A few before sketches ...
Recently I was asked if all my daily sketching have improved my skills in drawing? The answer is absolutely! But first let me say that there are times that I don't sketch daily ... even weeks that I don't pick up a pencil and sketch. When I do sketch my first goal it to create a sketch that is recognizable. Thats about it. It doesn't have to be a perfect drawing, just recognizable to me.
I use to try hard to draw/sketch and did some sad looking sketches, then I discovered modified contour drawing like Charles Reid suggests in his books and dvd's: "contour drawing helps you see that the things you are drawing aren't things but rather shapes that intertwine and connect". Drawing like this really helped me get over being so up-tight about what I was drawing. And the more I did contour drawing the more confidence I acquired and although my sketches still are not what I'd call great sketches I am much happier because of them.
These two sketches are from January 1997. Obviously not the best paper (or best sketches) in this sketchbook which is the Mead Academie Sketch Diary 11 "X 8 1/2"with the gray cover that I have told you about before. The front said it was good for pencil, ink etc... but its amazing how the pencil sketch on the back side of this sketch shows through.
I really should apologize for these two sketches because they are horrible ... but I realize they were and are all part of the learning experience. No one starts out being the best at anything until after a lot of practice.
I recently read a blog post on drawing by Lori McNee that I think you might enjoy it & find informative. Happy sketching.
So true, so true........as Lori stated "Practice."
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing with us!!
You are being very honest, Nancy, by posting sketches, etc., that you don't think of as your "best".
ReplyDeleteOthers wouldn't want anyone to see. Good for you!