Currently Browsing: The Drawing Life
Hair Cuts and Their Aftermath
Nope I didn’t have a hair cut. I still have my braids. Periodically I give CR a hair cut. He’s too frail now for me to load him into the car and take him to the female barber I found for him, and whom he grew to enjoy. Now he has me. After the hair […]
Simple Round Back Spine Class Registration Will Close February 14, 2019
Registration for “The Simple Round Back Spine” online bookbinding class is still open through February 14, 2019. Class begins on February 15, 2019 with all lessons dropping at once so that students can work at their own pace during the month. I’ll be available to answer your questions. (I recommend that students aim to make […]
In Context: The Last Selfie With My Original Eyes
I found it interesting when sketching this self portrait earlier this January that I wasn’t concerned about seeing color at all. That seems to be what everyone goes on about when they find out you’re going to have cataract surgery. I’ve been very happy with the way I see color, and the cataracts are new, […]
Sketching at the Dentist’s
There’s no excuse not to have a sketchbook with you at all times. I’ve made sketchbooks as small as 2 x 4 inches. They fit nicely into a pocket if you aren’t carrying a purse or bag. And now so many commercially bound books are available in small sizes, including the Hahnemühle Watercolor Book, which […]
Self-Assessment: 2018—Filling Journals, Using Up Paint
Some Background and The Brand of Paint I’ve Been Using Lately Yes, this painting actually has something to do with self-assessment and goal setting. First I want to say something about the materials… While I did sketch some more after painting this image yesterday (Dec. 31, 2018) this turned out to be my final […]
Happy New Year 2019
It’s the first day of the New Year! I believe that everyday needs to be greeted as a first day. I believe that you need to do something creative each day. In the 10 plus years I’ve been writing the blog I’ve written about New Year’s Day each year. Here are links to some of […]
Roz’s 2018 Minnesota State Fair Journal
Today’s gallery contains all the pages of my 2018 Minnesota State Fair Journal. This year I was able to attend on three days. There are sections indicating the start of each new day, and stating which day was the sketch out (I could only attend one of the sketch out days). I worked on 300 […]
Focusing on Doing and Not on Naming
Several people wrote to me after my last post When Drawing Isn’t Fun. Most said that they found it helpful in starting an internal dialog with themselves about their creative practice. But one of my Urban Sketcher friends Tina Koyama wrote a very important point in her comment on that post: Grief. The grief of letting […]
When Drawing Isn’t Fun
Recently a student wrote to my Drawing Practice group that she wasn’t sketching daily and wasn’t having fun when she did draw. Despite the fact that what she was drawing looked great and showed that all her hard work was paying off, she couldn’t see the value in it. This can happen to anyone at […]
Studying Other Artists, Or Dealing with a Plateau in Artistic Development
Recently one of my Drawing Practice students mentioned that she’d been discouraged to see the “before” and “after” artwork someone had posted on Facebook. Some of the artists included showed art from childhood and adulthood. Others posted work that was only a couple of years apart, yet showed great development of representational facility. All were […]