Drawing Morning Pages (Doodle Edition 76)

Apr 02-05, 2012





Some Behind-the-Drawings Thoughts:
4/02 - Honestly, I didn't have any ideas on this day. I did a blue and red border and left it for two days… then I started drawing in these banners. I'm working on a private commission that includes a flag with a message in latin, I love banners & flag messages, so that's probably where this came from… but still I didn't know what message I wanted to put on them. I finally visited the "Quotes of the Day" page and found a Paul Gauguin quote at the top of the list for April 2. I don't necessarily agree with the statement… but I guess I did technically plagiarize this quote. LOL ;)


4/03 - I was mentally exhausted on this day as well - I started doodling with my markers with no real idea where it was heading… when I finished I had a very nice "background" and considered leaving it as is. But it didn't feel "done" so I let it sit for another day and randomly lit on the idea of silhouettes - as I thought they were something that would work nicely with the decorative patterned background, without coving it up completely. I chose to do children because I have a goal to get better/more comfortable drawing people, particularly children. With photography such a ubiquitous tool these days, I miss the tradition of family silhouettes. I say, bring 'em back - handmade by a family member/s, people!


4/04 - Got some new inks today and just played with them. I made a little informal chart to document what the colors look like on paper and lo and behold, the Teal and Aqua are practically the same color - so I'll be returning the teal and getting either another purple or a brown - DECISIONS! Anyway, I pasted that paper into my sketchbook here, and did a wash on the opposite page. Later in the day when it was dry, I let the colors guide me in the direction for the drawing I did over it.


4/05 - Last weekend I did an observational drawing demonstration at a local independent bookstore. I've never taught drawing before - I didn't understand how to TEACH something I just DO everyday. I never thought about breaking it down into parts, from the beginning. So, in order to prepare, I read some online articles on teaching drawing, I found this one particularly useful. It served as a reminder for myself as well… and this day I decided to draw from life, an amaryllis bud I've been admiring everyday with multitudes of photos on my iPhone. I started with several overlapping blind contour drawings in shades of red - each one a slightly rotated version of the buds. Then I drew a detailed sketch on the facing page (using col-erase red & regular graphite pencils)… and used up a dying brown marker for the background. Lots of notes here too. Almost feels like an official nature journal!