The #INKtober challenge is doing the trick. I generally settle down to sketch a cup either after lunch or my afternoon walk. Just do it, because I've committed to the challenge. I wish I could put myself on a schedule like this, but I must not be alone in this inability to start and sustain a daily practice - all sorts of challenges of every kind abound! In fact, friend Meg from the art group has been doing a sketch a day challenge with her daughter since mid-May and both have been posting their work to their Instagram accounts. See this post for the story and the links. By the way, Meg has revamped her website/blog at a new location: megmarchiando.com Go check it out!
I think the ovals are getting better but I still tend to sketch the cup a bit narrow on the first try. I'm quite intrigued by the variety of handle shapes - more than I realized. Cups just seem like one of those standard things, but goodness, they are not. Variety expected, I suppose, with the hand-thrown ones I buy from artists, but I would have thought there'd be more consistency in the mass produced ones. Silly me.
I found my interest wavering yesterday with the pewter mug with glass insert. Not the cup's fault - I'd been looking forward to sketching it. I just didn't have the focus to settle down and really look, catching my mind constantly wandering and my pencil making marks that did not correlate with reality. Just wanted to be done with it. Made me wonder if I should change subjects - maybe I was tiring of the cups in spite of their differences. But I was back on the horse today, working hard to get the angle of the cup sides right, that oval opening better, the handle just so. And most of it felt like it was coming more easily, which is the whole idea of daily practice.
Click on the photo to read details of the cups and how each went.
5 comments:
I know the value of doing a drawing a day but don't ever maintain it for more than a few days. A while back though, I did manage to fill a fat sketchbook with a mark a day. Once it was full, however, I lost the momentum and stopped. I think having something to aim for, a possible end point, helped me persevere - though I can't explain why I didn't continue in the new sketchbook I bought! THINGS non artistic like holidays, friends and family (all lovely) intervene and now I'm retired I can afford to be less focused and do as I please I guess. But I retain a little hint of guilt at my lack of determination... Silly really!
It does help to hear that I'm not the only one who has this problem with maintaining momentum (all the reasons you state are so valid!). It's not like I'm short on sketchbooks either! But I've come to realize I like using the various ones when I have designated each for a specific purpose or theme (though not all of them are such) like your mark a day one. My other "problem" with sketching, and actually any other exercise or practice - I don't want to be doing it just to do it. I want to sketch things that I find interesting. I'll never forget how tiresome it was to choose from items in the classroom the one time I took a drawing class. There wasn't a thing that really interested me. Ok, I still learned a lot drawing antlers and kitchen utensils but my heart wasn't in it. Letting someone else set the rules and timeline as in this challenge spurs me on and not having to decide each day what to draw next since I've decided to focus on coffee mugs sure saves time and angst.
Hey, I know ALL about the guilt of a fancy free retired lady! Silly yes. And silly no. :-)
I was all geared up to do a sketch a day for inktober!!
Success rate?
0%
Oh dear! Perhaps I could start again in November! Inkvember anyone?
I’m so impressed with your dedication and obvious sketching growth….you go girl!
Hilary, sometimes the hardest part is doing the first sketch! I didn't get going until day 6; yes, spent nearly a week dithering about whether or not to participate. So I'd say, go ahead and just start now. But if not, then sure - Inkvember sounds just as fun. :-)
And thanks, Mary, for noting that you see growth from sketch to sketch. I know I am sensing and seeing improvement, but sometimes it is so subtle I'm not sure how obvious it is to the outside observer. I shall carry on!
Post a Comment