A Fresh Set Of Challenges

You can accelerate your development by

giving yourself a fresh set of challenges,

or the same set viewed from a different angle,

every day. Explore a different path.

If it's a dead end, explore another."

~ Paul Foxton

July 1- 9 2019 Sketches on Yupo using alcohol ink

 I went back into some of these sketches and added to them and changed a  few things.

You can see the sketches individually on our Drawing Everyday facebook group.

"I do my best work and have the most fun when I'm not sure exactly where I'm heading." ~ J. Cohen • #DoItOnYupo The process of discovery IS exhilarating! Come let me share my discoveries with you. To help celebrate the grand opening of a new #blickartmaterials store at 401 Park Drive in Boston, MA, ⁣I will be giving a free demonstration using #alcoholink on #YupoPaper from 11-1 on July 21st, sponsored by our friends at Legion Paper! I would LOVE to meet you there! 💖

Stay Inspired and Productive My Friends
Join me for a summer of sketching everyday! 
 

X ♥  O

Paying Attention

"Sketching on a regular basis requires you 

to pay close attention to the visual world 

around you. With practice, you begin to 

see things you never noticed before. 

~ Paul Lasea

3 minute blind contour

You Are Simply Drawing

"As each new skill is learned, you will merge

 it with those previously learned until, 

one day, you are simply drawing; 

just as, one day, you found yourself simply 

driving without thinking about how to do it." 

~ Betty Edwards 

 3 minute Blind Contour

To See More Clearly

"Be clear in your mind why learning to draw well is important. Drawing enables you to see in that special way that artists see, no matter what style you use to express your special insight. Your goal in drawing should be to encounter the reality of experience... to see ever more clearly, ever more deeply."

 ~ Betty Edwards 

Today's three 3 min. blind contours

Everything is Sketchable!

Jerry is a bit of a hoarder and trash picker from way back,

so there is never a scarcity of things to draw around here.

Here is how I set up today's model. I think it helps to get it up
close to eye level and put a solid background behind it.

This is a 15 minute blind contour of a very cute toy dinosaur.

Blind contour doesn't necessarily create a beautiful drawing, but

it is a wonderful exercise in developing your skill of really seeing.

In my opinion, artists put too much emphasis on creating paintings
or finished pieces (a product) and not enough on practicing (the process).
The real joy for me, is in being in the moment, engrossed in the process of creating.

You can see more about blind contour in the side bar here.

AAARRR!

Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

 

Exploration Drawing

I decided to try this week's challenge photo today. I did something different and held my pencil like a wand to draw almost the entire thing. (95%, I'd say.) It was really enjoyable and seemed to free up my right brain. I used a 4B pencil and probably could have even gone softer. I moved and changed the tree and the sign and added a road. I don't like the tree in the middle of the page, so I will change that when I do my final design. I call it an exploration drawing because holding my pencil like a wand freed up my mind to investigate, wander and play. Try it, you might like it too.