Sketchbook #115: Reading and Cello

Little bits and pieces are usually sketched with whatever was available - and often it's a ballpoint pen and some sort of paper. I try to write down some comments from the class and our reading but recently it was brought to my attention that I mostly write down critique. So I plan to work on my approach and hope to change what is written next to the everyday sketches to a more positive tone :)

Sketchbook #115: Bits and pieces

These are little things that accumulate in my sketchbook. There are days when I know what I want to draw and days when I just open a book and... if I don't start right away - I might never start - so I take first thing in front of me and start moving my pen - be that a tree trunk or a broken light switch. Or - if I managed to clean my table so much there is nothing there - I open up the news (that's the one about the death of Koko the gorilla) and draw - the trick is not to read too much - just glance, close and draw from memory. I drew that branch with tulip tree from memory too I believe - it was still on my table but by accident, I left a book on top of it so it became flat - hence this is my memory of how the now flat branch looked like the day before :)

Sketchbook #115: Treasures from my June Journal

Jacaranda and all sorts of leaves and seeds. 

Sketchbook #115: Bouquet

This was an unusual bouquet as this was the first time my kid picked flowers for me all by himself - and he made some great choices :)

Sketchbook #115: My Life Drawing Class.

On all of these pages I used a very thin ballpoint pen (skb ballpoint pen) which is full of character and, as all things with character, it's not so easy to control. I can create many shades of gray with it and can draw and write in the most impossibly-small handwriting - which helps sometimes to get things off my chest or add some special details that only I will notice. The only issue I have is that the pen gets a bit of a blob of ink on it's tip pretty often and they smudge - but there is certain charm in that too :) And dirty fingers.