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July 3, 2010 - The
Right Brain
I just got my new and revised, expanded and updated copy of
Betty Edwards wonderful classic, "Drawing
On The Right Side Of The Brain". Betty says learning
to draw is like learning to drive or ride a bike. Once it's learned,
we don't have to think about it. I decided to go through the
book and do the whole class again. (It has been a while.) The
first step is
1. Draw a self portrait.
2. Draw a person from memory
3. Draw your own hand.
Here are my attempts. I did all three in under an hour. I
imagine we'll be drawing the same subjects again at the end of
the course, with lots of improvement, no doubt! The person from
memory is Zack Arias,
a photographer who I've been watching on video in an online
lighting workshop from Creative Techs.
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July 4, 2010 - Upside-Down
Drawing / New Challenge Photo
In Betty Edwards' book, "Drawing
On The Right Side Of The Brain", the next exercise
she has students do is draw a few pictures upside-down. This
frees up the Right Brain to do its' thing without a whole
lot of interference from the Left Brain. According to
Betty, "The right brain perceives and processes visual information,
in the way one needs to see in order to draw, and the left brain
perceives in ways that seem to interfere with drawing."An
individual's ability to draw is... the ability to shift to a
different-from-ordinary way of processing visual information
- to shift from verbal, analytic processing to spatial, global
processing."I did this quick sketch of last week's drawing
challenge in less than five minutes, copying it from the
photo upside-down. It probably would have taken me longer had
I approached it right-side-up. This approach made it easier than
ever to see the shapes and forget about what it actually was
that I was drawing.
Tip Of The Day: There's no need
to print these photos out. Just draw them from your computer
screen. I rotated the image 180 degrees for this exercise with
my image editing software.
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July 5, 2010 - Window
Box Challenge
I painted half of this upside-down and the other half right-side-up.
Boy, a five minute sketch sure turned into an hour or so challenge.
I just kept hearing watercolor mentor and airplane pilot, Tony
Couch's voice saying; "When the going gets rough, just bare
down and drive on!" This color rendition is definitely more
of a drawing than a sketch!
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July 6, 2010 - A
Cool Mud Bath
Man, it is. . H
* O * T . .outside! One
thing this weather is good for is sketching inside! This little
piggy image caught my attention sitting there on my computer
screen this hot afternoon and I just started drawing it. I drew
it upside-down and it really was a cinch. When I had the overall
shapes down, which was accomplished holding my pencil like a
wand, I then turned the drawing and the photo right side-up and
refined the sketch. Details were then added holding my pencil
as I would to write. This really is a super easy one to draw.
Why not give it a try? Brush
up with a step by step tutorial about my pencil and wash technique
here.
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July 7, 2010 - A
Finished Pig Sketch
I couldn't wait to get back to this little piggy sketch, so
here is my interpretation of this week's sketching challenge.
Looks like I'm the only one doing them anyway.
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July 8, 2010 - Why
Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
Why do the deer have to cross the road? Why do people have
to drive so damn fast? Why don't people out here have deer whistles
on their vehicles? We had a very sad situation here yesterday
with a little yearling buck with two broken (almost severed)
hind legs. How did he get all the way from the road into our
backyard? Poor little guy. :-(
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July 9, 2010 - Which
Came First?
The chicken or the egg?!?
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July 10, 2010 - Warmup
Scribbles
warm-up (also warmup) (noun)- a period or act of preparation
for a game, performance, or exercise session, involving gentle
exercise or practice.
I got a note today from Christine Braziel of Fresno CA . She
writes;"I'm interested in every day drawing. I'm just trying
to get up my nerve."Why should you be afraid to draw? Did
someone say you were no good ,or is that what you told yourself?
Self doubt and negative self talk are the enemies of drawing.
It's just the left brain trying to take over. It hates it when
it's not in control. Instead, why not just make some scribbles,
Use your pencil like a wand and see what kind of strokes you
can make. Use your whole arm and even your body. Here's mine.
It was fun. Sometimes I do this before sketching to loosen up.
scribble (verb)- write or draw (something) carelessly
or hurriedly
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July 11, 2010 - Sketching
Exercise
If you are into a challenge, copy this upside-down drawing.
Try to see shapes and do not think of it as a thing.
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July 12, 2010 - Chicken
Drawing
Today I added a watercolor wash, some black pencil shading
and details to the sketch I did last week. I don't always follow
the exact same method for my sketches, rather I let my muse be
my guide. I try to stay loose and have fun, exploring the subject
as I draw.
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July 13, 2010 - Chicken
Drawing #2
Today a watercolor wash and a little calligraphy with my brush
was add to last week's sketch.
