Happy Christmas

No no, I haven't forgotten this blog - life just got in the way! I've been working non-stop at the bookstore for the 4 weeks before Christmas, and have barely had time to draw - I find I can't draw when I feel stressed or rushed.

So, when Christmas Day rolled around, I had the time to do these little sketches, the second of which is of Christmas presents, drawn with one of the presents - a packet of Progresso graphite pencils!

Happy Christmas!

Quick sketches

University classes are finally over for the year. As a reward, I bought a new sketchbook and some Faber-Castell brush pens in warm greys. Here is the first sketch.





I find sketching hard, as my instinct is to sit, look and draw something for an hour, but sometimes there just isn't time! Of course, the only way to get better at it is to practise!





I work part of the day in our Christmas sale bookstore, which is just across from a Crabtree & Evelyn store. In between helping people with Christmas purchases, this sketch of the C&E poster for their Christmas campaign in about five minutes.

Teapot

My flatmate's teapot. Bit of an experiment with using colour and graphite.

Faber-Castell graphite (B), Faber-Castell watercolour pencil in '443', Derwent watercolour pencil in 'Prussian Blue'.

A heart of gold

I'm not a figurine-collecting kind of girl, but this is on my dresser, as a daily reminder of my 'second mum', my boss from my first, beloved job in a bookstore. She gave it to me one Christmas, and I love it.



It's made to look like it's carved from timber (hence the angular lines at the base of the figure), and doesn't have a face, but I think its expression is lovely. :)

Drawn with Faber-Castell B graphite pencil.

Achoo!

It's hayfever season, and tissues are my constant companion!





This drawing added another thing to the challenge list - fabric folds! Those are hard!

2B Progresso graphite pencil.

EDM #205 - Draw a soda can.

It's getting really hot here in Canberra. Thankfully, the Boy keeps refreshing mini-cans (200mls - the perfect size, not too much, not too little!) of icy-cold Coke in his fridge for such occasions. And here are a few sketches.



The first one is more of an example of how I didn't look at perspective, hence a very wonky coaster under the can! I was really disappointed, as I was enjoying myself until then!



In the second, I was too scared (!!!) to draw the logo in case I stuffed it up! Also wish I could do better reflections. By the time I drew the second one, the coaster had been replaced by a placemat.

These are both done with my favourite medium, dry sanguine pencil.

First steps

I've long been a fan of Danny Gregory, and was aware that he started a sort of 'support group' (though it would be better to think of it as an 'inspiration group'!) of art enthusiasts called 'Everyday Matters'. I wasn't quite sure what to start drawing, until I found their list of 'Challenges' - things to draw when you can't think of anything else! It's an excellent list!

Here is the first drawing - '13 - Draw your telephone'



That got the ball rolling, so this morning I drew this candlestick.



Here's a quote from Danny that has always stuck with me:

We don't live in a box. We live on a ball, always revolving, always changing, moving ahead, never in the same place for more than a moment. That's the nature of the universe. That's the true nature of man. And that, my label hungry friends, is what Art is all about. --Danny Gregory

A promise

I used to be able to draw. In 2005 I went to art school and learnt, doing 9 hours of drawing a week, along with photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture and theory classes. I loved the meditativeness of completely losing myself in an image, looking up and it being an hour later than when I started!

But it stopped. And without practice, the ability to draw becomes much harder. And if drawings don't come out the way you wanted them to, the motivation goes.

However, recently I have been feeling the desire to start drawing again, and the desire has been aided by the creative people around me. My brother draws, frequently. My mum has started teaching herself to paint watercolours. And my boyfriend has just enrolled in a drawing class. Surrounded by all of these amazing people, and no creative output of my own!

So I guess this blog is to be a little promise to myself, that every week I will find the time to draw, and then post it here. So that I can see some sort of progress over time, I hope.

To start here are a couple of drawings I did in 2005.