The 30x30 Direct Watercolour challenge is almost finished, one more day to go. I started very well, for the first 12 days, I managed to paint every day. But then I just didn't quite have the energy for a few days, and the last two weeks have been quite busy, so painting became a bit more sporadic. But I'm still pleased with result. I might not have 30 paintings done on 30 days, but I have 24 paintings altogether (I did more than one on some days). Many of them were quite quick and simple, like the ones here, but still, it's all practice, and I certainly painted much more than I usually did. And I know now that I can very well fit in a bit of painting in the evenings, after work. And I intend to do that much more often. So all in all, it's been a success. But now, I'm just looking forward to my holiday, which starts tomorrow. I really need a holiday now!
The second week hasn't been quite as productive as last week, although it started well. Evenings after work are definitely a bit of struggle sometimes, especially towards the end of the week. But I'm so glad this challenge is encouraging me to take time to paint. Even if it doesn't turn out as you wanted. On Friday, I tried something different. And it was an Epic Fail. I tried it twice. And both - an absolute and total disaster. So much so, that I even considered glueing together the two pages to make it disappear. Now, it just makes me laugh. For the moment, I'm going to leave it, and hopefully, one day I can look back and see the progress I've made. Or maybe I'll eventually gesso over it, and draw something else.
I didn't have the energy to do another painting, so I had to make up for
it on Saturday. I went back to the fridge ad its content, sketching
the ingredients for my lunch before they became a mushroom pasta sauce. I
deliberately bought the fresh garlic, because it is so much prettier,
with all it's purples and greens.
I meant to have one of these bananas for breakfast on Sunday, but it took me too long to sketch them so I had to go without breakfast. The sacrifices we make for our art...
I also had these delicious cherries, which needed to be eaten, so I made another one for Sunday. Apparently, this year is a good year for cherries.
With all the fruits and veggies gone, or already sketched, I tried something different again on Monday. A couple of stoneware bottles I have in my studio, which have been waiting forever to be drawn and painted.
And that's all I've got to show for the second week. I did a sketch on Tuesday, but still haven't scanned it. And for the last two days, I have been so tired and my neck and shoulders are so stiff and painful, that I just didn't feel like sketching. Last night, I had a hot bath and an early night instead. The weather we're having at the moment, humid, hot, cold, sun, rain... is just the perfect weather to catch a chill, if you aren't careful. Hopefully I'll make up for the days I've missed at the weekend, and have more energy again next week.
The first week of the challenge is over, and so far, I've been keeping up. Well, I still have to do today's sketch, but on work days, I'm doing them in the evening. And keeping them quick and simple. My fridge happened to be full of all kinds of juicy fruits at the beginning of the week, so I decided to start with sketching them.
With some, I made more than one sketch. With these apricots, I tried a more realistic version, using layers. I wasn't quite happy with how they turned out, they seemed to become more and more dull in the process. So I made another sketch, very quick and loose. They turned out much fresher and brighter. I'd like to combine the two and achieve more realistic paintings, that are still bright and fresh. Lots to practising to do....
I really enjoyed painting these strawberries. I wanted them to be quick and loose, but with the texture they get from those little seed thingies. So I decided to use salt. The first one I did in the Hahnemühle Watercolour Book that I'm mainly using for this challenge, the second one in my normal sketchbook, that doesn't have watercolour paper, but takes a bit of watercolour quite well. I played with the different formats of the two sketchbooks (landscape and portrait), and lined the berries up. They were also delicious to eat afterwards.
Blueberries are a big favourite of mine, and the perfect subject for a quick sketch. The hot, humid and thunderstormy weather we're having at the moment leaves me feeling so tired, I just didn't have the energy for something bigger.
Eventually, all the yummy fruits were sketched and eaten. These bright red radishes were perfect to sketch next.
On Wednesday evening, I needed something very quick to sketch. This ice lolly was a very suitable subject, for obvious reasons...
I'm glad this challenge makes me take time to sketch in the evening. It's so easy to find excuses, when you're tired, and just spend the evening on the sofa, staring into the tv before you fall into bed. It's so much more rewarding to take the paints out, switch off and play with your paint. But sometimes, the result just isn't quite as you'd have wanted to, and maybe what you could have achieved on a Sunday morning, with more energy. The greens on these tomatoes turned out quite heavy. But that's okay too. Some days are just better than other. And you can always paint it again, and learn from your mistakes. And my scanner messes up all my sketches too...
After my disaster with The100Project (I probably lasted less than 10 days altogether), I'm foolish enough to embark on another daily challenge. The 30x30 Direct Watercolour challenge, hosted by Marc Taro Holmes of Citizen Sketcher. 30 days of daily direct watercolour painting. Direct simply means that you don't use a pen or pencil to draw your subject first, before adding watercolour, but instead just paint directly with watercolours. Although, if you need a little bit of help from a pencil first, that's okay too. There's a very lively Facebook group with lots of info and helpful tips, and where you can share your paintings. And it starts today, so there's still time to join :)
So far, if I attempted any kind of daily challenge (and there haven't been many), I usually chose a medium that allowed me to easily work on it during the day, such as 5 minutes during my lunch break at work. In other words, mediums like pen and pencil, and no paints. This challenge means, I will have to do it in the evenings on work days. And that will definitely be a challenge. But then again, my main goal isn't the number but the practice. What I want to do is to practise watercolour, as often as possible. Every day would be great, but if I miss one or more days, that's fine too.
