“Art happens all the time, everywhere. All we have to do is keep our minds open.” – Jacek Tylicki

May 1, 2018
May 3, 2018
May 6, 2018
May 9, 2018
May 15, 2018
May 23, 2018
May 31, 2018
Jun 2, 2018
Jun 4 and 5, 2018
Jun 9 and 10, 2018

Here’s another selection of my favourite drawings from my sketchbook from May and June. Towards the end of June, with my focus on drawing faces, I started skipping my warm-up drawings. At the time it was due to time constraints – I had a lot going on and I wanted to be as quick a possible. This is a busy month as well, but I really think I need to get back to it and start using my sketchbook for quick drawing exercises prior to my daily drawings – blind contours and value maps of the subject I have chosen that will lead me to look at it differently. I will begin tonight and see where it leads.

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“Every time I paint a portrait, I lose a friend.” – John Singer Sargent

July 2, 2018

Jun 1, 2018
Jun 2, 2018
Jun 3, 2018
Jun 4, 2018
Jun 5, 2018
Jun 6, 2018
Jun 7, 2018
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Jun 9, 2018
Jun 10, 2018
Jun 11, 2018
Jun 12, 2018
Jun 13, 2018
Jun 14, 2018
Jun 15, 2018
Jun 16, 2018
Jun 17, 2018
Jun 18, 2018
Jun 19, 2018
Jun 20, 2018
Jun 21, 2018
Jun 22, 2018
Jun 23, 2018
Jun 24, 2018
Jun 25, 2018
Jun 26, 2018
Jun 27, 2018
Jun 28, 2018
Jun 29, 2018
Jun 30, 2018

My experience before June in drawing faces was minimal. I find faces very difficult and would not take on a portrait of someone I know for fear of how they might interpret my lack of skill. I really enjoyed these drawings though – partially because I had such low expectations. I chose to draw faces created by other artists as the images would already be simplified and I would be able to draw on a wide variety of styles. I worked from images I found online mostly. The list below includes the details of the original images with links. (just to prove that not all of the crooked eyes were unintentional…)

“To depend entirely upon inspiration is as bad as waiting for a shipwreck to learn how to swim….”

“To depend entirely upon inspiration is as bad as waiting for a shipwreck to learn how to swim. To leave everything to natural spontaneity is as bad as to make everything the result of mechanical pre-determination… perfection is the harmonious blending of the two.” – Francois Delsarte

June 18, 2018

Skittles, Apr 28, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Skittles, Apr 28, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Four Cups, May 6, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Four Cups, May 6, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Balloon Dog, May 19, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Balloon Dog, May 19, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

Cream Pitcher, May 27, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8" X 8"

Cream Pitcher, May 27, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 8″ X 8″

It seems it’s been a while that I’ve felt torn between trying to finish as many of my old canvases as possible and starting something new and larger. And in the absence of a decision between the two, I’ve either been working on smaller pieces or not working at all. Being a collector of art supplies, I have quite a few small canvassers and panels that I’m filling in short sittings with images that are not all that special to me. Their completion almost amounts to putting in time – but the intention is not a negative connotation. It’s more about keeping at it and removing the expectation of a certain outcome beyond a surface covered with paint that I can call ‘done’. I do have some time set aside in the near future to play with cold wax techniques and that just might lead to something new…

“Stare. It is the way to educate your eye…”

“Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.” – Walker Evans

June 5, 2018

 

May 1, 2018
May 2, 2018
May 3, 2018
May 4, 2018
May 5, 2018
May 6, 2018
May 7, 2018
May 8, 2018
May 9, 2018
May 10, 2018
May 11, 2018
May 12, 2018
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May 22, 2018
May 23, 2018
May 24, 2018
May 25, 2018
May 26, 2018
May 27, 2018
May 28, 2018
May 29, 2018
May 30, 2018
May 31, 2018

May is over and so are my daily drawings for the month. I adopted the theme of corners in May. I had thought I’d try to focus on creating small spaces, or on the odd things that I might find in the corners of my house, but that wasn’t always that interesting to me, so I expanded it to include the corners of surfaces as well. I liked having a theme – even if it was sometimes only loosely applied and so I’ve taken up a new one for June. On July 2, I will post my daily face drawings and we’ll see how many of them appear to be human.

“Fear is the enemy of art. But it’s a misfortune to be in complete control and a gift to feel slightly lost.” – Melanie Peter

May 21, 2018

Still feeling a little lost and uninspired these days with my art. And that’s ok. I will continue and see what happens next. Here are a few of my warm-up drawings from March and April – complete with really inconsistent colour casts.

Mar 2, 2018
Mar 4, 2018
Mar 5, 2018
Mar 11, 2018
Mar 15, 2018
Apr 1, 2018
Apr 2, 2018
Apr 8, 2018
Apr 12, 2018

“[A] mental image is something completely different from a visual image…”

May 7, 2018

“[A] mental image is something completely different from a visual image, and, however much one  exerts oneself, one can never manage to capture the fullness of that perfection which hovers in the mind and which one thinks of, quite falsely, as something that is ‘seen.’” – M.C. Escher

Apr 1, 2018
Apr 2, 2018
Apr 3, 2018
Apr 4, 2018
Apr 5, 2018
Apr 6, 2018
Apr 7, 2018
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Apr 10, 2018
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Apr 21, 2018
Apr 22, 2018
Apr 23, 2018
Apr 24, 2018
Apr 25, 2018
Apr 26, 2018
Apr 27, 2018
Apr 28, 2018
Apr 29, 2018
Apr 30, 2018

April drawings complete. It was a bit of a rough month with a general lack of interest in this project. I’m continuing on, hoping spring brings renewed interest.

“Just do your work…”

April 23, 2018

“Just do your work. And if the world needs your work it will come and get you. And if it doesn’t, do your work anyway. You can have fantasies about having control over the world, but I know I can barely control my kitchen sink. That is the grace I’m given. Because when one can control things, one is limited to one’s own vision.” – Kiki Smith
2018 01 05
2018 01 15
2018 01 20
2018 01 23
2018 02 03
2018 02 04
2018 02 07
2018 02 14
2018 02 17
2018 02 18
2018 02 20
2018 02 23

These are a few of my January and February sketchbook drawings. My sketchbook drawings are different from the daily drawings that I post to Instagram (and here, monthly) for a few reasons. I always begin in my sketchbook. Sometimes the drawing there is rough and really more of a warm-up, and sometimes it’s quick and more interesting as a result. I start in my sketchbook with less intention to produce something that I would call ‘finished’ and it changes how I approach the page and the subject. I try things that are more challenging – it’s less intimidating to take risks. I have committed to posting all of my daily drawings, but I have not committed to posting everything in my sketchbook. It also means that there are a lot more really questionable drawings in my sketchbook – and so I only have 12 that I’ve chosen to post for January and February.