Paper and Threads

 Another long work day - and a quick sketch and painting from one of my photos of Montecatini Alta, Tuscany, Italy.  I love rooftop sketches and started to look for photos in my archive that I can use for practice.

Posted by Shirley at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

 Time to start Lesson 4 in my Watercolor Skills Workbook: 3-Dimensional Form-The Art of Illusion.  The first exercise is "Drawing the Basics: cylinder, cube, cone, and sphere."  I set up the forms, put a light across the still life and sketched the shapes.  Next I may try to do them with watercolor shading - but not tonight. 

Posted by Shirley at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Late day at work - so I decided to try PoseManiacs 90 second images for my daily sketch.  Wow, the figures were in tortured positions and 90 minutes went by very fast.  I did 3 of the images and then added my grand daughter's hands and feet to the page for more human figure practice.

Posted by Shirley at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The is a recycled book in which I inserted signatures of 140 and 90 lb watercolor paper.  I used a bone folder to press the paper and a coptic stitch, pulling the linen thread as much as I could.  I didn't use tape or glue paper or cloth over the spine.  I wanted to make sure that glue didn't get between pages - preventing each page from opening flat.

The book was made from a 50+ year old book of Micahelangelo Sonnets and his drawings were scattered throughout the book.  I incorporated many of the original pages in my book which is intended for figure drawing practice.  What better inspiration could I have?  Here is the first mixed page layout.

I decided to cover the two gaps between signatures with a piece of Michaelangelo's drawings - one page was divided in half and glued in place with PVA glue. 

Posted by Shirley at 7:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

  May 6th (but labeled incorrectly as the 7th on my page)

I am starting a series of New York City sketches - when the spirit moves me - probably in nice weather and when I have time to take a walk and sketch without needing to get somewhere.  Since it is hard for me to decide what I want to sketch in this big city, I will walk 10 blocks (1/2 mile) and then select something from the 4 directions that I can see.  Today was "10 block series #1" - and I stopped in a my neighborhood independent bookstore, sat on a bench, and read for awhile along the way.   Only when I reached my destination did I realize that I only had 12 watercolor pencils with me.  This was very liberating and I think the sketch is looser.  I added ink and water when I came home.  My only disappointment is the Arches 140lb rough paper.  I bound many kinds of watercolor  paper in my recycled books so I could experiment and I don't think I'll buy "rough" again anytime soon. 

Posted by Shirley at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)