Friday, August 19, 2011

From the new journal

Finally ready to share some pages from the new journal. Be forewarned, they're utterly unlike the pages I've posted before. I've really been playing around a lot with drawing, which I'm not terribly good at but I have definitely improved since I started! This new journal has a lot of informality to it, and I like that a lot. There are pages of nothing but pen tests. There are really, really bad drawings, many of them unfinished because the cat moved, or the person I was sketching at the pool packed up and left. There's a lot of experimenting and figuring out what I like.

As I mentioned before, one of my favorite things about this book has been working directly on the page. I love that I can pick up any pen and just go with it. I can use all of my favorite pens again without fear of the acrylic background jamming them up within a few words. I'm rediscovering all of my favorite old pens, some of which I've had for years.

So here's what my current journal is like. There are pages with drawings, often comical ones that I didn't intend to be that way when I began. Is it just me, or is that a snooty Buddha on the left side? He looked snobbish to me, and this page makes me giggle. These are some of the  first Buddha drawings I did in this book.
This next one is a little "better," as I did it after I had a bit of practice, and the other side of the page just has a list of things I wanted to remember

These are some sketches I did of my cat, Sagan. I don't get it...how can a creature who sleeps for 16 hours a day not be still long enough for me to complete a simple sketch? The problem is that he hears my pen scratching on the paper, and gets interested in me. Then he comes over and starts head butting the pen as I draw!

I played around with some inexpensive watercolor paints on this pharaoh drawing:


And here's one of my favorites, for which I had to turn the page sideways. I'm quickly learning that I tend to draw BIG, partly because I like using thick markers and brush pens. My small journal (6x9) often isn't big enough and I end up with images that "fall" off the page. Ganesh actually had one more hand, which was holding a bowl of sweetmeats, but I didn't have room for it on the page! I'm thinking of starting a large, 8.5x11 sketchbook for times when I want to go big.

This journal is already about 3/4 full. Another thing I'm planning to do is go a little cheaper on my next book. I can't afford to blow through $16 journals in a month! I might keep a nicer one with watercolor paper for when I want to paint, and a cheap one with thinner, smoother paper as my regular journal. Still thinking about this. I never used to like the idea of keeping multiple journals (the large book, the watercolor book, and the regular journal) but it sounds like a practical way to go for now. Something to try out, anyway!

3 comments:

  1. your drawings are lovely! it's good to know you're enjoying the process. :)

    http://honeybeelane.blogspot.com/

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  2. WEll done you for going with it! The 'snooty' Buddha made me giggle too (in a good way!) and think your Ganesh is brilliant! Read your notes on being a beginner and they are so true - if only we could remember things like that all the time! I'm definitely too hung up on my drawings 'going wrong' or 'not looking right'! As for multiple journals, from my experience...I think if you had one for your everyday doodles, sketches and musings that would still be your MAIN journal, th one you consider your journal, the others are like extra sketchbooks for when you need them rather than 'journals'. I have my journal that I put something in daily/every other day and then I have a larger sketchbook for other things I create, work based on challenges I find online etc. and a recipe one. The large one and recipe one just get added to as and when, it's only the little one that is My Journal. The otehr thing I do is work onto cheaper sketchbooks (just spiral bound ones) then cut out and stick into my journal, so maybe that's another option! Sorry for the long comment, maybe it helps :)

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  3. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words. It's hard to try something new, but the risk can be worth it!

    Rachael- no problem, I appreciate the comments! Tossing around ideas is always fun. Keep them coming!

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