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July 14, 2010 - Everything
Has A Gesture
Here's a 20 second gesture sketch of something on my drawing
table. (It took me one third of a minute to draw.) EVERYTHING
has a gesture. It's the bare bones of the drawing. Can
you tell what it is?
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July 15, 2010 - A
Real Quickie
This drafting brush took me a minute and a half to draw. Remember,
everything is sketchable!
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July 16, 2010 - "En
Plein Air" Thistle Sketch
I drew "En Plein Air" today. Yikes it was hot! I
wanted to draw longer, but just couldn't take the heat. This
drawing is of a couple of stalks of Thistle in a little patch
I have growing near my studio. Tip: It was done very quickly
and almost entirely holding my pencil like a wand.
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July 17, 2010 - Gesture
Drawing
I've been doing a lot of quick gesture drawings lately. I
hope to convince you that drawing doesn't have to take a big
chunk of time out of your day. If you were to practice quick
gestures for five minutes everyday, I believe you'd see improvement
in no time.
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| July 18, 2010 - Little Egret Drawing |
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July 19, 2010 - Hummingbird
Gesture Drawing
Here's another gesture sketch. These 2 min. quickies are getting
easier for me to whip up all the time. Notice how I've left my
preliminary underlying scribbles for you to see here, so you
can better understand how I started out with this drawing.
"The key to mastery is through repetition!" ~SSS
We've got flocks of hummingbirds here this year. See
my recent web log post with hummingbird feeders ratings here.
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July 20, 2010 - Snowy
Owl
This sketch of a Snowy Owl was done from more than a half
a dozen reference images. When I draw or paint something like
this, I make sure I am not copying the work of someone else.
Even if I have permission from the image owner to use their photo,
I always strive to create an interpretation that is my very own.
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July 21, 2010 - A
HummDinger Of A Day
Hummer Hound, Nancy Hines, came out with her sister, Nora,
this morning to see all the hummers. We spent a couple of hours
together chatting and just watching the hummingbirds. We were
in Hummer Heaven. Then later today, my Six Steps To Sensational
Sketches (the one with the hummingbird tutorial) got "Lens
Of The Day" on Squidoo! So since it's been a HummDinger
of a day, I decided to add a wash to the two minute gesture sketch
I posted here on Monday. See what a big difference a little wash
can make!
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July 22, 2010 - Wash
Applied To Sunday's Little Egret
Although some would say that adding a wash to a drawing is
painting and not sketching, I would say I disagree. When I apply
my washes, they are usually done in a very loose sketchy kind
of a way. Whern I do these sketches on regular drawing paper,
I'm less likely to tense up and more likely to stay looser than
I would on regular good quality watercolor paper.
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July 23, 2010 - What
Does NJ And Iowa Have In Common?
Iowa and New Jersey share the same state bird! Yes, I was
surprised to find out that both state's bird is the Eastern or
American Goldfinch. They are such sweet little things. We have
them here year round and pay a dear price for Thistle Seed! I
really enjoy watching them in my Thistle patch where they have
a ball when the seeds are ripe in late summer / early fall.
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July 24, 2010 - Hot
Hummingbirds
It's a scorcher today and the hummingbirds have been drinking
up the nectar really fast! Seems like every time I look, there's
another empty feeder. Here's a quick sketch of a little hummer
resting in the shade of a Butterfly Bush.
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July 25, 2010 - Hummingbird
Gesture Drawing
Here's yesterday's pencil sketch with the wash applied.
Also for this week's sketching challenge, here's a photo of
my thirty year old 1/2 TB Paint, Rembrandt. Here he is, all braided
up and ready for a show. I know we've got some horse lovers out
there! I hope some of you will try drawing my sweet boy
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July 26, 2010 - Pelican
Sketch
I have been disturbed by the oil covered Brown Pelicans and
thousands of other animals shown in the media that have been
impacted by the Gulf oil disaster.
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July 27, 2010 - Brown
Pelican Drawing
Here's yesterday's sketch with a watercolor wash added.
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July 28, 2010 - Cradle
Basket
This is a quick five minute sketch of an antique Native American
Cradle Basket Toy.
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| July 29, 2010 - Color Sketch Of Antique Toy |
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July 30, 2010 - Happy
Panda
This is an easy line drawing done from a little figurine I
have. Why not copy my sketch yourself? Just look at the simple
shapes. If you are having trouble with this or other photos,
draw a grid on the reference and a matching one on your drawing
paper.
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July 31, 2010 - Panda
Drawing
Here's the panda with a watercolor wash.
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