August, September, Inktober

While in the time-sucking land of Facebook this afternoon, I clicked a link to the October sketching challenge Inktober.  I'm in.

The idea is to create an ink drawing every day in October and then share it online with the hashtag inktober.  I know me.  This is not so simple.  First, I'm awful at follow through.  Second, I spend ridiculous amounts of time editing a post.  Third, the next round of Sketchbook Skool starts Friday, further limiting "idle" time.

My house. My rules.

1.  Sketch in ink every day - any size - any pen. 

2.  Post the sketches every 3 days, so we should wind up with 10 updates by Halloween.

3.  No dessert until a sketch is done.  I'm serious about this.  Don't test me.

4.  If it just can't happen one day.  Don't give up.  Pick up a pen and get busy on the next day.

Join me.  At least a few of you artsy people know you can do this.  I can also hear some of you saying "Nope, I can't draw."  First, I don't believe you.  Second, okay, then just doodle.  Try some zentangles or stick figures.  Think of it as art therapy.

Here we go!

Happy Artiversary!

I have been artistically trekking for TWO WHOLE YEARS!

(September 2012 - The Beginning)

My state-of-the-journey essay filled the screen moments ago.  Progress made.  Pride.  Slacking off.  Guilt.  Surprises.  Disappointments.  The blasted inner critic.  Blah blah, blah blah blah.

It was going to be a fabulous, epiphany-inspiring masterpiece.  Then, I got bored.

Instead of that...

In a nutshell, (but not a walnut shell - my tongue will itch):
Before, with the exception of a few short months, I didn't draw for 25 years.  Silly me.  Now, with the exception of a few days/weeks here and there, I've been drawing for over two years.  Not doing as much as I imagined, but way more than five-years-ago me would've imagined.

I kind of feel uneasy when a post has too much me me me in it, but then, it's my blog and my journey.  I do want to inspire... but today...

I ROCK!

(And, so does every one of you who continue encouraging me... sorry, had to add that.)

When Nobody's Looking

The recent trip to California was relatively short and jam-packed.  I don't like to hold up the crew, so sketched briefly here and there.  One morning, however, I woke up very early and couldn't go back to sleep.  The sun had just cleared the horizon when I started on the view from our room.

There were a gazillion boats behind these two, but this will do.

Then, a few days ago, my husband needed help on the farm.  Mechanical difficulties after I arrived gave me unexpected time to fill.  Out came the pocket sketchbook and a freebie ballpoint pen - the only drawing supplies I had with me.  That would do.

You don't need exciting subject matter or fancy supplies to take advantage of the waiting moments - just something to draw on and something to draw with.  That's it.  That'll do.

Magnetic

August went zooooOOOM!  September will be no different.  Headed to Cali for a wedding tomorrow.  Within days of arriving home, we are headed across the state to a concert.  And there's more brouhaha planned after that.

In the midst of the madness, I worked on a page from the last semester of Sketchbook Skool.  The assignment: Gather items to create a collection.  Trace around them one by one and then add as much or little detail as you like.  Use only ballpoint pen.  I chose our refrigerator magnets.  This page has grown in the quiet moments when my husband crashed in his recliner at the end of a long day.  I draw while he dozes.

I like detail and I'm slow and we have a lot of magnets.  It may take me another month.  Here's the progress so far.

Yawning Milo is not impressed.

YOU could try this with any old ballpoint.  I used my absolute favorite ballpoint pen - the Zebra F-301.  It creates nice thin lines and doesn't smear.  The tip needs occasional blob removal (see the squiggles in the left margin), but that's true with most ballpoints.  Layering with this baby creates a lovely range of pencil-like grays.  The only thing that could make this pen better might be a fatter grip.  That and dispensing chocolate as you draw.  Wouldn't that be perfect?

