The Best Drawing All Week

If you've been tracking with my art, you know I've been doing a 100 Day Project. I'm at Day 61.

My normal routine is to flick through my Instagram feed & look for an interesting photo that i will then sketch on my iPhone. I've been trying not double up on anyone and so far, so good.

So today, as I flicked through my feed. I came across a photo from @mediapeople (Nathan Davis) of his daughter being prepped for surgery. I met Nathan once a long time ago at a church media conference. We were hanging out in the same crowd for maybe all of a half hour. So I did what any media guy does & followed him on twitter. I don't even know that we talked.

Fast forward to today. Seeing the photo he posted of his little girl Aleah, I knew I had to sketch his photo. As a dad, my heart swelled. As a believer in Jesus, I prayed for her as I sketched.

When I posted it, Nathan immediately responded that he was so encouraged, and as well he showed his daughter & it brought a smile to her face. That is why this is the best thing I've drawn all week. If my art can bring a connection, if i can use it as a gift (small as it is), then i feel like this is the best use of the abilities God has given me.

I don't know if you are the praying type, but if you are, would you pray for Aleah right now? She's been on a long road with surgeries to recover from a spinal cord injury from three years ago. If you're on Intagram, share some love on Nathan's account - @mediapeople

Sometimes the internet & social media just seem to rob you of time and amounts to nothing good. That's why I love when things like this happen to connect people. Why not join in & encourage these parents and their daughter? I triple-dog-dare you.

When Art Collides in Central Park

Last Friday I was sketching in Central Park. I like to go there every so often and just walk around, people watch, take some photos and recently, sketch. As I sat down in what is referred to the Mall section, I found myself sitting across from two musicians playing some songs for passers-by.

I decided it would be a great time to pull out the old sketchbook. Typically, I try to sketch people in public in as stealthy a way as possible as to not draw attention (no pun intended).

When I finished my sketch, I was ready to put my book away, but suddenly felt prompted to go over to the street musicians, throw a tip in their open case & share my art with them as they had been sharing their art with me.

What followed was a cool moment - I got to meet Sol Liebeskind & Agustin Uriburu. Sol was excited about my quick sketch so she snapped a photo to share on Instagram. It was a great little moment that wouldn't have happened had i closed my book and walked by (like you're trained to do growing up in NY). Glad I stepped out of the shadows.

Check out some of Sol's music.

Sketching with the NYC Urban Sketchers

If you've been traveling with me on this journey for any length of time, you know that I'm constantly looking for ways to "up the ante" so to speak. This past weekend I took yet another step. I joined the NYC Urban Sketchers group at the Central Park Zoo. I found out about the group through a post from someone else on Facebook. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I had been emailing the group leader Mark during the week but aside from that I was flying solo and blind.

My experience left me so glad I did indeed join them. It was a small group this time around (about 5-6 of us). It's pretty open, as you just show up and join in. Sometimes there are a lot of people, sometimes few.

As we made our way around the zoo, we'd stop every so often and sketch whatever we saw. But this day ended up being more than 3 hours of sketching. Some great surprises were:

• We got to interact with people visiting the zoo. Children would come up and peer over to our sketchbooks. Parents would point us out and say "see that, They're drawing. Isn't that cool?" It was a great reminder that we all start out loving to color and draw, but most "outgrow" it unfortunately. It was like having a magical connection with the kids. So great!
• There's nothing like drawing from life - what you see in front of you. Even the most challenging, like when the animals would constantly be on the move!
• I got to meet 4 or 5 new people from all walks of life and parts of NY (and NJ) who all love to draw. You can't underestimate the importance of being with with like-minded people, especially for artists who usually are creating in isolation.
• A few of us went to a local pub following our sketch time, where we shared our sketches from the day, as well as pulled out some of our supplies and let each other try them out. We shared techniques and observations. Although I had just met these guys that day, I felt a bond by the time the day was over.

I think about what I would have missed out on had I let myself listen to the introvert side of me. Sometimes you just have to go for it. Experience something new. And depending on how you are wired, that may be a no brainer or it might seem completely impossible. But as I've been saying for some time now - just take the the right next step for you - where you are and who you are!

If you're local to NY and want to join in the Urban Sketching fun (no need to be a professional artist - most are people who just love to draw!) they meet up every Saturday! Go sign up to receive info. Even if you make it once, I think you'll find it well worth your time.

Oh yeah - and I was asked to do a guest blog post on the Urban Sketcher site. Check it out!

How This Moth Took Flight: My Artist Process

A couple of weeks ago I announced the winner of my contest. Jeannie Pauly (@rovingsprout on Instagram) was the lucky winner with her submission of her huge moth photo.  A perfect Autumn subject (and yes, kinda creepy). The original art will be en route to her this week!

