Friday 11 May 2012

Lazy Sunday sketches - radishes and berries

It's Friday again already, just a few hours till the weekend, and of course two great parties to join. As I don't have so much time during the week to paing, 'm always looking forward to spending all day in my studio during the weekend. Last weekend, though, I just couldn't get myself to pick up a paint brush at all. I felt totally uninspired, and so I finally gave up and decided to just take have a really lazy weekend and get some rest. By Sunday evening, while happily watching telly, I at last managed to pick up my sketchbook  for some lazy Sunday sketches (although I was too lazy to finish them).


One of the first lessosn in The Art of Wild Abandoment was about sketching radishes. You didn't have to do radishes, of course, but somehow I found them a comforable subject to sketch, and I keep coming back to them. In supermarkets over here, they are sold in bunches with their greens and other bits still on, not in the "tidied up" version found in some other places.


I love all the berries available at the moment. My favourites are no doubt blueberries, but I also love blackberries and raspberries. The blackberries are especially delicious at the moment. Firm and perfectly sweet. Irresistible. And their colour is just gorgeous.


I grew up with Caran d'Ache Neocolor. Well, actually with everything Caran d'Ache. Since it is a Swiss manufacturer, they're the dominant brand here, and the only brand used in school for everything, from pencils to fountain pens (no ballpoint pens allowed in my time), to watercolour and gouache paints, and of course the Necolor crayons. I still have my very first box of crayons, but I haven't used them very often since my school time. It wasn't until I took the first online course with Christy Tomlinson, actually, that I re-discovered them.


I've been using them more and more often lately, and I'm adding new colours to my palette. They're quite cheap here, actually, and I think I'll soon have the whole range of 126 colours! They are especially handy, in combination with a water reservoir brush, for lazy sofa sketchings. But I'll also take them with me on my planned trips this year (not long until the first one now :) ), to do some sketching. I've always wanted to sketch while on holiday, but somehow never managed. But this year, there are no excuses. A sketchbook, a box of Neocolor II crayons and a water reservoir brush - you can take these anywhere!

Linking up to Paint Party Friday (even though they're only half finished sketches) and Palette & Paint (even though there isn't much of a palette to show, and even less paint, I'm afraid).

But this coming weekend, I'm going to spend much time in the studio, and get my paints and brushes, and hopefully, I'll have some more to show next week. Have a great and inspiring Friday everyone!

30 comments:

  1. MMM yummy! I know the feeling of lazy sketches... it's not bad I think, because these look actually pretty good! I like the thin black drawing lines you have included, it makes the work more fragile. I wonder what you are up too this weekend! Have much fun!

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  2. Loving your berries and radishes. Enjoy your weekend. Happy PPF, Annette x

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  3. I have half a bunch of radishes in the crisper and am thinking I may just need to get them out and do a bit of drawing... your gorgeous work is really inspiring...xx

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  4. I love yor sketches! The radishes are particularly great and it sounds to me like your rest did you good :0)

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  5. Berries and radishes are coming along very well ~ berries take time and patience ~ lovely ~thanks, namaste, ^_^

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  6. Your colors are lovely and your work is so inspiring.

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  7. Your gradation of color is really wonderful. Your berries and radishes look so round! The color is also deliciously vivid. Keep sharing!

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  8. Lovely radishes. I clicked on Wild Abandonment and it looks interesting. I have never done anything online in the way of art and am wondering how much time you spend on it, how much it costs, and if the cost/benefit analysis is worth it to you. Would like to hear your thoughts as I find it a bit intriguing, and I could surely use some tips as my painting teacher now has AZ and is retired.

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  9. I love my neocolors too! Your sketches are so colorful and making me really want to eat a berry. Had wonderful blueberries from the store after your last post- so the next trip to the store will be blackberries.

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  10. Love your fruit and vegetables! Amazing how you captured the blackberry with the crayons. I can never get things that fine with them.

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  11. Radishes look great! :) I'm using Portfolio and I'm learning to love them more and more every day. :)

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  12. very cool! I have some but need to try out more with them.happy ppf

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  13. I love blackberries and yours look good enough to eat. I also love radishes and they too give me an appetite. Great job. Those neocolors are wonderful. Happy PPF!

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  14. OK, I'm a little jealous that caran d'ache is cheap where you live! I love my set I bought a few years ago, but sometimes I forget to get it out and use it. Radishes make a great subject for painting - thanks for the inspiration. Yours look great!

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  15. Nice sketches, those radishes look yummy!

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  16. I am SO jealous that you have cheap access to caran d'ache- they are my FAVORITE to use with my students and they are extremely expensive here! But so worth it to have access to all those gorgeous colors!
    I love your beets and sketch play too- some times it seems playing is the best way to loosen back up- at least for me!
    Happy PPF,
    Stephanie

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  17. The sketches are great. I love that radish with the outlined detail. Super work. Happy PPF

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  18. Beautiful sketches, so much freedom and joy in your mark making and your great observation, use of colour and line is inspiring. The Neocolors, a water pen and a sketch book is a wonderful recipe for a restful painting session. Thanks for sharing this with P&P, I really enjoy seeing your work each week and what you use to create it. I also enjoyed reading that you are planning to sketch on your trips.

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  19. Thanks for sharing with us, such a cool idea to use these crayons and play, that's just the fun of it!

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  20. Love your veggis! The radishes look especially super. :) I enjoy your work very much. Your super talented. :) Happy PPF!

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  21. Loving the the veggi ... they all have such drawable / paintable shapes and colors. Well Done!

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  22. These are lovely veggies and I adore these crayons! And they last forever it seems, so no money wasted in my eyes!

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  23. these are great...good vivid colours...xxx

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  24. So fresh and colorful, so vivid! :) Very beautiful!

    I would like to have some of those crayons, thanks for telling! :)

    Have a creative weekend! :)

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  25. wunderbare Radieschens, toll gezeichnet und coloriert :-) Habe auch diese NeocolorII und liebe sie über alles!

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  26. I'm having a pretty nice art weekend myself. And thinking about sketching some cherries.
    rinda

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  27. Great sketches! Absolutely perfect radishes. I love sitting on the sofa with a sketch book, watching a movie and drawing. It's so relaxing.

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  28. Wonderful sketches...so real...I'm craving a berry!

    Hugs Giggles

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  29. I love botanical drawings and paintings. These are so fresh with a light touch, lovely!!!!!!

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