Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Sketchbook: Getting there

Been working and re-working pages in my Arthouse Coop sketchbook. My last one was all black and white ink sketches so I'm making this one in color for variety.
(January 7 comment: Jenny B asked what I used to color these. The ladies were first sketched with pretty pastel fine-tip markers, then inked with a black gel pen, and finished off with colored pencils.)

When I was in elementary school and Junior High in the '70s I wanted to be a fashion illustrator. My grandmother was quite a seamstress and I would go to the Piece Goods store with her when she went shopping for new patterns and fabrics. When I started sewing in 8th grade, I realized how much more useful it was to see the clothing on an actual person. Every outfit in the pattern book looked good on a super skinny watercolor-and-ink lady with legs that were 3/4 of her height! After that I just drew fashion photos from Grandmother's "Harper's Bazaar" and my "Seventeen" -- hairstyles and clothing for fun and practice, I decided being a fashion illustrator had limited utility.
Above and below are more detailed and colorful examples of what I do
while listening to a conference call or staff meeting.

I try to encourage my mom to draw. She'll say, "I don't have anything to draw" and I tell her it doesn't matter what it is, just draw whatever is in front of you.
You can see this one before I added color. Maybe it was better before....oh well, too late now!

3 comments:

  1. lovely pages, One of my resolutions for 2012 is to work in a sketchbook more

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  2. These are gorgeous drawings! What brand / type of coloring do you use for these? They have such a soft and well-shaded look to them.

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  3. These pages are fantastic! You're sooooo gifted. I signed up for a drawing class to start out the new year and I'm kinda excited about making myself take time to put pencil (or whatever) to paper. I've always been too overwhelmed with the thought of trying to create something on a blank sheet, but hopefully getting some basic skills will help. :) Thanks for the motivation!!!
    Jen

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