I figured I'd take this opportunity to not only show the final illustration that Jeannie will be receiving but also show a bit of my process. I know that as an artist I love to see other artist's process. So here we go:

First, I go right to drawing out the moth and surrounding pole / background with my Staedler pens (black waterproof ink - 4 pen set sizes .1 .3 .5 .7). I start with a .3 in size and work my way up to a .7 where I want to add a little thicker lines and darker areas. I used to start with pencil, but found that I erased too much & was too noncommittal in my line. I switched it up after reading a book challenging me to go right for pen, as it helps you with more confident line. And it forces you to work with the line you've made, rather than to get stuck in constantly erasing & redrawing, never moving on to the rest of the process.

Then I lay down some watercolors - starting with lighter colors and hues. A little wash here and there. A happy little moth. For brushes, I primarily use water brushes like these. But on this one I also used a few watercolor brushes I have kicking around. Nothing special.

I build that up getting darker and darker, defining more of the shadows.  I have several sets of watercolors I use. It usually is more about selecting the right colors than sticking with a certain brand. I used a few different pan sets for this one. I tend to like colors that pop, and didn't want to keep the brown and almost monotone feel of the original photo.

Then once the watercolors are dry, I'll go back in to a few spots to hit with a darker black Take-sumi ink (that isn't waterproof). I use my TWSBI pen for this finishing touches stage. And, voilà...

And there you have it folks.  Here's the original and the final art! I give you "Moth-er, May I?"

And the Winner is...

Jeannie Pauly! Congrats Jeannie! I'll be working on your sketch in the next week or so.

To everyone else, thanks so much for submitting your photos & being a part of this little experiment of mine.

Jeannie's entry was a HUGE moth from an Instagram photo she titled "nightlife". Speaking of Instagram, follow Jeannie @rovingsprout

 {photo credits: Juditk  /  Jeannie Pauly}

Getting Past the Suck of Stuck

Today I was feeling stuck. I know it happens to everyone, but it's still frustrating. For me, if I miss a day or two of drawing lately it proves to be a somewhat painful reentry. When I'm ready (and desiring), I crave out some time to draw only to be faced with a sort of paralysis. I don't know what to draw. Where do I start? Nothing seems appealing or interesting. I have the internal argument with myself, all while the clock ticks. I can't summon the nerve to draw the people who sit closest to me. I find the furniture around me boring. I've drawn that particular subject before. On and on it goes.

Today, an hour passed while I argued with myself. An hour. I could have done something in that time. Or several somethings. Finally, I had to determine to just draw the thing right in front of me. An empty Starbucks comfy chair. I had drawn this before. But today I had to quiet the resistance and just draw. Do SOMETHING. Act. And it's in this acting that something really does happen. The voice shuts up. You focus. Paralysis is shed. And you create.

It's not a masterpiece by any means, but sometimes it's not just about the result of what you create but how you got there. I was close to packing it in and not creating anything today. But i pushed through. A small victory for sure, but a victory none the less.

Something's Sketchy

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I've recently renewed my love for drawing. I've been filling up art journals like crazy and posting my sketches on the web. Part of the challenge is to keep finding interesting subjects to draw, whether from real life or photo reference. That's where you come in...

I want to invite you to be a part of the process. Are you ready?

Here's your chance to pitch something for me to sketch. Between today and September 15th, 2013, I will be accepting photos from you - things you want me to sketch. After all the submissions are in, I will randomly pick a winner and sketch their subject matter. When I finish, I will post it here and on Twitter/Instagram and then will mail the lucky winner the original artwork!

Are you in?

A few rules:

** Open to US only. I'm paying the shipping charges :)

1. You MUST enter a comment below introducing yourself - your name, where you are from, a twitter name / website and why you want to be the lucky winner.

2. Email me (MBsketchme at gmail dot com) ONE image only (must be your own image - no googling images or stealing from others).

3. Image specs: must be a high resolution and clear image. I need to be able to see details!

4. Image content: NO Explicit images! // No landscapes or crowds // Iconic images work best (IE - an object or person, part(s) of a person, animal, plant. machine, etc) Look at my sketches to see the types of things I've done.

5. The final artwork will be my artistic interpretation (I may exercise "artists rights" to crop or colorize, etc.). Ink & Watercolor medium. Final dimensions TBD but will be no bigger than 8.5 x 11.

6. There is nothing legally binding about any of this. It's just pure fun!

 

You must abide by all rules to have a valid entry! Good Luck!