Stop... Go... Pennzoil

My son and I have done this routine since he was a kid.  "Stop" will be said or overheard for whatever reason.  He or I will then say "go" and the other one "Pennzoil."  I could text "stop" to him today & the shtick would continue.  If you remember past Pennzoil commercials, you'll understand.  If not, you're totally perplexed right now.  Sadly, I can't find any links/videos of this to share.  Is this relevant to the subject matter of today's post?  Kinda' sorta' maybe.  It's stuck in my head, so there it is.

Anyhoo... Every so often I have to fess up to slacking off.  I am drawing more, but in spurts.  I gain & lose momentum like a wimpy car on a mountain road.  My rolling stone gleefully flies down the hill and then settles in a nice little rut in the valley.  Start, stop, start, stop... You get the idea.  Two years of progress & it's still a struggle.  I kind of think most creatives deal with this.

What distracts me?

The dog, the cat, the husband, Facebook, chocolate, email, laundry, snail mail, housework, IMing my sister, the weather, the blogosphere, the kids, paperwork, books, chocolate, bills, blog posting, YouTube, errands, cooking, the newspaper, TV, chocolate, the internet, the sunset, the fly on my knee.. it goes on pretty much endlessly.

Of course some of this is necessary, but many times it's just the inner critic pulling my sleeve, pointing out what I could be doing that is less challenging.  The Voice nags, nags, nags - "You have more important things to do.  You're ignoring the cat/dog/husband.  Stop being selfish.  Art doesn't really matter.  Don't start - it will suck anyway.  It's more fun to BUY art supplies."  

The ONLY way to shut it up is to hit mute and sit my butt down and start.  There really isn't a shortcut.  There is no easy button - just do, do, do!  That makes you want to sing doesn't it?  Okay, now I'm humming.

Me, Myself & Selfies

Sketchbook Skool week two was selfies and, with time to do homework every day and getting to use pencils (YAY!), it was a great week.

The last week of semester 2 is nearly done.  I need to get busy, but first...

Selfie numero uno - from the mirror.  I tried, without success, to avoid the usual stern/sad/concentrating self-portrait.

Left side = friendly me.  Right side = going back to bed.

A couple days later - from photos.  I do not have deep, dark eyes - otherwise, not so bad.

 


Then came quick contours.  The first one is blind - no peeking at the paper allowed.   The second is one line (no lifting of the pen) in one minute.  These expressive faces are the fun meter favorite.

And lastly - cycle-riding me hanging out behind the hubby on the Harley.
(Yes, drawn from my comfy seat while zipping down the highway.)

Enough about me.  YOU should grab a pen and piece of paper. . . . Really, right now, pick up a pen & notepad - or maybe an envelope you're about to throw out.  Take them in the bathroom or bedroom, look in the mirror for a minute.  Select a spot on your face and touch your pen to the paper.  Now, without looking down, draw the lines of your face - hair, eyes, nose, lips, chin (not necessarily in that order).  Don't over think and don't dawdle - just scoot that pen around.

Now look down.  There - that's your laugh for the day.  Repeat as needed - with your face or a loved one.  Better yet, make them try it too.

Scene Three

On a recent Friday evening my phone dinged at me - "Hey, do you have plans for tomorrow or Sunday?"  Hmmm, what will I be getting myself into?  Isn't that what we all think when an ambiguous question pops up?  Or... is that just me?  Oops.

Anyway, we had a Saturday cycle trip planned, but I was free Sunday and replied as such.  I soon discovered my friend Kristi had volunteered to paint 3 small background panels for the community theatre.  She was requesting my "artistic talents."  My initial reaction was, well, YIKES!  Me?!  Can I really be that much help?  The only large art I'd done was the whimsical sidewalk chalking last fall.  However, one of the themes here is to try new creative ventures, so I agreed.

a fireplace palette.

We met on a Sunday afternoon to begin what would take three additional evenings to complete.  The "small" backgrounds were 8 foot panels.  Small in theatre world I suppose, but not to this gal.  The musical was Into the Woods and we were charged with creating Cinderella's house/fireplace, a baker's shop/oven, and Jack's house/shack.  Thankfully, Kristi had a few ideas to get us started and we planned our attack with pencil & brush.