I love watercolour, but I'm still struggling with it, a lot. The amount of water to use, the different techniques, which brushes... And that's why I'm going to try and attempt this challenge. It's a good motivation for practising, and as we all know, practice makes progress. (I read that somewhere a while ago, and liked it much better than the more common version. Perfectionism certainly isn't doing me much good...)
The above sketches are just warm ups, I haven't done the first one for today yet, that'll be my plan for tonight. I've also been busy playing with my watercolour pencils. I went through all my art supplies and got out all the pencils I have (and I've made lots of colour charts, which I will share another time). Watercolour pencils really are a very clever medium. They allow you to draw your subject very carefully, if you want, and when you add water, all the lines disappear and what you're left with is a vibrant watercolour painting. But of course not very appropriate for this particular challenge... As with watercolour paints, you can layer the pencils, but I soon found out that in my non-watercolour-paper sketchbook, that didn't work very well. One or two layers of wet medium is okay, but not more. What works really well, though, is painting a base using watercolour pencils and water, and then add more layers with normal coloured pencils, which gives you vibrant colours and also allows to add more details.
In my watercolour journal, the watercolour pencils work a lot better.
It's also a good exercise to draw the same subject several times, and by using different mediums, you can really explore it, and compare how they differ and what works better or not so good for you, and when and how.
Where's the time gone? I started writing this post almost a month ago. The time seems to be just flying, I can't believe that in a couple of weeks, one third of the year will already have passed. I feel we should still be somewhere at the beginning of February. Ah well. But I'm afraid this is going to be a very long post...
Art materials. Aren't they great? All those fabulous colours, watercolour boxes, brushes, pens, sketchbooks... Yes, art materials are great. And yes, finding something new can be inspiring and useful. But let's be honest, art materials can also be a bit of an excuse for avoiding to make art. We try something, it doesn't work out the way we wanted it, we're frustrated... and then we read about someone's palette, brushes... and we convince ourselves that if we just add those colours, buy that brand of paints, get a new brush, that useful little travel watercolour box, then, yes, then, all would be perfect and we'd spend our days happily making art every after. But as soon as that new ultimately perfect thing arrives, we've already read about an even more perfect thing that we first have to get before we then, finally, can produce the art that we're meant to do. And if that doesn't work out quite as we expected, it won't be long until we stumble upon another inspiring blog post, with some different paints, colours, brushes...I am certainly guilty of that, I sadly have to admit. And a result, I have a ridiculously large collection of brushes, paints, watercolour boxes, sketchbooks...
A lot of this has to do with our inner critic. That voice in our head, that constantly crushes our fragile confidence, that tells us that we're rubbish, that our drawings are silly, bad, ridiculous, that we're not good enough and never will be, just look at all the other's work, and who do you think you are for thinking you could do that too? You're just wasting your time. And money... I have found myself admiring a sketch for its style, simplicity, looseness, wonky lines and everything, and had to admit to myself that if I had made that very same sketch, I would have been frustrated, would have found it not good enough. We so easily judge ourselves so much harder, have far too many expectations that we cannot meet.
I came across this TED talk about your inner critic by Danielle Krysa, who gives some useful tips and tricks about how to deal with it.
I especially liked the idea of naming your critic. I named mine Septimus. Imagine an old Victorian bah-humbug type of man with a top hat. Bitter, shabby, miserly, misogynistic, prejudiced..... I mean, who would listen to someone like that? Let alone take him seriously and letting it affect you in what you do? He definitely is just a big old Jerk.
I started a little reference book with art materials for sketching, to remind me of the stuff I have. And of course sketching everything means that I'm actually sketching. And by using your materials, you will find out what actually works for you and what doesn't, which allows you to reduce your materials to your personal essentials - rather than your art hero's.
And here's another little trick that I was reminded to by someone on social media, to silence your inner critic for when you mess something up: just glue a piece of paper over the area, and draw over it. Certainly much better than putting away your sketchbook in frustration and not touching it again for weeks and months...
And last but not least, a new art challenge: Last week, The 100 Day Project started. The idea is to commit to something you want to do for 100 days and then, well, do it, and share it on Instagram. It started on April, 3 but you can jump in any time. It's also okay if you miss a day. I know from experience that I am very bad with these kinds of challenges. Especially the sharing part. It's not just that sometimes you produce a drawing that you don't really want to share, but it's all the photographing, scanning, editing and uploading involved. So I'm focusing on trying to draw or sketch or paint as often as possible, preferably every day but no pressure. And I'm sharing what I feel comfortable with and when I have the time.
