Tag Archives: Mini Sketch Kit

Feeling like a slug!

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Me standing on a block behind my tall daughter in her prom dress
Me and Girl2 on prom night

First, check out Girl2 in her prom dress. This picture was taken on her very last day of high school! She will graduate cum laude, with a cosmetology degree, an associates degree in science and math, and VERY close to completing Eagle Scout. I can’t manage to change my socks daily. This is why, as happy as I am for her and as proud, I feel like a slug.

I  had all of these great plans for 2023. I was going to do a fair every month. I was going to complete a large painting every week, a couple of small paintings, and sketch every day.

With the exception of a couple of small watercolors, I haven’t managed to complete a single painting. I have done a small handful of sketches, but nothing near the volume I wanted to do.

So what’s wrong me? Why can’t I manage to follow through? It’s so easy to get down on myself and think about how terrible I am. But doing nothing is the norm. That is the standard that the human body wants to maintain. Inertia. A body at rest will remain at rest until acted upon by a force, right?

So the real question is what happened before that motivated me to do something? How did I manage to get up and do anything before? We typically throw around words like “discipline” and “plan” without really understanding how those words become actions.

I don’t have an answer to that. I know that routine is the best way for me to get things accomplished. If I manage to sit at a drawing table with my pens and paper, I will draw something. So I have to set the routine to have my pens and paper out, maybe at a specific time or at least convenient place every day. Like the saying goes, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” If my space is prepared and my materials available, it’s a whole lot easier for me to actually sit down and get some work done. The current state of the studio is not conducive to that effort, to say the least

Garage studio is trashed

I did manage to take some supplies with me to the mall while the wife and kids explored the shops. I didn’t get a whole lot of sketches in, but something is a brazillian times more than nothing, right?

Boy2 enjoying some Chinese food at the food court

Saturday Sketchbook 30MAY2009

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Virtual Sketch Date

Virtual Sketch Date

It is time once again, the last week of every month, for the Virtual Sketch Date! At the VSD, they post a photo reference every month and you are supposed to give your rendition of it.  It is open to any artist in, I believe, any medium.  You are given one week after the photo is posted to put up your version.  The only sort-of rule is that the first image needs to be related to the reference photo.  That is, draw/paint/sculpt this image before you begin your abstract fantasy sci fi masterpiece.  vsdmay09bI did mine while watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Girl2.  With all the jumping around and Mutant Ninja action, we had a mishap that included Girl2’s foot, my elbow and a PITT pen.  For the record, you can’t really scrape cheap paper.

On that, I met with my printer yesterday and the new sketchbooks will be ready by next Friday.  It really took some doing deciding what paper, binding and even the cover cardstock I wanted to use.  But we finally agreed and the first set will be rolling off the presses Friday!  If you would like one, I’m sending out a few to my artistic friends so that I can get some feedback before I end up with 1000 of these in my garage.

E-mail me with your mailing address and, if you’re one of the first 25, I’ll send you one!

The Artistic Biker Fine Art Sketchbook. Smooth watercolor paper, 50% cotton, 50% synthetic. 4" x 6" perferated pages. Made in the U.S.A.

The Artistic Biker Fine Art Sketchbook. Smooth watercolor paper (U.S. domestic), 50% cotton, 50% synthetic. 4" x 6" perforated pages. Made in the U.S.A.

Saturday Responsiblities

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Guess what I'm supposed to be doing?

Guess what I'm supposed to be doing?

Ah, a three day weekend.  Plenty of time for rest and relaxation.  Time to do the things that I have put off doing for myself like sunbathing, or taking a rest or… Oh, apperantly I’m supposed to be doing chores.  I am apparently supposed to take care of the yard maintenance, the vehicle maintenance, and any other “honeydew” my lovely young bride has in mind to make our humble abode more pleasant.  I pulled the lawn mower out and saw how 20+ days of rain have affected our yard and thought, “What a great painting that would make!”

lawnmowersketches1

compositional sketch 1

So, I ran into the house and grabbed my sketchbook.  I put the lawnmower just the way I thought it should go and walked around it for close to 30 minutes looking at it from different angles and configurations.  This was when my wife caught me.

