Author Archives: Jamie

Foundations Begins

Once again I’m starting Liz Steel’s Sketching Now Foundations course. It’s getting embarrassing how often I begin but never start! However, I always learn something, even when my participation is a bit disappointing. Hopefully this time will be better and I’ll actually do the whole course?

I must note, I am challenged to finish because of my own distractions, because I absolutely love the class!

I get better each time when I do the exercises again! Since I took her Sketchbook Design course, I’m even better at making full pages that look pretty in terms of design, even when it is fairly random things!

As sketched recently, my palette was nearly empty, so I decided to put together a new palette for this course and work some mixing magic. This palette is based almost entirely on Jane Blundell’s book, The Ultimate Mixing Palette.

A number of these pigments are new to me, particularly the Phthalo shades. Of course this means playing with them!

That cupcake was supposed to be a light mint color. Got a bit heavy handed though, didn’t I? Greens! They are my challenge, and I love them so much!

I decided to just mix my class exercises right in with my regular every day sketching, and I find I really like it. Capturing memories is my ultimate goal.

Week 10, March 2021

My very first attempt to do One Week, One Hundred People. Since I’m not leaving the house and do not see people, I decided to do fast gesture drawings of the television show I was watching. I’ve never done anything like it, and had no idea if I even could!

While I decided that nearly 50 was enough for this go round, I did enjoy doing it. I tried a number of different techniques and approaches. I used a Pentel Brush Pen for all of the quick gestures.

Trying to keep a bit more white space in this layout, and also paint a larger landscape to capture the storm clouds rolling in.

Food Sketches Feb 2021

Sketching your food everyday is like sketching boot camp. It was also a great way to get back into the daily sketching habit. (I did very little sketching during 2020.) My aim was to work fast, get my color mixes as accurate as I could, and, of course, record the moment. Most of these I sketched after I ate, from photographs, since I haven’t yet mastered the self-restraint not to dive into the food when I’m hungry!

I find that sketchbook design elements really do help these pages come together. The frames, the text, the date heading. I shall be working with those elements more for the next food sketchbook.

This sketchbook is a Stillman and Birn Alpha softcover, 3.5″ x 5.5″. I’m probably ready to move to a larger size, but I have this size already for the next one.

I do confess that these sketches, and the preponderance of the Buff Titanium that is my flatware, gives me the urge to buy more colorful plates!

Everyday Sketching Week 9

A mixed week of deliveries and what not.

I tried adding a map of my daily walk to the mailbox. I learned that maps take a long time! Need to find faster methods!

I am, of course, still shielding at home, so I’m working on finding the small, daily things to sketch. This time in the world is certainly unique, and capturing it feels good, when I remember that.

Love documenting how empty my palette is getting! That’s the kind of little ordinary sketch that I will love later, when I look back.

February Pages

New supplies, and mysteries, a lot of color testing Potter’s Pink, and seeking out those lavenders, February brought a mix of sketches.

This is the page that launched the lavender search. I was trying to color match the post card, and didn’t quite get the results I wanted.

I do love to sketch art supplies!

Color testing for lavenders and Potter’s Pink

Here is the great search for how to make that lavender I was going for earlier in the month. Then I had to dive into Potter’s Pink and really get a true feel for what it does!

January’s Sketch Pages

Have not done nearly what I hoped to do for the sketching, or anything else. Pandemic and lockdown continues to interfere with my ability to sketch. However, I did make a few pages, and I’m loving how what I’ve learned in Sketchbook Design is really making my pages look so much better!

I’m working with collage here, and text blocks. I do tend to favor contained spreads. I always have liked that many windows look!

The best part of these pages is how they capture the moment, and bring back the memories, which is ultimately what I want my sketchbook pages to do! I may not be participating much, but I’m learning so very much!