Sketching time has been scarce for me lately, and I’ve really been missing it. Teaching, commission work, spring garden chores, and a whole host of other obligations have been filling my days, and it seems like everything needs to be done right now! When things start to get out of whack like that for me, I make a conscious effort to squeeze in some sketching time, even if it means combining it with some of those other things I need to take care of, like running errands…
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| 9″ x 12″, ink, watercolor, & colored pencil in Aquabee Super Deluxe sketchbook with 90 lb. paper |
I’d much rather be home than spending my time visiting fifteen different stores in an afternoon, so the other day, when I had a long list of places I needed to go, I thought I’d give myself a reward for each one I checked off my list. I took a few extra minutes at many of the stops I had to make to do a quick little sketch
in my Aquabee 9″ x 12″ sketchbook. I drew and painted on site, from the front seat of my van, and only had to add a few finishing touches later at home.
First stop – the mailbox at the end of our driveway…
Then a quick stop at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store to look for a good used chair to slipcover. (No luck.)
I had things to return at Marshall’s and Sears, but I only sketched Marshall’s. The Sears store was so uninteresting I didn’t want to waste my time on it – I make the rules here! 🙂
Guess where I bought flip-flops for my granddaughter’s Easter surprise…
I picked up some last-minute Easter dinner supplies,
stopped at a certain discount department store for a few odds-and-ends,
and finally hopped on the interstate and headed for home. After all the busyness of being in town, I love the drive home, where all I see are spring-green hills, budding trees, farms, and fields. And my favorite scene is this last one, the winding driveway that leads around the bend, through the woods, to our house on the hill…
11 Comments
Of course even Wal-Mart looks cute when YOU sketch it…
You make it all look so easy to do! 🙂
I love the way you see something to quickly sketch in your everyday happenings. I need to open my eyes wider, then maybe I'll see outside of the box & stop being blinkered..
I have fun challenging myself to draw what's in front of me, whether it's sketching each place I stop, or drawing every hour on the hour, or painting everything I eat in a day. That way, I don't get caught up in the paralysis of trying to find the perfect subject matter. Give it a try! It's very freeing.
I love how you turned a seemingly endless list of chores into a lovely sketch page. Good thinking!!! You are right that you don't need to get caught up in trying to find the perfect subject matter…go with what you have!
And when I'm sketching quickly I don't worry about everything being "just so." Look at those trucks in sketch #2. They're pretty bad, but I don't care. I wasn't aiming for perfection, just trying to relax and have some fun. Isn't that what it's all about?
Lovely page!
brilliant – everyday places made special!
What a way to capture a day's worth of errands and reward yourself at the same time. Very lovely.
i was wondering what you draw with? love your blog.
Kelly,
I usually rough in the sketch with a few lines in pencil, just to get my proportions right, then I draw everything with either a Pitt Artist's pen, size S, or a Pigma Micron 01 or 005. That's my standard procedure, but I also like to use a Noodler's Creaper Flex pen with Lexington Gray ink for a line that blends more with the watercolor.