Sketching, Illustration, Design and Everyday Life.
Copyright by © Nina Khashchina except where noted.
Getting Ready For Urban SKetchers Symposium: Part 1
I am two weeks away from being in Toulouse, France (I hope the weather will get a little better), and am in full swing of making lists for my personal sketching adventure as well as for the workshops and a demo that I will be leading. Not much is packed yet, but everyone I asked about what to bring to the Urban Sketchers Symposium said stickers. So I ordered some - they are not here yet, but here are images of what to expect:
Alstroemerias and Reproof for Dynamic Pricing
My local farmer's market used to have a large flower stand, which I quietly (or not so quietly) did not like much. Mostly because there were no prices anywhere, so one had to ask about pricing for every single flower, and I witnessed how the number was going up or down based on who was asking. I am not in favor of dynamic pricing and do not hide it. End of reproof.
But now that the flower stand is gone, and I missed them because even if buying there was not something I frequented, looking at flowers is always a part of my "why" for going to the market :) And then one of the local farms started bringing some flowers - these alstroemerias survived on my table for almost 3 weeks - so this post will have two parts - this is part one.
Reading Notes: Draw Stronger by Kriota Willberg
Recently, I complained that all the pencil sharpening put me in a position to buy an electric pencil sharpener. Despite the fact that I am enjoying my new toy, this situation brought me back to a book I love and gift and recommend often:
Firstly, this book contains actionable things that help me keep my hands working. Stretches, strengthening exercises, and a list of things to check in my work environment/habits.
Secondly, this is a book that is drawn from the first page to the last, and I appreciate it as an illustrator, and as a reader and connoisseur of large projects!
Thirdly, while writing about all this I went down the rabbit hole and learned about graphic medicine, comics in palliative care, embroidery, and history of sutures and ligatures, and... well, it was a rabbit hole!
Forced Time Limit on First Sketch (or my trick of Ten-Minute Warm-Up)
Despite the fact that I have been sketching daily for many years now, I know that the first sketch of the day is always somewhat an interesting snapshot of where I am at the moment on many layers of my life. It is usually an attempt to do all at once, and it is simultaneously filled with many emotions and a wish to step away from them and just look intently. It is usually overworked and rushed at the same time. In short, it is often a disaster - which is exactly why I keep my first sketches. Because they are raw and telling, and because it is a record of that day for me, and sometimes there are gems that only I know about in that first sketch. But if I know that I will have time to sketch for a longer stretch of time, it is very useful for me to get the very first sketch out of the way so that I can actually go past being greedy and throwing everything into "my one chance" and actually take time to look and make choices and change my mind and be ok with that all.
On a recent sketching outing with friends, I declared that the first sketch would be 10 minutes only, and I did it with whatever materials I touched first in my sketching bag, which really helped me to get to some very different sketches later. Scroll for process photos (I knew that my sketching companions would have a hard time sticking to 10 minutes so I had time to take photos - with this post in mind - it is possible that stopping earlier would be good idea:).
On My June Sketching Calendar: Egret Rookery
I keep a sketching calendar - it is a simple table where each cell is dedicated to a month and where I keep a list of things I might enjoy sketching that month. My June so far was not how I envisioned it, and I missed a bunch of things, but here is what I did not: an Egret Rookery! It is a very strange place where egrets of all kinds put a few odd sticks between branches of sycamore trees and call them nests. There are snowy and great Egrets, and night and blue herons (though I've seen only one blue heron so far). They walk around the area on the ground and fly around the trees, all this is accompanied by hilarious sounds and growing evidence of the presence of wildlife: remains of uneaten fish and such. I recommend wearing a hat, stretching your neck, being OK with constantly moving subjects, and getting a low ground position if you want to sketch.
I took my friends to see it for the first time, and we sketched for a bit. I am hoping to go again soon - before all the younglings are off the trees.
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