Artistic License

I got my 'Artistic License' from Brenda Swenson today! The deal is you sketch for 75 days with pen and ink only. I talked about it in earlier posts.
This is just a fun thing to get at the completion of your 75 days.  I don't believe it will have much clout with my other art endeavors!
I am hoping when I get back to painting something other than Christmas art, the drawing will come in handy! Maybe I can draw a little faster!

Collages of Sketch Books

 This is not all of the sketches, but just wanted to show a small selection of them! Would be nearly impossible to put all of them on here.  Even to put 75 of regular size would be too much!
The first one has the last one in the middle, and the 2nd one is just some more.
If you are an artist and don't keep a sketchbook I recommend that you start! I have done them for a very long time, but never with just pen and ink.
I have always relied on my pencils and erasers.I would draw with pencil, and then go over it with ink.  I took a sketchbook workshop from Don Getz years ago, and he told me to throw my pencil away, but I just couldn't. I just didn't have the confidence to do that!  After seeing what Brenda Swenson and Cathy Johnson and many other artists were doing on face book, I decided I would try it. The first few were very hard for me...to start the ink, knowing it was THERE! But if the line was wrong, I just kept on anyway, and they didn't turn out so bad.The hardest part other than putting down the first mark, is finding something to sketch.  I sketched mainly in the house and all my photos were out in my art room.  So I had to hunt something. I took photos off TV, and went through photos from trips, etc.  I have several that I didn't even photograph. I counted 208, and that wasn't all of them.  75 days, and I missed 6 for some reason.  I recommend you not start with major holidays falling in those days! Jan.1 would be a great time!  I plan on keeping on in my sketchbooks! Let me know if you are starting one! I would love to know.  The bottom photo is the 4 books I used. The first one was about half full, and the 2nd and 3rd were new. The last one has about 20 or so in it. If you ever find one like the red one below with the textured beige paper, I recommend you get it! It is wonderful to draw on! and the paint looks pretty on that color. The one in the middle is one of those 'Visual Journals' with Bristol paper. Very slick and is easy to paint.The one on top is one of Judi Betts sketchbooks. I like them a lot too!

HAPPY SKETCHING!

75 Days!

on October 14, 2012 I decided to try the sketch book challenge by Brenda Swenson.  You sketch with pen and ink only. no pencil or eraser, for 75 days!I wondered if I could co it, but decided to try. I love sketchbooks, and have a bunch that I have done over the years, but always in pencil.
The last day was today! I made it. I did miss 6 days but filled up 3 large sketchbooks.  I am proud of the sketches! I had to think through them before I could make my mark. I am posting the very first one, and the last one, and then I am going to photo them all, and posts some of them.
Thanks to all of you who encouraged me with your remarks as I posted them!!

 The First Day
 Ruidoso Church was done before I got my good ink..(Noodler's ink) and it ran as I painted it. I don't really mind it, but didn't want all of them runny!

The Sketchbooks are the 3 that I filled, and drew in the 4th one. I had to start a new one on Dec. 19th.
I counted most of them, (leaving some out due to how bad they were!) and had 208.
I have so many sketch books, and these will be put up with the rest, and hopefully I will continue. So far,
I don't tear out the pages. They stay in the book!
The spiral book is one of the  visual journals. It has nice paper. The one in the middle was ok. It is pretty thick. The little red one, was a gift from my daughter and it had beige textured rough paper. It was awesome to draw on, better than the slick, but was so hard to paint. It just absorbed all the paint, and would bleed through. They still turned out nice though.

The Last day! December 28th, 2012  -  75 Days of Sketching with Pen and Ink.