The purpose of a sketch a day is just to do it - sketch! It doesn't matter if it is an involved sketch or if it is a simple contour or gesture drawing. There are no rules except to sketch each day.

Life parameters can dictate the time investment, but a sketch a day commitment is designed to elevate the personal priority of sketching ... to enforce sketching. Making it into a "resolution" validates the activity (invests it with a bit of a challenge even!) and defends against competing demands. The sketch a day is designed for practice - to reinforce basic skills, and to provide daily contemplation on the issues of two dimensional representation.

Several of us are doing a sketch a day, and I would enjoy hearing from anyone else who decides to join in. We share our efforts, support each other, keep each other honest and... hopefully we'll have some fun doing this!

Click on any of the sketches to enlarge...
and don't forget to check out older posts!

Friday, June 17, 2011

June 15, 2011

    Camellias in a jar. This actually took me about 30 minutes and that's pretty much with the pencil moving relatively rapidly the whole time. It actually takes a great deal of time just to lay down the graphite, never mind being careful about it. I expect to finish this tomorrow, but that's long enough for one night when it's getting late, I'm tired, and it's been a pretty frustrating day... 
    Not to mention that by this evening I really felt like I'd done my sketch worth even if it was pooled somewhere in the pine needles:  Much earlier in the day I set up to work on my pond painting - water jar, brushes, paint squeezed, easel and canvas - and had done maybe 20 minutes of work when suddenly it started to Rain. I do mean Rain as if someone opened the chute on a water tower. It had been overcast for the past hour, but no thunder, no initial sprinkle, just Whoosh. I grabbed everything and ran for the house, but when I got inside I discovered almost all of the paint I'd just laid down had been washed off! I guess Everyone's a critic... 
    
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 17, 2011 at 7:03 AM

    well, maybe Everyone wanted to have a bit of fun with the old creating skills too, instead of being negatively critical.....

    We got 1.5 inches and it started a moment after I moved a furniture clean up project inside off the deck, no interpretation of that going on beyond dumb luck......

    cp

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  2. Amy MannJune 17, 2011 at 2:54 PM

    too bad! were you using acrylics? oil and water don't mix, you know!

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  3. EmJune 17, 2011 at 6:16 PM

    Yes - of course! I like the look and handling of oil better, but (especially for carrying around) I figure acrylic, using water, is easier since I can clean up so easily. Also, for years when my kids were small the fast drying was essential since I could only keep things protected from contact just so long! It's still nice to be able to slip things away/ lean them up on furniture, etc. It would be Nicer to have some space, but ah well...
    I've never tried the water workable oils. I might like them, but I'm skeptical. I think if it had been oil the rain might have bothered them (it was Hard), but certainly wouldn't have washed them right Off!

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