It’s not so much that she was mad at me, she really wasn’t even frustrated at me.  She just managed to give me a look of disbelief.  One of those looks that makes you feel guilty that you’re not doing what’s expected of you.  She brought me a hat and my mini-sketch book and said, “That would make a nice painting.”  That’s just one of the MANY reasons I love her.

comp. sketch 2

comp. sketch 2

comp sketch 3

comp sketch 3

comp. sketch 4

comp. sketch

color study

color study

Finally, I broke out the mini-sketch book to make this color study.  As I was finishing it up, I could hear the thunder.  I looked up to see scattered clouds on an otherwise gloriously sunny day.  I grabbed my camera phone and snapped a photo of the final layout.  Ten minutes later it started raining in what we call locally rain-shine.  That’s when you’re standing in direct sunlight and still get a soaking.  I probably should have mowed the lawn at some point.  But I believe it will make an EXCELLENT painting.

College Chapel

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College Chapel

College Chapel

I had several long breaks today between the courthouse, the printer, and an old friend with a cool offer.  During one of those breaks I went down to The University of Science and Arts, a local college.  I sat in the shade behind the library over looking the chapel while I ate my sardines in hot sauce and drank my 8oz. Diet Dr. Pepper.  While sitting there, I broke out the mini sketch kit and played around a bit.  I like how this one turned out and am VERY eager to do more.  It’s like that.  When you do something that shows obvious improvement or that you think looks very good, you are inspired to do more and more.  One bad drawing can grind you to screaching stop if you let it.  But if you just keep plugging away, you can look back and see that your bad drawings today are still way better than your bad drawings, and even many of your GOOD drawings from yesterday.

My friend Danny, a preacher, made me an offer to use space in his church to give art classes.  We discussed it at length, and I think that we could come to some kind of arrangement.  I also think that it would be a blast to get to do so.  We both agreed, however, that his congregation might frown upon nude figure drawing.

Sketchbook cover

Sketchbook cover

I spend a lot of my time looking for just the right materials with which to draw, paint, sketch, whatever.  It always seems that what I’m looking for either isn’t available, is incredibly expensive, or is made in China.  I find the labor practices in some of those other countries to be incredibly offensive, so it just irritates me to no end that you can’t find anything made anywhere else.  Anyway, what I decided to do about it is gather some domestic materials and make my own.  A local printer friend is helping me out and soon I will have all the sketch books I want in the sizes I want.  WOOT!

EDM 121: Draw Something Shady

EDM 121: Draw Something Shady

EDM 121: Draw Something Shady

I know that I am supposed to be challenged and develop not only my awareness of the world around me and my draftsmanship, but also my creativity.  But I really find the vague challenges annoying.  “Draw something shady.”  “Draw something you like.”  These kind of challenges I know are designed to force me to decide.  But one of the things that drew me in to the Every Day Matters group to begin with was the specific list of items.  When I come to the end of a long day, it is nice to be able to look and see, “Draw a bowl.”  Then I know that I need to draw a bowl and I don’t have to think beyond which bowl, lighting, and composition.  It’s way more meditative that way.  That said, I am still pleased with the way this one turned out.

I Love a Parade

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Girl2 parading with her “drums”
The watercolor on the Mini Sketch Kit
I love a parade

Yay!  It’s a parade in my house!  This weeks theme for Illustration Friday is a Parade.  So I gave Girl2 some pots and pans and asked her to march up and down the hallway banging the “drums.” It took my beautiful young bride 20 minutes after to get the drums away from her and get her calmed back down for her bath.  But dang she had fun parading up and down the hall way.

EDM 116: Draw something round

EDM 116: Draw something round

EDM 116, draw something round, I immediately started singing “Like a Re-ed Rubber Ball…”  Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) that’s all the words I know.  If only I knew where I could find a round ball.  Having a three year old around once again pays off.