Week 2 of Drawing August

I expected that the second wek would be easier, but it turned out to be just the opposite! Winter flu and deadlines; leaving in the dark, in the rain, and home in the dark and rain. Late winter, gahhh.

But there are some interesting drawings anyway!

August 8

A quick duty sketch while going home, unwell. Southern Cross Station, a place I have often wanted to draw. Inked a day later.

August 9

I posted the serious one on the challenge site, but let's face it, I prefer the silly one myself. Pen, marker pen, pencil.

August 10

Still unwell but up to drawing the clutter on the table at night. Pen, marker pen.

August 11

Drawing Button Hill for the first time. Very windy and cold, the horses did not want to talk to me. Large vista, double page. Pen, pencil, marker pen.

August 12

A beautiful big bowl of lemons, given to my husband by a colleague. Lemon cake! Lemon curd! Their colour is so vibrant it warrants breaking out the watercolours. First time in a year! Pencil, pen, watercolours.

August 13

I drew this on the 12th but painted it on the 13th. Happy with the dark bowl, but feeling very rusty with paints in general. 

August 14, 15 

Lots of mental images of early spring on the farm. Drew it one day, inked it the next.

Looking back from the end of the month it seems like it's not a bad effort even though this was probably the lowest week of winter.

Up next, spring...

Roundup of Week 1 Drawing August

Started the weekend by drawing at the Queen Victoria Market with the lovely Melbourne Sketchers. Thanks for invting me, it was a fantastic morning!

And a good way to kick-start drawing again. Feeling very rusty indeed! When I looked at my sketchbook, I realised with shame that I have drawn only three things in there all year. Tsk.

Toby doesn't seem too worked up about it, though. 

For August 4th, a mind's eye image while musing on the idea of made-up plays on rainy days. I suspect the rain was chucking down, it seems to have been all month!

Something quick, late at night for August 5, based on a photo of a colleague. Not an ideal likeness, but I like the line.

Early the next day, on the train. SPORT. Rumbled. Smiled sweetly. Scribbly lines as the train rushed and swayed.

Still raining on August 7, laundry drying over the fire. Hiding in the kitchen, it's the only warm room in the cottage.

And there you have it, a roundup of the first week of Drawing August. 

More to come!

B

Drawing August

'One a day, every day.'

'Little and often, that's the way to move a mountain.'

It was just luck that I stumbled over Drawing August, the one-a-day twitter challenge. Luck in the blogosphere, because it was DesignGirl who contacted me one day, out of the blue, and asked if I would like to join their regular sketching group -- 'Do you still go out and sketch, your blog hasn't been updated for years.' she wrote. >ouch< Though I think her actual words were much nicer than that. 

Over the next few weeks I thought about her email a lot. I saw the notices come and go - 'we're sketching here', 'we had coffee there'. And I really, really wanted to go. But I haven't drawn for too long, it's terrifying, my pencil hand is so rusty it might as well have dropped off. I was busy, but not so busy that I couldn't find the time. And so the need to get back to drawing grew, gradually. I knew I had to go.

Another message from the group told me about this 'thing called DrawingAugust...' The deal is, a picture a day, tweet it with the date. We all get to share what we are doing. 

I needed a good hard kick in the seat of the sketchbook, so I said, 'sure, I'll join in' - nevermind the book manuscript deadline and the rest of my life this month, 'sounds like fun!'

So I am drawing again. Here's the rough sketch for August 1:

I like it better than the final, which I have temporarily mislaid. 

If you're interested to see the wealth of what's out there, check Pinterest or Twitter and search for #drawingaugust -- I promise you, you'll see some fabulous art, and what a variety of it there is!

B