Currently Browsing: The Drawing Life
Richard Doesn’t Have a Clue
Yesterday was Father’s Day and like many fortunate people who have parents who are not only still living but living nearby we spent the afternoon with Dick’s dad CR. We brought treats and sat and talked. Later we struggled to get him into clean, fresh clothing. CR has lost the ability to stand for even […]
A Little Hiatus While Some Technical Issues and Deadlines Are Addressed
I have some great posts in the draft stage, including a review of the journal today’s image was created in, and of course the Stonehenge Aqua paper review. However, I’m stretched very thinly right now as I balance teaching the Drawing Practice class with resolving some long standing technical issues about my website. Because of […]
Project Friday: How To Deal with Crappy Days in Your Visual Journal
Here’s a question I’m asked frequently: How do you deal with crappy days in your journal? Not long ago a student explained to me that when she kept a written journal she would often write about the stress and frustration in that journal, but then never look back at it. She felt that her visual […]
In Context—Paper Testing
For the first two months of 2018 I tested both the hot press and cold press versions of the new Stonehenge Aqua 140 lb. watercolor paper. To do that I first bound two books. One contained hot press paper, the other cold press. I then used all the usual pens and paints I typically use […]
2018 Drawing Practice—Drawing Live Subjects in Public
All my life, one of the most exciting, energizing, and simply fun experiences I’ve enjoyed has been while I’m sketching live animals. It doesn’t matter if I’m at home with a dog visitor (we don’t have live in models any more) or out and about in the field checking out wild turkeys or walking around […]
Just Enjoy What You Do: Or—Drawing as an Analogy of Goal Setting
I’ve spent the week on my blog going over self-evaluations and the need for goals. Sometimes it’s important to just enjoy what you do—what you did. In today’s post there’a a sketch of a young man with green hair. I did this sketch from a Sktchy photo. It’s actually sort of an analogy for what […]
At Least I Wasn’t Abducted By Aliens: Keeping Your Sense of Humor and Productivity
Note: This blog post was originally set to run during the second week of January but technical issues with the blog delayed it. This version was edited for publication today. Anyone who bothered to stop by or call me from October through January this year knew things were tough. I was beyond grumpy because of […]
Letting Things Go, Even in the Pursuit of Goals: The Little Journal That Got Away
Note: This post was originally scheduled to run at the end of December 2017. Due to technical issues with the blog I’m just getting to it now. If you read my blog you’ll know that I keep track of the number of pages that I create each year. I do this because it is a […]
In-Context: Just Go With It—Follow Your Nose
Often one sketch will lead to another. The other day, the world turned on its end and I was feeling a bit dark. I did some rapid fire sketches of all sorts of monsters in thumbnail. I’d post them but you wouldn’t be able to tell what they are. Just know they were tiny and […]
Textures 2018 Class Registration Closes February 3: Why Use Textures?
I am offering my “Textures: Backgrounds for Visual Journaling and Mixed Media” online again this year. The 2018 class begins on February 3. There are 6 weeks of lessons in which students work through the process of creating backgrounds for their artwork. I share my favorite materials and approaches and provide detailed information on on […]