On simplified drawing and personal blogs

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On simplified drawing and personal blogs

Lately I’ve been striving for a more simplified drawing style, so yesterday I decided to practice in my Sketchbook Journal with a photo reference—a picture I liked from Chris Glass.*

If you click on the link, you’ll see that I left out many details from the photo in my drawing—other people, gadgets, furnishings—but I learned again that what you leave out is as important as what you leave in when drawing. It’s difficult to make those choices.

I don’t think I could

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My continuing sketchbook saga

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My continuing sketchbook saga

I have a confession to make: I’m sick of my current sketchbook—the Crescent Rendr.

This sketchbook, which I’m more than half way through, is too big even though I thought I wanted a larger sketchbook after the last smaller one, and the paper is unsatisfying. It might be good for Copic markers—alcohol ink doesn’t bleed through the paper which is amazing (and the reason I bought it) —but it’s not so great for anything else.

Watercolor and gouache smear rather than soak into the fibers, and I just don’t like the feel of it on my hand. It feels kind of coarse--but it actually has no texture.

And…yes, I admit it, my disillusion with the current one might also have something to do with the allure of a newer

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A peak into my sketchbook

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A peak into my sketchbook

I haven’t shared much of my sketchbook lately, partly because I’m focused on making cards and more cards! So today I thought I’d open it up and talk a bit about the what I’m learning and working on.

Now you should know there many kinds of sketchbooks and I’ve tried them all—art journals, visual journals, illustrated journals and diaries, bullet journals, composed sketchbooks and messy practice sketchbooks.

These days I’ve streamlined my art practice into projects (like the cards right now) and three books: 1) an “everything” journal, which is a daily tool I use to journal, plan, track my practice and keep notes, 2) an art journal that I slowly fill with more composed pages, and 3) a messy anything-goes kind of sketchbook for daily practice and exploration.

When one fills up, I start filling another in chronological order. In any year I find myself filling three or more everything journals, 1-2 art journals and maybe 4-6 sketchbooks.

The art journal I leave at home for the most part to work on in the studio, but the journal and sketchbook

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Posada De Las Flores — Urban Sketch

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Posada De Las Flores — Urban Sketch

I did it! I actually took one hour of my vacation in Loreto, sat myself down and in my art journal drew the lobby of this lovely hotel where we stayed that night. Then, still on vacation, I took another block of time a few days later, sat myself down and finished it with watercolor and linework. As I said last week, I have such a hard time carving out time for art while traveling so this is a huge accomplishment.

And the drawing isn’t half bad either. Ha ha.

All kidding aside, as soon as I stepped into the lobby of the Posada de Las Flores — Inn of Flowers — I knew I had to draw it! All those angles! That circular staircase to floors two and three! The water fountain! the colors! It was a great drawing challenge. I certainly didn’t get it all right — at all — but I’m pleased. My urban sketching is making progress, I think.

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Routine, momentum and art practice interruptions

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Routine, momentum and art practice interruptions

I do love a vacation—I do—but I can’t quite resolve the pain of breaking away from my art practice. It doesn’t matter for how long I go away, it might be a quick four day weekend like last week to southern California or several weeks to a destination further away, there’s this huge disruption not just to my time, but to my attention.

I lose my focus and momentum stalls. Both on the road—where I struggle to take time for art—and when I get back and forget what I was working on before I left.

Every vacation.

If you have an art practice, do you struggle with this? It’s really frustrating!

I’ve been working on solutions.

Today I will focus on the problem of taking time for art while on the road. I enjoy

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