Come Sketch With Me!

"Drawing is the only thing I've found

in which I can lose myself Completely."

~ P. Capaldi

Small objects you love, make great models for quick gesture drawings.

This sketch was done with a quick gesture *holding the pencil like a wand

and then details were added, **holding the pencil like you would to write your name.

*** See Drawing Tips Below

If you are strapped for time, just do one set of 2 minute gestures everyday.

You'll be surprised how much even that little bit will help!

The brain processes 3D objects differently than when viewing flat, 2D reference. Drawing from photos is good practice too, but there are some real benefits to to starting off the summer season with drawing from life!

Here's a photo of the nest which was drawn from life, at a slightly different angle. 

***Some Tips on Drawing two minute gestures from life.

• When drawing small objects, it helps to get the item closer to eye level, so I set them up on a box or a large coffee can.

• It also helps to isolate the subject with a solid colored background.

• Closing one eye often helps if you are having difficulty.

• When drawing, try to keep your body and head in the same position or your view will change.

• Prop your drawing pad up at an angle. Use a Beanie Baby, or something similar.

• Squint to see large shapes as you start to draw quickly.

• Hold your pencil *In Position One - like a wand (*Like you were conducting an orchestra) It's the complete opposite position from **Position Two (**the position we use to write our name).

• Block in large shapes. Use the side of the pencil. Look at negative space. Make comparisons.

• Then, if you still have time, turn the pencil to **Position Two  and add a few details.

• You can see a short video on sketching gestures and how to hold your pencil here.

Follow this link for more tips on how to go about doing quick gestures. http://www.sketchingeveryday.com/…/in-starting-gate-and-the… 

Come Sketch Everyday With Me This Summer From June 1 - August 31st!  

Join our facebook group here.

"Sometimes the very best of all summer books is a blank notebook. Get one big enough, and you can practice sketching the lemon slice in your drink, the hot lifeguard on the beach or the

vista down the hill from your cabin." 

~ MM. Dirda

Happy Creating My Friends!

X ♥  O

 

Proven Formula For Increasing Skill

“Drawing is a frame of mind,

a loving embrace, if you will."

~ Susan Avishai

Do Eight Drawings in 15 minutes!

Discover how you can drastically increase your drawing skills,
when you sketch for just 15 minutes a day!
 

Models at Sandarosa Studio

Everything has a gesture!

Although often used as warm up for a life drawing session,

gesture drawing is an important exercise in developing skill in drawing.

Drawing from life uses different "muscles" than drawing from a photo does.

The brain processes 3D objects differently than when viewing flat, 2D reference. 

See more about gesture drawing  here:

Models. Timer and 2 Minute Sketches

I downloaded a free Simple Interval Timer (SIT) for my iPad and

set up 16) sets of 2 min. each with 10 seconds in-between ea. 2 min.

8 Drawings in 15 Minutes

Here's How To Do It -
• Start the the timer and sketch for 2 minutes.                  

• When the timer goes off,  turn (the model) 1/4 turn.      
• Repeat every 2 minutes.                                                  

• For 16 sessions, you can draw 4 views each                   

of four different models in just 33 minutes.        

• If you only have 15 minutes to spare, just do 8 drawings.
• And if you are really strapped for time, just do one set.  

Even a very small amount of time that is
allotted everyday will make a huge difference.

 Think of it as homework.
"I must warn you that it's addictive and the more you draw,
the more time you are going to want to spend doing it."
~ Sandy

A Quick Watercolor Wash is Added

 Join Our DrawingEveryday / SketchingEveryday Group on Facebook!

Gesture drawing is not just for figure drawing anymore!!

See more about 6 step sketching here.

Thanks for your friendship.

Happy Happy Creating!!

X ♥  O

Drawing is FUN!

“Drawing is a frame of mind,

a loving embrace, if you will."

~ Susan Avishai

Do 8 Drawings in 15 minutes!
Discover how you can drastically increase your drawing skills,
when you sketch for just 15 minutes a day!
 

Models at Sandarosa Studio

Everything has a gesture!

Although often used as warm up for a life drawing session,

gesture drawing is an important exercise in developing skill in drawing.

Drawing from life uses different "muscles" than drawing from a photo does.

The brain processes 3D objects differently than when viewing flat, 2D reference. 

See more about gesture drawing  here:

Models. Timer and 2 Minute Sketches

I downloaded a Simple Interval Timer for my iPad and

set up 16) sets of 2 min. each with 10 sec. in-between.

8 Drawings in 15 Minutes

Start the session and sketch for 2 minutes,

then turn (the model) 1/4 turn every 2 minutes.

For 16 sessions, I can draw 4 views each

of four different models in just 33 minutes.

If you only have 15 minutes to spare, just do 8!

A Quick Watercolor Wash is Added

"Draw, as much and as often as you can.

When drawing lies fallow,

the skill diminishes."

~ Gene Black

Gesture drawing is not just for figure drawing anymore!!

See more about 6 step sketching here.

Thanks for your friendship.
Happy Spring and Happy Creating!!

X ♥  O

 

DAY ONE - Watercolor Workshop

WARM UP EXERCISE
I started today's lessons with a warm up exercise I came up with at the spur of the moment. Holding the pencil like a wand, I encouraged students to use their whole arm and wrist while making various scribbles on their paper. Everyone seemed to agree that this helped them to loosen up for the sketching to follow.

TWO MINUTE GESTURES
I have some wood bird carvings and decided to use them as models for our two minute gesture sketches. After the allotted time was up, each person turned their bird clockwise a quarter of a turn. Each participant did a dozen sketches, three birds, four views each.

BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING
This is a wonderful exercise that I haven't done in a long time. None of the students had ever done a blind contour. This teaches hand eye coordination. You can't look down at your paper while you are drawing. You must only look at the subject while the pencil is moving. This trains you to caress the object with your eyes. After this exercise, students followed along with handouts as we went on to drawing a hummingbird with my Six Steps to Sensational Sketches Demo.

MONOTONE VALUE PAINTING
After lunch break, we did a value painting of a lighthouse. I explained WET-IN-WET techniques on painting skies, grass, water and buildings. Here is my demo painting.