A good start to the weekend

I received my hand.book  journals today. I ordered them on Amazon as I can't buy them here in Sweden. They are much better than Moleskins if you like to sketch with pencils as I do.

Weekend sketch

We are not having the best of summers here in Sweden this year. Last week was great though and I took full advantage of it at the weekend. I set up a hammock by the water's edge and lay there looking at all the boats going by. I live quite close to the city centre so the traffic on the water is intense at this time of year. I later did this watercolour in my sketchbook, I'm happy with it although I wish I had access to better watercolour sketchbooks than Moleskin, I like Arches Rough and so I always find it disappointing when I use the Moleskin. Still, it's a sketchbook and it will do fine until it's finished, I will use small Arches blocks in future. If anyone knows of good watercolour sketchbook, please let me know.

Sketchbook painting of Waldermarsudde, Stockholm.

Waldermarsudde

First wash

Practice, practice ...

I hadn't used it for a year, my Moleskin watercolour journal. I have several, this one is for practising my skin tones. I needed the practice, ...I always feel I need to practice.

Moleskin watercolour sketch, 13 x 20.5 cm

Lunch Sketch



Pencil sketch by David Meldrum

I have not completed a Lunch Sketch for long time, at least it feels that way; I am trying to improve my line drawing skills. Charles Reid mentioned in one of his watercolour DVDs that drawing was 90% of a successful painting, I agree.

Sketching more and more

Since I started drawing again I've been mainly going to life drawing evenings but now I find I'm starting to sketch other subjects, I'm diversifying. Is it time to start a 'My Sketches' page I wonder?

Lunch Sketch #5

I started this yesterday but was unable to complete due to my work getting in the way. I have to consider this as a failure in one respect, namely that it does not resemble the singer! But that's life, I'll do it better next time.

Morrissey? (Not really.)

Lunch Sketch #3

I started this yesterday but then I got interrupted by work so I ended up finishing it today. It's not perfect but I'm happy enough with it. The purpose of these lunch time sketches it to get myself out of a bad habit, I want to stop just mindlessly surfing my lunchtimes away. Who knows, I might even improve my drawing skills too!

Grace Jones?

Takayashi Yoshinari's moleskine notebook

I thought this was I nice idea. Personally the content of my own moleskins are total mayhem, I write, I doodle, I cross things out, I hate some pages and I'm embarrassed by others. I don't know if I'd ever want to create a perfect sketchbook, it wouldn't feel like a personal sketchbook would it? Still, I enjoy it when others do it!