So here's some of the sketches so far, done in various mediums, like watercolour, brush pen, fountain pen with a Fude nib, coloured pencils, quick sketches, blind/line drawings...
I'm off for a holiday at the end of the month, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up the drawing, and maybe even get some outdoor sketching done.
This post is long overdue, the end of November is already in sight! I must admit that the air went out completely for the last couple of days of Inktober. But I wanted to fill this sketchbook, and in the end I did. Here's the last two drawings.
I enjoyed drawing every day. Well, most of the time. It can be difficult to fit in time for drawing during the week when you have a day job. I am constantly trying to do some drawing in my lunch breaks, and while I think it's a lot better to draw for only five minutes a day than not at all, I also find drawing for only five minutes a bit frustrating at times. I'd prefer to spend a bit more time on drawing.
During Inktober, I planned my evenings to fit in an hour or so of drawing. That is a habit I really wish to take away from this challenge, even though I have already sorely neglected it this month...
What I can definitely do without, though, is having to scan, edit and post the drawing every day. When everything worked out and the drawing turned out alright, it was fine. But when it didn't, it became stressful. There have been days when I spent more than an hour altogether on one drawing that just didn't work out only to then make a five minute one afterwards to post.
What I really liked about the challenge was the focus on a particular medium. It made me try out all kinds of different inks and nibs, and I really enjoyed drawing with dip pens. I got my old nibs and inks out, and bought some new ones too.
My favourite inks are the Rohrer & Klingner Ausziehtusche (Drawing ink). I especially like the bistre. The Zeichentusche (Calligraphy ink) is nice too, and comes in a great variety of colours. All of them are water proof.
Sennelier inks are lovely too. Their India ink, or China ink, as it's called, is a nice deep black. The colour ones have a glossy sheen if applied thicker. There's some very nice shades of browns, including bistre and burnt sienna, which are very different from the R&K shades of the same name.
I like the Winsor & Newton India ink, but I'm not a great fan of their coloured ones, to be honest. I only bought the two browns, peat brown and nut brown, and I have to say, I can't really see the difference. Maybe as a wash, but certainly not in a line. I used them with a paint brush as a wash, and it didn't really work that well either. For me, they are just too transparent.
There are so many nibs that it can get a bit confusing. Even more so to identify them (a magnifying glass is very helpful here!) and remember which one's which once you put them in a pen holder. I looked for both drawing and mapping nibs, and I discovered that although some seem to be from different manufacturers, they are actually the same. The 'Manuscript' nibs I bought in England turned out to be the same as the 'Standardgraph' nibs I got here in Switzerland - they are both 'Leonardt' nibs.
To make things easier, I made two reference sheets, one for inks and one for nibs, which I glued into my studio journal. While there's a great variety of beautiful pen holders for the larger nibs, unfortunately for the smaller ones, there seems to be only one - a simple red wooden one. As many of the drawing nibs are the smaller ones, you quickly end up with a whole bunch of almost identical looking pens. I used Washi tape to distinguish them so that from now on, I know exactly which nib is which. Hopefully, this will help me use them a lot more from now on.
I also went through all the nibs I already had at home, tried each and every one out and threw away the ones that didn't work form me. Among the keepers are these specialty nibs: the George W. Hughes Redonda pen that gives a double line, and the two Speedball Steelbrush nibs that are great for lettering.
We are nearing the end of the month, and with it, the end Inktober challenge. Only a couple more days to go. I'm not complaining when it's over, this week, it really is becoming a bit of a struggle now.
Day 22: Dip pen & ink
Day 23: Ink
Day 24: Brush pen, pen
Day 25: Fude pen
Day 26: Fude nib fountain pen
Day 27 & 28: Dip pen & ink
Thoughts and insights:
Our brain and how it works is absolutely fascinating. And slightly scary...
Drawing with dip pen and ink is so different than with pens. Somehow it makes you draw differently. And it certainly looks differently. Or is that just because of the ink?
The same colour can look completely different from one manufaturer to another. Just look at Rohrer & Klingner's and Senneliers bistre. Both are nice colours, though
It's useful to make some sort of ink colour charts for reference
It's also useful to find a system to remember which nib is which...
It's the third week of Inktober and I'm still keeping my daily drawing habit up. In fact, it's becoming easier, and more and more day, I'm looking forward to the evening, when I can sit down and draw.
Day 15: Dip pen & ink
Day 16: Fineliner pens
Day 17: Pens
Day 18: Dip pen & ink
Day 19: Pens
Day 20:
Day 21: Dip pen & ink
Thoughts and insights:
Did I mention that I love dip pens?
Crosshatching is a bit like watercolour - it looks easy and simple, but it's not
I wish I was better at drawing from imagination and didn't have to rely on reference images
But then I guess that's part of trying to get into the daily drawing habit
Because of copyright reasons, it can be really difficult to find reference images for some subjects
Some drawings therefore just have to remain practice pieces only, without being shared
But then, not everything always needs to be shared
