Friday 19 August 2016

Finished sketchbooks and some daily drawing

I'm a bit in a strange mood at the moment. I get easily annoyed and grumpy, and I just want to get home and have my peace and quiet. The weather isn't helping much either. For the past few weeks, it's been a constant mix of a few days of blazing hot temperatures followed by a few days of cooler weather with lots of rain. Both of which I'm not particularly fond of. I'm not feeling much like blogging, or even switching on my computer in the evening. I just want to watch tv and draw. The drawing bit, at least, is a good thing. And since I got a few pages filled in my sketchbook, I thought I'd might give it a try and put it all into a blog post after all.

I finished my sketchbooks last weekend, glueing on the covers and backs. I decided to restitch the one where I messed up the stitch, as it wasn't as tight as thought after all. I don't like the glueing part at all, but I do like how they turned out.


Thanks to the coptic stitch, they lie nice and flat on the table.


Two of the sketchbooks have 210g/qm paper, and two have 300g/qm, both Fabriano Disegno 5. I haven't used this paper before, but it's a watercolour paper, and not quite as expensive as the Artistico. They didn't have the smooth surface, so these have a bit of a tooth. I'm looking forward to see how it is to paint on it.


So far, I have only painted the colour charts of the two watercolour boxes I'm using at the moment in one of the sketchbooks. This is the one for which I used an old map for the covers. It's a map of an area in Sweden, and I'm thinking about taking it with me on my trip to Stockholm next month.


A couple of weeks ago, I made a quick drawing of my tea cup in the morning, and I got so annoyed with how it turned out. Such a simple shape, really, and yet, that oval shape just seems to be the most difficult thing to draw. It looked like a drawing of someone who had just drawn something for the first time in their life. So I decided to draw my tea cup every day for 2 weeks to try and get that shape into my hand. I missed a couple of days, but then on others, I drew more than one, so that's okay. I quite enjoyed drawing the different cups and using different pens, and discovering some tins of tea at the back of the cupboard that I haven't used in ages, like the "Hexenkräuter" (witch's herbs) tea, which is so delicious. The three women I quickly drew from a little table at the window in one of the buildings on the campus, a nice and quiet spot that I've been using a lot in my lunch breaks these past few weeks.






I also started a new Moleskine sketchbook, for lettering practice, and general drawing and doodling, and for all the pens that don't work in my Hahnemühle sketchbook. I meant to add some text to these bananas, but I haven't got round to it yet. But it's maybe a good thing I'm posting it now, as I might mess it up completely. Getting both the lettering AND the spelling right seems quite impossible at the moment.


I read this quote, or something like it, a few months back on the façade of a building here in town, and thought it was funny. And it was the only thing I could come up with for the prompt of a daily photography challenge this month. I forgot to post it in that group, actually, and I'm generally not doing a very good job with keeping up with the challenge. But I enjoyed the lettering. And sometimes I do manage to get the spelling right.


I went to a concert with my Mum last Tuesday. Well, actually, it wasn't a concert but an opera. Carmen. It was a sort of "half opera". It was in the old concert hall in the city, with the orchestra in its usual place in the middle and the choir behind. It did had all the characters too, and they were all dressed in beautiful Spanish costumes (gorgeous swooshy skirts), but it just didn't have the usual opera décor. It was very nice, but of course I had "one of those people" sitting in front of me. I didn't have my sketchbook with me, but I had the page already in my head, so I made sure to memorise the shape of her head, low hairline and very long neck.



I'm so glad it's Friday, and the weekend ahead. Peace and quiet and lots of time to myself. And at the moment, I'm especially looking forward to Friday evenings, as that means that I get to spend an hour with the Goethals. The Goethals are five sisters in the Belgian tv series The Out-Laws (Clan), one of which is married to Jean-Claude "De Kloot" (The Prick), an exceptionally nasty piece of work, whom the other four sister try to get rid of. He's such an unpleasant man that you just wish every time that their clever plans succeed at last, but he seems to have more lives than the proverbial cat. And then, ad the end of the episode, you are glad, after all, that he did get away yet again, because that means that there'll be another episode next week. It's hilarious, and just the thing you need when you're having a bit of a grumpy phase. 

