Graphite

Revisiting portraiture

Art

Wow, life has been crazy! Aside from wedding planning (less than 90 days away, oh my gosh!) and getting settled in our new house (home art studio is coming along nicely) I’ve also been cast as the lead in my community theater’s production of “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Breaking gender rules, which, I love!

So while I’ve had little time on my hands outside of work and rehearsal, I’m proud of myself for making time to revisit something I haven’t done in a while: portraiture. Specifically, graphite portraiture.

I’ve never been a huge fan of drawing in pencil — I’m a lefty so, ya know, graphite tends to leave my entire drawing hand coated in grey dust — but I do LOVE doing portrait work in this medium.

After seeing the new Fantastic Beasts trailer flash across my TV, I was feeling inspired.

I’ve mentioned before how much I love this franchise and this character in particular, and had a lot of fun setting aside a couple of hours to do this drawing.

I’m looking forward to having more free time after next weekend following the conclusion of “Willy Wonka” and sharing photos of my developing home art studio!

A SKETCH A DAY

Art

As mentioned in my last post, this year I’m committed to sketching more. This means sketching as a means of learning and inspiration, not as a practice for finished pieces.

To help myself commit to this resolution, I’ve been challenging myself to complete a sketch a day. Whether it’s a 5-minute study or a more complete work, I’m determined to pick up a pencil (or pen, or brush) once a day and visually jot down my thoughts.

If you follow my Instagram account, you’ll see that I’m doing alright in my self-inflicted challenge.

Drawing quick studies of my dog…

…drawing inspiration from what’s on TV…

…and replicating what can be found in the books in my library.

I’m even throwing in some of my favorite characters!

And while I may not be sketching every single day, I’m certainly doing more than I was. And that’s what it’s all about, right?

I challenge you to challenge yourself!

Whether it’s drawing, writing, or crafting, I challenge you to make more time for yourself and the things that you love.

A Beastly Sketch

Art

I’m always promoting the act of sketching. Not every drawing should be a finished piece and we should all learn to sketch out of habit as a way of learning, as a way of reflecting and as a way of observing the world around us.

The more we draw, the better we get at 99% of art forms. Period. Sketch for sketching sake.

That being said, I’m not always great at following my own advice. Do as I say, not as I do – yada, yada, yada.

I get it. If you’re like me, you want every sketch to lead to something grand. Something more than a fleeting thought. Ultimately, something more than a sketch!

But sketches are meant to be unfinished – that’s what makes them magical! Because documenting fleeting, unfinished thoughts on paper help us learn which direction we want to go in and can sometimes lead to the grandest ideas of all.

One of my resolutions for 2018 is to sketch more. Fearless sketching, totally unafraid of the prospect that some sketches will end up being nothing more than a few hasty scribbles on a piece of paper.

This weekend I held true to my resolution and flipped through my sketchbook pages rapidly, producing a number of very quick, very rough drawings. I drew ideas as fast as they came to me. And through this process, found some inspiration.

Portraiture. Faces. Taking a break from inanimate objects (which I do so love) and focusing back on the living and breathing.

Feeling inspired, I kept sketching. And actually did create a sketch I deemed worth sharing:

I love “Beauty and the Beast” and was drawn to capturing Beast’s half-human nature. (Admittedly, humanoid creatures have always been a fascination of mine.)

Because of this care-free sketch-session I’m feeling more inspired than I have weeks. Thank goodness I received a pile of sketchbooks for Christmas!