I painted Cinderella's fireplace.. stone by stone by stone.

Kristi tackled the baker's shop... layer by layer by layer.

                        

Working on the baker's oven.

We teamed up for the third panel - Jack's shack.  I roughed out the sketch and laid down the initial wood grain of the boards.  The next night  Kristi added detail to the wall and floor while I painted the window boards.  I think this panel had the best end result.  The team effort was a blast and there was plenty of chit chat.  Kristi was an art major as well and we tossed around mutual artist issues - like how intimidating it is to start something totally new on the page or canvas.  Those discussions were punctuated with comments on the project at hand - "Hmm, should I use another color?"  "What are you thinking?"  "How about I add a shadow here?"  That kind of stuff - bouncing back and forth as we worked.   

This project was time consuming and I was exhausted when we left each evening, but it was a fun experience.  The occasional complimentary cast member was a nice bonus - a nice confidence booster.  (And NO, I do not want to be a regular set painter.  Seriously, not.  Well, maybe I would help a waaaaays down the road.  Now, it's back to paper and small canvas - which are small in reality, not just in theatre terms.)

The first two panels on stage.  This was the last night we painted, so didn't get to see all three together.

All "finished."  For an artist - it's really never finished.  You just run out of time.

Now wasn't that a productive way to procrastinate my Sketchbook Skool homework?

Happiness is...

My husband called me yesterday while I was helping a friend paint sets for the community theatre.  It's been a fun, but time-consuming challenge.  More on that later.

Me - Hello.
Hubby - Hello!!
M - Hello?!
H - Helloooo!!! .... Who is this? (our conversations tend to start out goofy)
M - Your wife.
H - You must be painting.
M - Why? Can you hear the noise here?
H - You sound happy.  You sound happiest when you're painting.

It's an exaggeration since I don't paint often, but I love that he said it.  Later in the evening we were out on the cycle.  At one point, while increasing speed, he leaned in with great gusto and swiftly switched gears several times.  When we got to cruising speed, he briefly put his hands up and did a slow ninja chop in the air.  I chuckled.  Yeah, cycle-riding makes him happy.

Naptime

Week 2 of semester 2 of Sketchbook Skool was all about self-portraits - or drawn selfies.  It's been both fun & frustrating.  I'll soon post a bit of the homework.  

In the meantime, the whole idea of this class is to get in the habit of daily drawing - of illustrating life as it happens.  It might be sinking in.  I sat down for a short nap one afternoon and instead wound up drawing the cat napping.  A simple moment of my day recorded in a few minutes of ink.

Drawn to the Kitchen

Draw your kitchen!  That was the final assignment for semester one of Sketchbook Skool.  Doesn't sound terribly exciting does it?  I mean, really, how exciting are appliances and cabinets and such?  Well, it turned out to be a kettle of fun.  (heh heh)

I've mentioned the sixth SBS teacher was Tommy Kane.  His method is to slow down, see the details and spends hours on a sketchbook page instead of minutes.  I gravitate towards the slow and detailed versus the mostly quicker methods of the earlier SBS instructors.  This particular lesson was calling my name so I skipped a couple assignments (for now).

After much procrastinating and the inner critic trying to talk me out of it, I sat down on a rainy afternoon when there was no harvest crew to cook for.  As usual, my persnickety brain was immediately annoyed that the lines weren't instantly perfecto.  I wanted the fridge along the right edge, so started there... without thinking about my hand being in the way as I moved from right to left.  Urgh.  Then, the stove went all wonky.  It doesn't really lean out like that.  "Tommy said to just keep going!"  That was on repeat in my brain.  So, I did - even though the back counter line was angling down & actually the whole drawing was leaning to the left.  I kept going.

