Wednesday 20 March 2013

Just an ordinary life: Overthinking and A good soak


I have a new work colleague, who's also into painting, sketching and other creative activities. She's been telling me about a cartoon class she's taking, and showed me some of her sketches of situations in her life, how she uses those sketchings to process certain situations, fears, challenges, events. I was totally inspired by it, and last night, I took out one of my new sketchbooks with watercolour paper and did a couple of quick sketches. I often use my diary to write in, especially in times when I've got too much on my mind, but I haven't had the energy to sit down and write much lately. This is a perfect alternative to get things out of your system, and an excellent exercise in sketching on top of it.

Life can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Especially at 4 o'clock in the morning. And being a notorious overthinker doesn't help either.


A nice cup of tea, and a good soak can fix a lot. The bathwater almost got too cold to qualify as a proper "hot bath" though, as I decided that I had to sketch it too. Of course I couldn't wait till after.


I'm always in a bit of a dilemma when it comes to sketching. Should I just leave the pen sketchings as they are, or should I add some colour? I usually go for the colour option. And in this case, I was using one of my new watercolour sketchbooks, so it seemed a waste not to add any colour. I just like colour. But what I want to work on, though, is to add less colour. Just a bit her and there, and leave white space too. Somehow, I seem to have this deep rooted feeling that a page needs to be covered in paint, and that's what my sketches usually end up like. But I'm working on it. And I hope to keep these "ordinary life" sketches up. We'll see.


3 comments:

  1. I'm in AWE of your sketching... I love them just as they are! And you really are inspiring me to try sketching in a different way :0)

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  2. I think you have a terrific sense of, and skills with colour, but I agree that sometime less is more, and selctive colouring really focuses the view for the viewer. And believe me - 4am is the worst time to be thinking because you can't do anything about it. But it should be the best time for dreaming happy dreams.

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  3. If you're thinking about it, it's definitely something you should try. I think selective use of color can be very dramatic and have a different sort of impact. I think of flowers on a gray rainy day, something I may try myself. Love both drawings. The scribble bubbles of thought describe worry so well. And the bathtub cure is perfect!

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