Posts
Toothpaste
My tube of toothpaste caught my eye this morning as I was getting dressed.
I had several false starts with this one. First, the straight part of the tube was too long compared to the rolled part. Then the cap was entirely too small. Then the rolled part of the tube was ginormous in comparison to the straight part of the tube. Good thing I have an eraser!
Finally, I remembered the advice I keep giving myself… do a 30-second gesture drawing.
Posts
Teapot
Here’s a twenty minute sketch of the teapot that sits on our stove.
I’ve been wanting to draw this guy for a while, but have been putting it off for some reason. There’s lots of interesting shapes and varying textures.
I sort of messed up the symmetry on it. Probably a result of my leg falling asleep partway through, so I wasn’t able to sit perfectly still. Although a 30 second gesture drawing probably would have helped with that.
Posts
Negative Space
I am really unhappy with this. I considered not posting it at all, but then I thought there are probably a lot of other people who are considering picking up a pencil, but who don’t do it simply because they’re afraid to suck.
Well, let me tell you… it’s OK to suck. That’s why it’s called a sketch book and not an art book.
Anyway… the idea behind this is that you draw the shapes around the primary object instead of drawing the shapes of the primary object.
Posts
Bananas!
These bananas are not ready to eat yet – still too green. So instead of eating them, I decided to sketch them.
It’s funny how confidence comes and goes. I saw someone else’s sketch of some bananas a while ago, and I thought how difficult it must be to get the lines and proportions right; a banana does have rather unique shape after all, and it would be easy to tell if you got it wrong.
Posts
Copying a Picasso
Pablo Picasso drew this portait of Igor Stravinski.
I’m reading Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and one of the first exercises is to copy this portait. The twist, though, is to draw it upside down.
The idea is trick your brain into a mode where it can no longer say things like, “Oh, that’s a nose. I know what a nose looks like. No need to look at it anymore, just start drawing.
Posts
Handy Dandy
I haven’t drawn a hand in more than twenty years. From what I recall, they’re hard to draw.
The thumbnail area is a little wonky on this, and the top of the thumb where it bends toward the hand is a little off as well. But overall, I’m surprised at how well this turned out.
Posts
Ellipses are Hard
I really thought I was doing a good job with this one. That is, until I finished, took a few steps back, and looked at critically.
The top opening of the pot is massively crooked. So, a couple of lessons out of this one…
I need to do an overall gesture sketch before diving into the details. Ellipses are especially hard for me to get right, so I need to focus on this.
Posts
Idyllic Christmas
Every once in a while, I sketch something that I’m really happy with. This is one of them. I think I really captured the silence of the moment.
Posts
The Corner Pub
I love street scenes. But it’s cold, so I don’t expect to do much of this until spring. I was on my way to do a little Christmas shopping. A foot of snow had fallen during the day, and I just couldn’t resist snapping a pic of the scene so I could draw it when I got home. This is a thumbnail sketch using a Pilot G2 gel pen.
Posts
Boxes
Boxes are surprisingly hard to draw accurately. Their simplicity is, I think, half the difficulty. It becomes easy to fall into the trap of drawing what you think a box should look like instead of what it actually looks like.
The individual boxes look OK. But I think I’ve got the perspective a little messed up.