I posted this first photo to the SBS Facebook group.  I reasoned, if I get this out there, I will actually finish it.

Over the next week more lines were added, then cross-hatching, then more lines, then more cross-hatching.  (Click on any photo to see it larger.)

Watercolor was next and it made me nervous.  Those wonky kitchen lines had grown on me.  Did I really want to risk messing it all up.  "Oh come on, it's just paper!  Get to it!"  So I did.  First some greens, then the cabinets, walls, and floor.

I started having fun.  Adding color here and there.  Going back into dry areas and enhancing the color or texture.  I thought I was done and posted the photo above.  Oops, missed the middle of the window and a few small white spaces and a few magnets.

Ask any artist - we always see something to change or correct or add to.  I see several areas I could enhance, but this one is done.  This final photo was posted about an hour before semester two started.  I'm so last minute it isn't even funny.  My daughter wants to frame this, but I won't be tearing it out.  Guess I'll have to properly scan and print it for her.

Semester two of Sketchbook Skool started Friday.  We've been celebrating July 4th and finishing up harvest, so I've only watched a few class videos.  Time to crack open the sketchbook!

Sketchbook Dreams

It's been nearly two years since starting this trek and since my silly art class dream.  I had another goofy dream last night - kind of a sad nightmare really.  Much of the vivid story faded quickly.  What I do remember:

I'm at an elaborate exhibit of student work with a mishmash of classmates - high school friends, college pals, and Sketchbook Skool artists.  Our work is oddly shaped pottery.  Observers file by and I am obviously proud of my creative pots.  Then it's time to pack up and Danny Gregory instructs us, one by one, to collect our pieces.  Oh dear, the order is determined by ability, from fantastic to not-so-good.  I wait...  then chat with my SBS classmate Lynn.  Why, yes, she would indeed like to invite me to join her group of artists, but alas, there is no room right now.  "Keep me in mind, I'd really love that!"  

Turning back to the tables of pottery, I realize three of us are left... the bottom of the class.  I am bummed and suddenly realize how juvenile my pots are.  "Now, do you see why you need to spend more time on this?" Danny stands next to me like a stern principal.  "Yeah... I thought this was good."  A totem pole of tiny pots falls apart as I pick it up.  Sigh. I begin gathering my sad pots.  Then the alarm interrupted my distress.

I've deduced this was a combo of my tumultuous first semester as well as the inner critic voice (aka The Monkey) telling me I'm not talented enough or something.  WHAT-EV-ER.  Back off buddy.  I'm just happy Mr. Gregory was the instructor of whatever pottery class that was.  I bet I had fun in class!  . . . .  Oh, wait!  I just thought of the new exercise program at work ... I'm nearly in last place.  Hey!  Maybe the dream is also about my sucky exercise habits!  Yay!... er... I mean, I need to get going on that.  (And sketching.)

Semester 2 of Sketchbook Skool starts Friday.  Woohoo!  I'm off to finish a bit of leftover homework from semester 1... (and of course, go for a walk).

Lemon Dogs

Last week was machinery prep for harvest - waxing, cleaning, greasing, oil-changing, fixing, etc.  We started cutting wheat Saturday.  Actual drawing or painting exercises just can't happen these busy weeks and moments to sketch illustrated journal-style are rare and brief.  What gets on the page is wonky at best, but it's all about capturing the moment, so I'm good with these (both in my pocket-size sketchbook).

About 20 minutes snatched between finishing up for the night and heading home.

I'm the cook for our little harvest crew.  I stole a few minutes to sketch ingredients and then, while the meal was cooking, added bits of color.  I asked my sister if she could tell what this sketch is of and she identified the whisk & eggs, but then "... and a spoon of, um, a tiny dog?"  Hahaha!

It is raining today.  Frustrating the farmers, but it gives me a break to catch up on housework and sketching and maybe napping, though probably not in that order.


(PS - It's lemon zest.  No tiny dogs were harmed in the making of my lemon bars.)