A very happy and cheerful weekend to you!




18 comments:

  1. Fab sketch books and sketches

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  2. Love the work in and on your sketch books, they look great. Sorry you are feeling grumpy, not much different here!Have a good weekend, Happy PPF, Hugs, Valerie

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  3. Beautiful and fun sketches, thanks for sharing!

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  4. Wow, what impressive number of sketch books, and so neat!
    Love your paintings.
    Happy PPF and weekend xx

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  5. It seems like there is something in the air as what you're describing seems to be quite common right now (maybe the full moon yesterday?!) Your sketch books are gorgeous - they look so professionally done - are you planning on selling them or is it just for yourself? You can really see the progress on your mugs of tea drawings as the week progresses - those ellipses are the most difficult thing to draw, I agree. I love the drawing you did of the woman sat in front of you - there is always one, isn't there and I don't understand why they can't just keep their head still - maybe the person in front of them and in front of them right the way to the front row is doing it too and it has a knock on effect!

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  6. Beautiful pages...You do have the patience for practice. Different teas entice one to draw more, don't they :)

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  7. Your artwork is truly stunning and your sketchbooks are absolutely lovely.

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  8. I sooooo love your books! They look amazing! I agree about tea cups (which look super). I don't get it either - the difficulty of an oval, lol. Go figure.

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  9. You may be feeling grumpy but this is a delightful post. I LOVE your sketchbooks and how they turned out. Wow! I hope you enjoy the paper. Your cup idea is a good one. Keep doing a sketch of something every day--looks like fun, too. I hope the weather improves your way and you have a wonderful weekend.

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  10. I hope your grumpy mood leaves you soon because you have provided a delightful post with amazing artwork here. Maybe the full moon might have something to do with your mood.
    Your journals are fabulous... they look really professional along with your lettering.
    Happy PPF to you

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  11. love all you tea cups :) and the croissant is well done :)

    was the person waving their head back and forth?? or jut had a big head? :p

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  12. Sorry you are feeling a bit down. Drawing is the thing to do. I love those books. Also your art is so much fun, detailed and wonderfully colored. Wishing you a happy weekend.

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  13. Love all the sketches-especially the tea. I think I'd like a mug of the peppermint tea please. Hugs-Erika

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  14. First off what a rich post for a grumpy gal!! Love it!! And you tell us all to have a happy weekend...ditto to you!! That quote is a favourite and love the font..just gorgeous work all of it! Your coffee mugs are such a great idea and look amazing, as do the bananas! Love everything and that tv show sounds so fun. Here's hoping your weekend is as fun as this post was!! Everything was so awesome! Thanks for sharing!

    Hugs Giggles

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  15. There must be something in the air- I've been feeling really grumpy too, and having lots of bad nights where I lie thinking things over. Anyway, I love your sketchbooks-they turned out great. I can't wait to see what you make in them. I love all your cups of tea too.

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  16. This is all so beautiful and darling. I love how you've made your own sketchbooks, I keep meaning to do it with some of my own drawings, because what else do you do with them?! I find moleskine paper really weird, but that is most likely just me :)
    erin | words and pictures

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  17. Your sketchbooks are amazing and I'm sure they will serve you very well.

    I have those types of moods too now and again but it's great to see you getting some work done in your sketchbooks....always a pleasure to see. I'm taking Andrea's Creative Writing class at the moment and find it so helpful. I also want to master some creative lettering for my sketches to give the pages a bit more pizzazz. OH YES, so disappointing when someone tall sits down right in front of you. That has happened to me also...I may sketch the back of their head next time. hehe

    Have a lovely week! :)

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  18. Love Love your sketchbooks Katja

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