Now I'm working out of two sketchbooks; a Moleskine and a Strathmore watercolor, both 5.5 x 8 inches, but with different orientations. I am posting some of them below including one from the "unfinished and/or abandoned or total failure" category.
Most of us experience different levels of inspiration at different times or days. When I committed (on January first 2015) to drawing daily I knew there would be some duds. I do not dwell on those, but I usually let them live in (besmirch) my sketchbooks. The ebb and flow of inspiration is quite apparent when you do not have any days off...or pages ripped out.
The three sketches above were all done with a combination of Lamy fountain pen, Copic marker and transparent watercolor. Lamy pens are clog-free due largely to their use of water-soluble ink. This can be worked with and I went from the first drawing which was a total surprise to me...to more control and forethought by the third one. It has a unique look.
The three above, are watercolor, no ink.
There is something to be learned from this sketch of the Connecticut River bank and Brattleboro;
1. Try to plan your time so you can finish in one sitting on location. At the very least, get enough down on paper so you can complete later and not lose the feeling of the day.
2. Avoid putting a boring object in the foreground (never draw another patio heater?).
3. Quit only when you have clearly lost the game!
How have you been surviving this long winter into spring? (Or, to quote the parking meter attendant..."sprinter"; the season just before MUD in Vermont.)
Let me know what you have been doing, painting, writing, traveling, seeing.
