A Sketchy Life: Part Two

There's much buzz about habit trumping inspiration when it comes to achieving goals. I think it's true. If I only sketched when I felt inspired I'd never have to buy another sketchbook!

Repeating those 75-day challenges I talked about in the last post made a quick sketch part of my daily routine, like brushing my teeth. With a theme established, like the tea cups, I had even less to think about. One time I did 75 days of underwear! I'll spare you the sight of my "flimsies" as my husband calls them, but I really did have fun with this one. Having sewn since I was a kid, an understanding of how clothing is assembled made the sketching easier.

Rather quickly I ran out of racy stuff to sketch and moved onto camisoles, socks and even accessories like belts and shoes. A bonus of sketching clothing is that you can do the front and then the back or scrunch it up and sketch it again -- so no excuses for having nothing to draw!

Next, the back of a rabbit fur muff, complete with zippered pocket, from my childhood.

And a "corset" purse from my dear friend Nancy. Here, I put an asphalt roofing shingle under the page to create a rubbing to mimic the tweedy bodice texture.

 

Those sketches are some of the "better" ones. Even going on to eight years of sketch practice, I still make many "duds". (I'm saying this in a whisper because it isn't the drawings' fault I'm not yet at the skill level I'd like to be!)

Poor cat! In real life she was a calico beauty.

And, in real life, these carving tools had straight and symmetrical handles! What happened to the fourth one? That bend is crazy! But I kept going and, must say, was happy with the highlights on the handle caps.

And a recent dud, a sketch of a lovely handmade fabric "pot" I received for Christmas. In the upper example I was so far off capturing the shape and the feeling of looking down in the pot. Creating the fabric's softly squared shape eluded me. The bottom sketch is only a slight improvement. But I enjoyed inking the rows of stitching!

But then every now and then I do a sketch that takes me by surprise. This gravy boat was done straight to ink. No pencil guidelines -- only my eye and hand following the shape. Did I really draw that?

I was also tickled with these feathers. (Sorry, bad pun!)

Here's a trick: Elevate your sketch by drawing on a toned paper, like the sketch below. That mid-range tone makes the black ink and white highlights really pop. Liking these scissors.

The page below was composed on two separate days and is still a favourite of mine.

Lastly, a recent sketch. I'd planned a whole page of date stampers but ended up finishing the page with chunky foam letter stamps. Still, I'm impressed I had the patience to draw the fiddly date stampers at all.

It's these surprises -- the evidence I'm getting better -- that keeps me sketching. Plus, once I get to it, the actual drawing is a pleasure -- meditative even. While truly looking and seeing it's impossible to fret or worry or focus on anything other than the pen moving over the paper. Give it a try. Before long you, too, could be reveling in zen wonkiness!