A Sketchbook Circle

     A few weeks ago I happened onto a conversation on the Sketchbook Skool Facebook page about organizing a sketchbook swap or circle. I jumped on it as quickly as I could. Our little group is made up of 10 ladies, 5 from the states and the others from Brazil, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia. I would have been thrilled to have anyone draw in my sketchbook, or to have it travel the country, but all those wonderful places...so exciting.
     I drew a page in my sketchbook and mailed it to Switzerland and in turn got one from Brazil. I've had it about two weeks and I'm ready to mail it out again this afternoon. I decided I should take a few photos of the drawings I made (of course I would never show anyone else's) since I will never see the drawings in person again.

This was a tiny book, only 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches and I wasn't sure what watercolor would do to the pages so I used ballpoint pen mostly with a little colored pencil. On the last page I braved a light wash over watercolor pencil. I truly am grateful for this fun opportunity! So exciting! Okay bring on the next book!

Dealing with Limitations

I've had a kind of frustrating day. I was working on a project for most of the day, a commission which I seriously underbid considering the time (I should have known) I spent on it. Also I'm using acrylic paint which I haven't really worked with since I fell in love with oils. It felt like the paint was fighting me. Days like that are not fun. Working and reworking something that just isn't looking right... I feel zapped. Disappointed with myself. I'm still not sure I'm finished with it. Low price or not, it will have my name on it. So... more time to spend I guess. 

The sketches below have nothing to do with that. They're just a few sketches from the last month or so from my red Moleskine, which comes with it's own set of limitations. I'll be glad when this book is filled and I can work on different paper.

One Sketchbook Down Many More To Go

Unfortunately I haven't sketched as much as I would have liked the last couple of years. I really haven't mastered the art of the quick sketch. Quick for me could mean an hour. I feel like that is a lot of time I don't have during the school year. So I've been trying to draw as often as possible this summer. I made a goal to draw everyday in June but that lasted about 7 days. Still , I don't want to beat myself up about it. I'm drawing, that's what counts. I finished the 8 x 8 sketchbook that I made last summer. (Eek. I hate that it took almost a year to finish it)

This is the second sketchbook I've made and I really didn't know what I was doing. Still, it held together and it was fun. So much so that I made another one this weekend. Same size, but made up of all the scraps of printmaking paper that I had leftover from the two printmaking classes I've taken, mostly Rives BFK and Arches Coverstock. It is literally a scrap journal. Made up of all different sizes and shapes. I don't know how well the paper will hold up to sketching or painting but that's part of the fun for me. 

Anyway, here are the last few layouts in this book. (Actually these are some of the last few. I had a few stinker sketches in this book. It has been heavily edited.)

I have many more finished pages in the moleskine, but I'll save those for another day, and a couple of really cool sketchbook projects that I hope to share later as well. Have a great Monday.