Here’s the wrap-up of my third run of this course. This class remains, by far, my absolute favorite, and it never fails to inspire and elevate my sketchbook practice.
I appear not to have uploaded the other pages from this run of the class, so maybe I’ll update this page at some point, if I do upload the rest.
I have absolutely loved this class, and what it has done for my sketchbook and sketchbook design. I feel I’ve done my best work throughout this class!
More lost days, then a little Bob Ross inspiration. Since I’m really keen to learn how to paint landscapes, I decided to try Bob Ross in watercolor. I learned a lot about how different oil paints are from watercolor! Ha!
Then a second attempt. Yep, I need a whole different set of techniques than Bob used!
These four were also my first “sequence of pages’ designed as a set for my Sketchbook design class.
I had a variety of subjects I knew I wanted in this sequence, including large landscapes, clothing sketches, and open line drawings. Originally I was going to group the clothes on one page, and the line drawings on another, since they were the same, but after this lesson I realized that it would flow so much better as a sequence of spreads if I broke the subjects up. So I therefore definitely needed a second large, contained landscape to complete the sequence.
I love it now! These pages seem to now tell a story in a much better way than they would have had I gone with my first method!
Additionally, I used the same date stamp and weather temperature as a unifying marker through the pages. I probably could have done more with headings or text, maybe even a color block with the clothes, though I do like the airy open white space I have. It is a nice contrast to the fully painted landscape pages.
I certainly learned a whole lot doing this! Now I just need to practice a lot more so it gets faster! Though all told, I think all four spreads took me about three or four hours in total, so really that’s not too bad at all.
Wrapping up September with a landscape of Piestewa Peak that I’m very, very pleased with. I even love the outrageous amount of white space!
Things are moving a bit slow around here this past week. I’m back to a tighter lockdown situation as COVID-19 cases are on the rise and I’m in an “extreme high risk” area. I have lots of unfinished pages but a few finished ones.
Some random sketches and collage, little bits and pieces from my days. My current sketchbook is the Stillman and Birn Alpha softcover 8×10″ so that’s what I sketched for my assignment in Sketchbook Design.
I do love the Alpha books, they are great for pen and ink, and watercolor. I’ve never had a page bleed, no matter how wet I get it. But I do begin to wonder if some of the wet in wet techniques I’m seeming to want to achieve need a paper with some cotton content? I will have to experiment in the future, but for now this is the sketchbook I have, so this is the very best sketchbook! (The best sketchbook is the one you have with you. Ha!)
Continuing on, I sketched the most basic version of my current sketch kit. I haven’t really settled on which pens, or which brushes, so when in doubt I reach for the pocket brushes, my Lamy pens, and my current watercolor palette. The bag is the amazing Walkit bag, which is fantastic, with many loops for pens. I’m currently carrying too many pens! Really. I am.
I haven’t done a food sketch in a very long time, and I just had to document this delicious pesto pasta I had!
Hmmm, could that food sketch layout be improved with a border? Class has me thinking these things!
Speaking of class, did someone say color blocks? I was documenting the mix of things I had been researching that day, and decided to jazz up what would be fairly basic line diagrams and descriptions with some color blocks. I used washi tape to make crisp edges, and aimed to make these have a parchment look by using Daniel Smith’s Goethite watercolor. Apparently I should really learn to sketch larger since I ended up with a lot of unused color blocks. I thought about sketching in them a few random things, but in the end I’m moving on. The unfilled blocks tell even more the story of the day (and the week) than filling them in! Besides, it also celebrates how great that parchment effect was, and I’m pretty pleased about that!
Sketchbook Design class by Liz Steel is back and I’m so excited! I find it so much easier to actually get my sketching into a habit and routine when I know or can build on the fly better sketchbook pages!
My first two intro lessons for the week, and a little collage since I’m currently obsessed with sunflowers. I painted some live sunflowers I have in a vase, too. Its my flower of the season!
Time to get back to class and see if I can bang out the next Intro lesson! Sketching my kit for the class, I always love sketching my art supplies!
Wrap-Up of class. My participation fell off, but here is a collection of what I did for this amazing class. I loved the class, I just didn’t have time to do most of the assignments.
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!
Sketchbook Design begins, and I couldn’t be more excited! A Sketching Now class by Liz Steel, this class hits right where I’m weakest! Design, and layout!
Jamie's Sketchbook 