Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Renewing the Commitment

Recently I completed Roz Stendahl's online class, "Drawing Practice: Drawing Live Subjects in Public", in which she takes the participants step-by-step through an intense series of lessons all aimed at developing a regular drawing practice and getting over any self-consciousness or fear of drawing in public.  The class won't be offered again for awhile, but look for it when it returns....I highly recommend it.

Now, in the throes of class withdrawal, I'm determined to keep up the practice.  There are so many ways to sabotage oneself, including the amount of time one can spend reading and responding to other people's blogs and  social media posts.  Not to mention the time it takes to post and write one's own stuff.

Be that as it may, I'm going to rededicate myself to posting on this blog at least once a week, probably normally on Mondays, so here we go...

Towards the end of the Drawing Practice class, I took a road trip by myself and made a little trip journal.  I can tell you that having a drawing practice is a wonderful excuse to stop whenever and wherever you want to sketch things.  I had a list before I started of places that I wanted to try out, most of which worked, but some of which didn't.  One museum wasn't open, for example, and another was sort of bleh.  So, just move on and find something else.  Preparation AND flexibility have to balance with one another.  Here are some images from my trip journal and working sketchbook (the one where you take notes about what you did, what's working well, and what you'd like to improve.)

The trip journal, about 9x10 fully open, with pocket in the back for memorabilia.

Scenes from Las Vegas in trip journal: Conservatory at the Bellagio, Paris street from noodle house.

Sketches from the California Animal Living Museum in Bakersfield.
Cloudy day on the Santa Monica Pier

Photography about Frida Kahlo at Fresno Art Museum

Friends in a Meeting

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