking something so I added the splashes of color and it gave it some zing.
My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper
My pens… Micron, 05pt
An apple a day keeps the Dr away, as the saying goes.
We saw it in action when our daughter was little. Apples were one of her favorite foods and she ate one every morning. Sometimes 2! And she was rarely sick.
As in she has only been on antibiotics twice.
I can count her stomach viruses on one hand, and have fingers left over. So I highly recommend that whole apple a day thing!
Today’s inktober prompt is Golden, and it is anything but golden outside (back to rain, fog, grey – Again) so I wanted to do this one to bring some sunshine into my day.
Enter the Golden Delicious apple. A beauty though truth be told, not my favorite apple variety.
Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp are my first choices (red delicious and mcintosh are my least favorites).
Today I sketched in ink before painting, looking for a variety of loose painted and detailed drawn for contrast and interest.
My favorite part of this is where some of the yellow apples bleed into the purple shadows.
My colors: lemon yellow, permanent gamboge, permanent scarlet, ultramarine, and dioxazine violet.
My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper
My pens… Micron, 05pt
The text is paraphrased from SpecialtyProduce.com ivory flesh is fine-grained, aqueous and semi-firm with a crisp light tender consistency. They are also prone to bruising. Love the way they are described and makes you want to nurture these little beauties.
This morning got off to a rough start, but I was determined not to let it ruin my day.
It’s just not worth it.
So, I took a long, very brisk walk in the sun to clear my head, and wondered what I make in my sketchbook today. Being cranky and irritated do not encourage creative inspiration or flow – very much the opposite.
I decided I needed a very low stakes, low stress, option. Something easy to shift my mood.
Loose watercolor pumpkins scattered on the page was my answer… which is mostly about mixing paint (and always soothes my savage beast).
Painting my little pumpkins Just. For. Fun.
Lovely, bright oranges, reds, yellows, golds, and umbers (raw and burnt).
It felt really good.
Really calming
My breathing slowed as I appreciated the moment, and the process. And I was loosening up.
Then I added a bit of color splashes.
Now to ink or not ink? I love my ink lines, so I went right in with ink instead of agonizing over the decision.
I highly recommend this process of loosely painting circles and ovals… you can make pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, grapes, cherries, to name a few.
I’ll be doing more like this for the soothing, centering, relaxing feeling it brings. I highly recommend it.
Do you think you will try it? If so let me know….
I am currently working on a large custom house portrait with beautiful and extensive landscaping. One of the dominant landscape features is a very large Rose of Sharon tree, and I have been hesitant to work on it. The house is coming along so beautifully and fear that I might mess up the tree is really holding me back.
Enter… my daily sketchbook challenge, swooping in like a superhero to save the day! It occurred to me this morning that it’s the best place to play and practice the tree and work out the tricky parts. And the cute little daffodils blooming beneath it.
Now I am ready.
Well almost…
Still a little trepidation putting color to paper, but readier than I was.
So off I go…with my painted sample to guide me.
Echo Lake Park
5 straight days of rain. And grey, grey and more grey! All that dreariness and rain grinds me down, so last Wed when it finally broke I went for a walk in the park. To see a blue sky was truly a gift. It was early so I practically had the park to myself.
I was able to get this amazing photo… feels like an impressionist painting, doesn’t it?
So, I definitely have to make it a painting of it – but first, a watercolor and ink sketch so I can work out angles, color palette, overall layout. My sketchbook is the perfect place to do a little no-stress planning, and playing.
I sketched it in pencil first, then inked it. (PS – my initial sketch had all the angles off. I was able to correct them with my ink lines)
Then I went in with paint. I heightened the colors for emphasis and to match how it felt to be there. The colors felt more intense and vibrant in contrast to the preceding 5 days of rain/grey.
The world felt fresh, alive and so so colorful!
It’s fun to take a favorite scene, landscape, photo, etc. and make it your own. I think I will do this one more than once to play with different color combos.
The beauty of artist license.
What are you drawing today?
Facial expressions are hard!
Drawing them while keeping an illustrated character consistent is a real challenge. It takes a ton of practice so today I am using the daily challenge to continue to hone my Ava Appelsawse skills.
A few years back I heard Rosemary Wells, creator and illustrator of Max and Ruby, speak at the Mapso Book Festival. She was amazing and she explained that she starts each day with a warm up illustration of her 2 characters, which she then tears in half - and throws away!
This first piece is purely for warm up and to get her hand ready to work. I was shocked, and awed.
I quickly sketched Ava here peeking around the tree, book 2 has more than a few scenes in the woods, so this was good practice. Will I tear it up and throw it away - not so fast! It may still end up in the 2nd book. Either way it was an excellent warm up and a great way to start my day.
Inspired by artists who have done 100 day challenges (or longer) I have decided to try my own. Seems very fitting to begin on October 1st when so many daily drawing challenges kick off… Inktober, Artober, Catober, etc.
My parameters… a daily watercolor and ink drawing which I will share here on the blog. I can do anything I want but will use some of the daily challenges as prompts, if I am ever in search of inspiration. The goal is to keep me sketching. Everyday.
I believe a daily sketchbook practice is tremendously helpful and important. For creativity, for health, for focus, for connecting with your inner being and your voice, for feeling your feelings, for fun. Fo Fun! Is there any better reason?! And I haven't been doing it consistently enough. It will be a challenge to do one daily, and post it - but that’s why they are called challenges! right?!
For my first I am turning lemons into lemonade… we have had SO MUCH rain recently. The unending grayness was really getting to me so to cheer myself up I had sketched some bright, mod 1960s raincoats last week. Thought it could make a great surface pattern design so this morning I filled another page.
I had a great time creating these little ladies… and I love painting the little squares of color for my palette. Day 1 of 100 completed!
