There is so much going on online, again I feel like I have barely scratched the surface. It’s great how you can do online courses in watercolours or even sketchbook journalling, but I like the ones that really challenge my creativity, and allow me some freedom to play around with ideas and techniques etc. It’s also a great way to see other people’s work, there is so much inspiration out there – it’s amazing.
I’ve taken to a couple, and really that’s about all the time I have for them.
EVERY DAY I WRITE THE BOOK
The first one I was introduced to was Every Day Matter Challenges and that was a great push for me to not feel like I had to have a whole Sunday to paint or sketch. The online community of EDMers are so cool, always supportive, explorative and enthusiastic.
Then not that far off is Every Day in May. I think most people know what that is and have joined in as well. Sometimes I wish they had chosen February because there are only 28 days in that month, but it’s all about challenging oneself I guess.
To view my 2011 Every Day in May artwork please click here.
This year I decided to keep it a bit more practical (ie, in the comfort of my own living room) and focussed on a handful of toilet rolls I kept aside because I thought they would make great tools for practicing tonal drawings. So again, this project allowed me to explore other techniques and mediums. If you would like to see them in more detail please click here.
BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY
Urban Sketches
When I was asked to contribute to Urban Sketches I wanted a theme to all my drawings. I didn’t have a distinctive style as yet, and I guess because of my commercial background my drawings can go from cartoony/overly gestured to very controlled realism, and I didn’t want a hodge-podge of styles and mediums in one book. So I decided to use a felt pen and water brush pen. I also decided to use my local area as the subject matter, and when I finished my first book my second one was based on scenes from bus stops.
But with my new found style using colour inks I want to start another book – arrrghhh!!! Or I’ll just flip my current book and start it at the back.
To view my Urban Sketches 2011 book please click here.
COLOUR MY WORLD
Sketchbook Project
As Every Day in May almost killed me (admittedly what I pictured in my head was a lot simpler than what resulted) when I signed up for The Sketchbook Project I decided to keep it fun and as easy as possible. Some of my friends may beg to differ on that last comment but it really was a lot easier to execute than if I had chosen a particular medium and style to illustrate the entire book with. My subject was ‘Sandwich’. It was something I thought would remain fun no matter what direction I took it in. When I sat down to work out the angle of the book I could only come up with lots of small ideas, not one that would last the distance of the entire book. So I decided to do all the little ideas instead. It thus became more exciting and enjoyable to work on as I could use different mediums and styles and not worry about consistency.
To view my Sketchbook Project ‘Sandwich’ please click here.
I’ve followed and enjoyed all of your projects thanks for sharing.
Thanks Mary. Like your fashion pages on your blog. You have a lot more colours in your wardrobe than me!