Less Control Loosens up Your Line

On our way home from a recent outing, we stopped through the state park briefly to look at the lake.  I didn't have much time, but I was hungry to make a sketch.

Mechanical pencil and nature journal in hand, I experimented with something I'd recently been reminded of:  holding the pencil far at the back (eraser) end to loosen up my lines.

 Give this a try right now, and just doodle anything. 

Does it feel weird and out of control to sketch this way?

Yup, that's what I experienced.  My Hobgoblin (inner critic) was shouting all sorts of terrible judgements.

But I kept sketching and turned the page to try again.

Later, looking at these pages, I realized how alive the milkweed pods looked to my eye -- as if they were dancing.  I love that!

Losing total control of the drawing can be the very thing that adds vitality to it.

I hope you try this technique soon.  Having a list of experiments to test out can be a great way to fill a sketchbook and build your drawing skills.

Happy Creating!

Sketching Leaves

The wonderful thing about a nature journal is that you can tuck it under your arm along with a few drawing tools and take to a woodland trail to make discoveries.  Here, I took my nature journal along on a hike.  When we stopped for a water break, I sketched the leaves at my feet.

The connection with nature, the beauty of the day, all are recorded here for me to return to, along with the note that it was "A day of interesting woods travelers to talk with."

My nature journal contains lots of memories as well as my artistic journey -- the  types of media I enjoy using at any particular time & my evolving skills.  And, I record what was happening in nature each season.

I hope you'll take some time to sketch in a nature journal with your favorite medium, and enjoy your connection with art and the earth.

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley.

Figure Drawing with Model David

My Osher figure drawing class explored the realm of blind contour drawing with model David. 

We began each pose looking only at David as we drew, not at our papers.  We followed the contours of his expressive gestures with a colorful pastel on newsprint.

After 1 minute, we changed pastel colors, and continued to follow contours inside and outside of David's form, stealing quick glances for the last 2 minutes.

Within each blind contour drawing, we found real, alive lines, no matter how wonky the drawing looked overall.

We moved on to practicing drawing the feet, working from general to specific in a 15 minute study.

With Michelangelo's Statue of David in the news, it seemed fitting for David to inspire us with this 10-minute pose.

We finished with a reclining pose for the final hour.  Below is my quick sketch.

Many thanks to model David for a his creative, thought-provoking poses!