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What’s the Deal with the 2019 Celebration of International Fake Journal Month?
In January I decided that after 10 years of a public celebration of International Fake Journal Month I’d end the public portion of this project. You can read about my reasons at the above link to the official blog. So this year there is no button and theme/tagline and most important, nothing for me to […]
The Daily Potato: A Look at a Daily Drawing Project
At the end of September 2018 Jennifer Okano brightened everyone’s day by posting this wonderfully dimensional sketch of a sweet potato in a group I host for past students. She wrote: This month my focus has been on contours. Outside, inside, cross. Picking the oddest Japanese sweet potatoes at the market has given me a […]
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 […]
Why I Paint Birds (Or How I Feel about Portraiture)
People have all sorts of involved, ecological, and philosophical reasons for drawing and painting birds. Years ago, participating in a group show of nature art I was faced with writing an artist’s statement about why I paint birds. I thought long and hard. I was an outlier at the show because all my […]
Sketching Warm Up—A Quick Approach
Just as it is important to do your daily exercises, go for your walk, ride your bike, it’s important to do your drawing warm up. These can be done very quickly. The sketches on the above page spread were done in less than 12 minutes. That’s how long it takes to make my breakfast noodles. […]
John Ruskin: The Father of Modern Sketchbook Practice
Tuesday in a Facebook group I belong to someone asked: “Which country originated the practice of the sketchbook?” Group members, myself included, got sidestepped into discussionsof what was a sketchbook, and the history of bookmaking, and I even looked into the Oxford English Dictionary and an online dictionary to see when the word “sketchbook” went […]
It’s Fun To Change Media Now And Then
Sometimes if you’ve been working steadily in one medium it’s good to take a break and do some sketching with a totally different medium. I’d been sketching so much with pen and watercolor before the Minnesota State Fair that I decided to start a sketchbook for color pencil quick sketches. (I say quick sketches because […]
Warm Ups: Some More Thoughts…
I’ve written about warm ups many times, but readers still often forget how important they are. So I’m sharing some warm up pieces from my journals again today, before I get some more warm ups done and get my day going. My goal with warm ups is to check myself on my ability to correctly […]
Blast from the Past: Sketch in Any Moment
I was clearing out the flat file while under the weather and not fit for much. I found today’s sketch and scanned it. Readers know that from July 1, 1998 through January 26, 2003 I drew a sketch of my Alaskan Malamute Bitch Dottie every day. I sometimes forget that besides filling 43 volumes of […]
10th Anniversary—The Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together
The dates have been posted, make your travel plans. Sketch Together organizer Marty Harris has the buttons ordered and we’ll be getting together on: Saturday, August 25 and Monday, August 27, 2018 The 10th Great Minnesota State Fair Sketch Together More details on meeting places and times closer to the event.