sketching o2

(These few posts are in response to the lovely Q's and comments I have received about art journaling.  We are doing a shared exercise and would love for you to join us!)

There are thousands of books written on the subject of sketching and drawing.  I have a small bookshelf full of them.  There are three different teachers at our local College teaching drawing classes this semester.  It is a beautiful art and a strong foundation for all other arts...and I love it.   Don't you?

Look at da Vinci's study with pencil~ gorgeous.  

da Vinci - study of hands

I am an artist, not one skilled in detailed drawing like that but I can sketch.  And so can you.  

I know I have limited my creative life by believing the lie that I had to have specific instruction from "learned teachers" to understand and be able create "real art".  That simply isn't true.  Sketching is defined as "drawing that lacks detail, an image, verb, or to draw in a rough manner."  Well...anyone can do that!  

 In art journaling, you are absolutely free to try and express your own art ~ It is all yours.         

You get to create with no rules. Sketch with rough abandon!  Now how does that sound? 

So lets talk tools.  

I have sketching pencils and I rarely use them.  I use a #2 pencil for all of my sketching -- it can do all that I need.  You can certainly invest in pencils and try them if you wish.  Or do like me and just borrow a few from  an 8 year old.  They have some great sketching ideas, too.  

With our pencil, let's take this sketch & see our next step.

You will want to lift off excess pencil lines (erase lightly) that are in areas to highlight.  Look at where the light hits the object and let it be lighter.  Then using less pressure with my pencil, I go back in and add some shadowing and hatching with my pencil.  

(from this site)

I may cover it all with dark paint later, but it helps remind me of where I want to add more color or detail.    

Brushes. 

Watercolor brushes are different than other brushes. They tend to be finer, have a pointier tip, and allow for better control.  I added a flat brush to the mix here because I love it and use it all the time, too.   

A watercolorist I met encouraged me to invest in a couple of good brushes.  It really made a difference, the brush tips have held together really well.

Pens. 

These are the mainstays of my collection.  My black pens.  I typically use the micron o1 pens for my watercolor pages and the sharpie mixed pens for the acrylic/mixed medium pages.  I think many pens are necessary, sometimes your favorite pen has a really bad day (have you had that problem too?)

Paper.  

I am using Arches watercolor paper - Hot pressed, 140lbs.  I really like it.  It isn't a book, so I have to tear out pages and reassemble later, but for me it is pure freedom.  If I don't like a sketch, it gets flipped over and I can do something else on the other side.  

I have a couple of moleskin watercolor books and my 2012 sketch book project book, too.  Each is a little different, but all of them have a smooth surface.  You may want to purchase some paper to try, just to see what your preference is.  

Lets put color to paper on Friday.  Sound good?  

We will do both watercolor and acrylic to see which you like best.  I hope you will play along, it is more fun when you do!  I also wanted to share some simple (and awesome) sketch ideas from favorite Flicker art journalists:  here and here

     

love and lambs to you today!

jj