Fall leaves and parents.

I found some leaves and, astonished by the diversity of colors and intricacy of signs of age, drew them many times. And then left some to dry in between books and pages of my sketchbook. I like finding them later. 

And the other day I had a video call with my parents and they had a full-blown 2-minute row about which literature is more appropriate for drying fall leaves and finding them there later. 

Blogging as a letter writing

I've been thinking about some epistolary novels recently and ways how conversations survive time and space differences and how to translate it into surviving differences in opinions. And because of all these thoughts latest spread in my sketchbook looks like a letter I would send. And what is this blog if not s series of visual notes and letters? Hence I am adding it here :)

One Week 100 People: 2021

This challenge was organized and curated this year (again) by Liz Steel and Marc Taro Holmes. The idea of this little race is to give your people-sketching skills a boost. 

I think about it as an opportunity to remind myself how much I enjoy sketching people - even when they are not too excited about it :) 

Most of the people I interact with these days I see on the video calls - so I've done some of those:

 

And I did most of my work from the crazy-wonderful collages of Pelle Cass - trying to follow the story that he is weaving through the mash-up of these sporting events. I had a timer every time and did my best to look at the image more than at the paper. I tried find some rhythm in the way I re-shuffled figures for my collage, looking for simplified bodies.

I also found some people to draw from real life:

All in all - I did more than a hundred but I hope to work completely from life next year. Goes without saying that I miss the days when going to a cafe or library or standing on a street and sketching was easy and simple and something I would do in between other things. 

How did my "ONE WEEK 100 PEOPLE": Sketching Challenge (March 9-13, 2020) go.

Well, this year I was prepared (here is my plan).
But things didn't go as I planned.
And I did draw over 100 people but I cannot share quite a few of them. I knew that would be the case and planned to draw way more. But as coronavirus spread, the world around me was getting smaller and smaller and fewer and fewer places were available for sketching and more and more things had to be done before the inevitable shutdown of all the normal life.
So - here are a few of the 100 people:

Why I cannot share some of my sketches?
Those who follow my blog for some time probably noticed that there are no more sketches of the family members. This happened as per their request. I am drawing them daily but no longer making those sketches and notes public. (This means that I will not be posting a lot of things about my time during the quarantine - but I am thinking as to how to go about it).
Here is an example:

And I am very grateful for those who video chat with me regularly and are OK with me sharing these sketches (these people are also known as my endless supporters - my parents :)

Making Paper Cut Sketches is a Lot of Fun - Try It!

I regularly draw at kid's activities - and often these are really good, intense life drawing classes. But doing that several times a week for several years gets to you and you start thinking up new ways to practice - so I've picked up some color paper and scissors and now challenge myself to make a paper cut-outs of the movements and poses.

I made a folder with all of the sketches done with scissors: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23173190@N07/sets/72157688760574933
A couple of technical notes: 

1. Scissors. I love victorinox knives but the scissors were killing my fingers after one class - so I got small scissors from my sewing kit (these actually have rounded tips - I want to try some sharp scissors too soon. 

2. Using smaller pieces of color paper was a great idea as I often have to rotate the paper and even fold and move it quickly to catch the shape of the movement and dealing with the large paper was just ugly (and wasteful).

3. Carrying ziplock bag for all the tiny pieces of paper that are leftover saved me from extra cleaning after the class.

4. Having a glue stick and some extra pieces of paper with me gave me a chance to compose some of the pages right on the spot and it felt more like a complex scene made right there rather than a bunch of quick gesture sketches.

I want to try:

1. Some unusual scissors

2. Exacto knife

3. Making more compositions with the holes (negative space) left after I cut out a figure

4. Making multi-part pieces (I tried it with the cello and it did not work well but I think it's worth experimenting.

The end of Sketchbook #115

End end of Sketchbook #115 will tell you all about me going back to routines of everyday life :) Reading and cello and taekwondo classes with my kid, taking care of octogenarian, talking to my family via video calls, collecting and drawing treasures I found on my walks, drinking tea, trying to clear space on my table, drawing crazy things as a way to procrastinate - all in all - normal life :) 

Sketchbook #115: Trip to Europe - Part I - Ukraine/People

Amid perpetual fight with the sleepiness and endless food consumption (everyone tried to feed us in Ukraine), I tried to draw various family members at their everyday tasks.  I have a "life hack" or trick for the cases when I know that my capacity to make good decisions would be limited (examples would include jet lag, an abundance of people talking to me simultaneously or a very emotionally charged situation). I carry a very simple, the most limited sketch kit possible (though any sketching kit would do - ballpoint pen and napkin saved me many times but an 18 pan watercolor set also worked) - and pull it out as soon as I can and start making marks on the page without judgment or thinking.  No thinking is the key. And then I keep adding things - as you would continue dancing - the best you can. When the page is filled - move to the next one without breaking a stride. 

Sketchbook #114: Drawing People

I really try to draw people around me as often as possible - not because I do it well but because I see people better when I draw them and because I want to get better. Better at drawing and at seeing. Very few have the patience for my portraits but some endure it for years - with and without complaints. Thank you! (you know who you are)