Sunday, October 21, 2018

Inktober early evaluation

I decided to take stock now, before the end of the month. I'm deciding what to prioritize and what I'd like to do in the remaining time. My notes went into my little sketch book. Yesterday I didn't draw, I wrote up my notes and then read for awhile. I wanted to take the pressure off, which also makes me want to draw. Today I did a drawing, trying to follow my "new" plan. I will also do a wrap up at the end of the month, but it will probably be short.

First the drawing:
Done as usual in my envelope sketch book. It's from a digital collage I made - my grandmother's silhouette and a skeleton. She was German, a lucky coincidence, since the envelope is from Germany. Done with a Pitt pen.

The first page of my notes - I won't bother you with all three, but here are the notes:
Pros: I have come this far, at least some kind of sketch every day. (Here I list the images I do like. My pages are numbered so easy to refer to.) I like most of the text pages - do more. I especially like drawings in my previous post of the figure and the face. The figure is painterly, and the face gets a little dreamy. The size is good - not intimidating. Cheap paper is good, although not really cheap in this case. (the notebook was made by BadBooks on Etsy, but I could make more myself)

Cons: Don't like all the drawings - some done too fast. Next year I need to consider doing fewer drawings and putting more time into each one. Tired of the small size and cheap paper - can't use my favorite ink pens, they bleed thru. (yes, I am contradicting myself) I'm tired of the pressure - have been gardening a lot, a bit short on time. (The weather has been perfect and I have done a lot in the front bed.)

Do More: Text pages. Daily comments, life in general. More like the (previous post - face) drawing - fine lines, minimal outline. Also more like (previous post - figure) drawing. More painterly. And more like Big Mouth (last image on linked page) - splats, small drawn texture in background, drawn from collage. Also more like double exposures (this post).

I think a wrap up at the end is useful, but checking in mid-month is also a good idea. If you have favorites, especially from this month, I'd love to know what they are. I hope you are getting some time in to draw. Try to not get discouraged if you are short on time. I have several friends who can't draw regularly. Just keep plugging away when you can.

2 comments:

eileen2000 said...

Inktober has been an interesting experiment this year. I think that while I enjoyed trying to improve my sketching skills on sktchy and loved looking at different artists and exploring the tips, I didn't like that I was just drawing from photos with not much emotional/psychological investment or story or ??? in the images. Although now I'm thinking its because its not me and that if I kept my own style more and just drew the parts that inspired me or just let them inspire me and not even try to draw them realistically I might enjoy it more. Might try that tonight.

Judith Hoffman said...

Eileen I think your most compelling drawings have that emotional content. I can see where drawing from photos wouldn’t hold your interest. I’m curious to hear if drawing parts that inspire you in your personal style is satisfying. Of course you don’t need sktchy to do Inktober.