I’m always at least a day behind on this January challenge, but I’ve decided not to stress over it. After all, it’s supposed to be fun, right? Well, here are five more sketches that I’ve completed…
Day 5 – Draw a bridge
This is an old stone railroad bridge that spans Ten-Mile Creek in Jefferson, PA, drawn with a Derwent Watercolour pencil, color: chocolate.
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| All sketches are done in a 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ Stillman and Birn Alpha series sketchbook |
Day 6 – Draw seeds or pods
I dashed outside on one of those zero-degree days last week to pick a stem off my balloon flower plants to draw. The seed pods were a dusty purplish grey color, something I never would have noticed if I hadn’t stopped to sketch them. Since the stem was so long and narrow, I figured a page border was in order, to fill some of that blank space.
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| Watercolor, ink, pencil, and gel pen |
Day 7 -Draw your version of a favorite painting
I picked Andrew Wyeth’s “Her Room”, which I love, but jazzed up the colors to make it my own. The original is all muted tones of browns and greys – mine is definitely not muted!
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| Ink and watercolor |
Day 8 – Sketch a tea kettle
One thing I like about doing a challenge and sketching every day is that it gives me a good excuse to try different techniques, materials, and styles. In this sketch of my enameled tea kettle, I zoomed in and cropped the kettle and cup, something I rarely do in my sketches. I always tend to feel compelled to include the big picture. I must remember that sometimes less is more.
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| Ink and watercolor |
Day 9 – Draw coins or a bank note
Talk about trying a different technique….this sketch is not my usual style at all, but I wanted to try being bold and simplifying my lines. It doesn’t even look like it was done by the same person who did the “Campanula” page above, does it? Using the “Fine” Sharpie pen (which really has a fairly fat tip) forced me to eliminate extraneous detail and gave it a more graphic look.
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| Sharpie pen and watercolors |
While I’m trying to keep up with the daily sketches, I’m preparing for my upcoming class at WashArts in Washington, PA. Lots of painting going on around here! It may take me until the end of February to finish my January sketches, but I shall persevere!
2 Comments
My favorite is Day 7 but I love them all! Way to go on the challenge. I really want to get into the habit of painting daily but just haven't felt up to it or haven't had the time. Thanks for sharing your work.
Love them all, I have been officially doing the 30 day challenge. Your work is lovely.