Sketching while waiting

I'd already had my breakfast, but I wanted to  keep Brendan company. So, rather than getting absorbed in  my phone, I sketched him (and a reflection of me in the window). Yes, I did run out of space for his hair. And he's much more handsome than that!

And here is one done weeks later. I got to Wagamamas in Dundrum a few minutes before Brendan. Not much, but I feel that all these little 5-minute sketches will all build up in the long term.

And some more, mostly in the kitchen while Brendan is preparing dinner. And yes, we do have a water pistol to chase Melon, the neighbours' cat, who is quite dominant and wants to take over our backgarden. We have seen him whack Sumi. So water pistol to the rescue, as advised by the vets!

Edge of the world

Here is the next version I did of the pine trees at the edge of the cliff at Dzogchen Beara .

I wanted to express a feeling of vulnerability, thinking of these trees clinging to the edge of the cliff. I looked at Google Maps, and I have a feeling that it's not a good idea to be building so close to the edge, but building they did. Didn't think of that while I was enjoying my lunch there, and also my matcha latte (probably the only place on the peninsula where you could get a matcha latte!)

Screenshot from Google Maps. Doesn't really convey the height of the cliffs, but you can clearly see to the right where part of the cliff has collapsed into the ocean!

Copying cats

Another thing I wanted to copy was all these crazy cute cats from a cloth I bought in Japantown in San Francisco, a tenugui.  Again, learning that copying is not what I want to do. Although in this case, I had to admit it was fun to see how to draw cat's eyes and nose and mouth!

And PS: the tenugui is much prettier than this of course!

Trees - copies or authentic?

So I've been thinking about John Blockley's trees (and mountains and skies too of course). I love their simplicity and energy. I decided to try and copy them. And of course, after 4 small pages of attempts, I came to the conclusion that it's not me. Of course. It's John Blockley. And much as I admire his style, I am not him. 

I've got a lot of thoughts about authenticity in my head at the moment. For a large part of my life, I have tried to imitate other artists, as a way to learn and improve. Well, not that large a part of my life, since I have only been fully immersed in art since 2015. Or is it 2016? I was doing lots of doodling and learning before that. My blog dates back to 2006 and shows some evidence of that. It goes back further, but quite sporadically. 

During the pandemic, I worked hard at developing my own style and approach. Which led to my exhibition last November. But since then, I have been swirling in doubt and questioning what I want to do next. I haven't stopped drawing and sketching and painting. But my heart is not quite in it. At least not as consistently as it was in the last few years. Intellectually, I know what I need to do. But I'm procrastinating. And exploring. My philosophy is that it's never a waste of time, every mark made on paper, every brushstroke. I just need to be more patient with myself!

So I picked up a photo I took in Beara last month, and I drew like I draw. And I love it.

Later, I did one from imagination, and I learned something else I knew already. I don't enjoy drawing or painting from imagination. My art is always rooted in reality.

 

Bright day at the edge of the world

Back experimenting with my watercolours! Inspired by a photo I took at the buddhist retreat centre on Beara a few weeks ago and a conversation I had with Brendan about East Asia musical instruments.  Yes, that's the kind of things we talk about! I didn't stay at the retreat center. I just had lunch there, looking out at the ocean.

I had to do a bit of experimenting to figure out how to paint those pines (see below), but I'm happy with where I am. I probably have another version or two before I move to another point of view, but I have written my notes, so I know exactly what I need to do!

 

One Week 100 People - Day 6

It's supposed to be a five-day challenge, but I don't care so much about rules any more! So I played for an extra day. I couldn't resist the challenge within the challenge, sketching 30 people in 30 minutes (from photos, thankfully!). Great to build my stamina, which has definitely declined over the last few years. Well, I only drew 5 people for the challenge last year, so it feels great to be back and draw with abandon! Life has its ups and downs, and there's nothing much you can do about it. I've learned recently that you can embrace the downs as much as the ups, that actually it is good to embrace it all, rather than pretend it's not there or hope it will go away.

This year, I was so glad that lots of my friends in Dublin Sketchers took up the challenge of 100 people too. It's always more fun when people you know are excited about the same thing!

These 30 were done with Suhita Shirodkar's Substack gang. We had a great time!

Love it that I have so many communities all around the world!

 

One Week 100 People - Day 5

Kind of in reverse order. Today's people were from photos, which we'll be using tomorrow, we being Suhita Shirodkar's Substack people, to sketch 30 people in 30 minutes. So today was a trial run, 10 in 10 minutes. Then I did it again, because the first time around, my paper was too rough for ink drawing. Also realised that I can only use one tool for the whole session, and I need to draw smaller (not slower! that was a Freudian slip!).

And yes, I have washed my hands many times, but they're still inky!

 

One Week 100 People - Day 4

Started sketching on Dame street. People were coming and going. Hoods and backpacks. It was good until the drizzle got heavier. I retreated to the café where some of the others had already settled. Found that drawing young women is hard - they all look the same to me! Straight hair, perfect eyebrows, pouty mouths. The young men were slightly more interesting. But then I saw one of them look at himself in the mirror. So vain!! Was glad to be able to sketch the sketchers in order to add more character to my scenes!

 

One Week 100 People - Day 3 - Interlude

I knew that I wouldn't have much time on Day 3. But I did manage to grab half an hour or so and remembered I had bought some recorded life drawing sessions. It's a long time since I've done life drawing. I'm very rusty. I admit I paused the sessions, because I really can't do much in 2 minutes these days. I started with colour pencil and watercolour. Just grabbed a palette I hadn't used in a long time. Then decided to move to Kakimori nib and ink, with watercolour  added when it wasn't quite dry!

You'll know straight away which ones were done first. I got into a good state of flow pretty quickly, though!

One Week 100 People Day 2

Spent my lunchtime in the shopping centre. Not too busy, but plenty of people eating, queuing, studying and talking on the phone. That got me to 45. There was some struggle along the way, but I am getting a buzz out of it!

Then half an hour online with Suhita Shirodkar, who had kindly organised a session with photos she took in India and Morocco. I'm on Day 2 (for me)  and 53 people. I won't do so many tomorrow, so glad I got a headstart. 

One Week 100 People Day 1

26 people (without counting a few that were so awkward that I drew over them. Done in one afternoon. On location, from direct observation.

Mostly done with Sailor Fude pen, a big graphite stick, some colour pencils and markers.

It took me a few before I loosened up, and then I couldn't stop! Fellow sketchers are always good subjects. As are people queuing (as long as they're not waiting for a bus, and the bus arrives and they all disappear.!)

Carol, and people waiting for their coffee. There were not that many at any one time. And there's even the ghost of two people sitting at a table behind me, but they were too far away, so I abandoned them!

I made an attempt at drawing people on the footpath and at the traffic light down below, but they were too far, and I couldn't see enough detail, so I didn't continue them and moved back to people in the café. The people outside look like little Voodoo dolls in the man's lap.

Laura and Christophe. She was drawing him, he was drawing me. I find it easier to draw men than women, particularly younger women. 

A couple at the table across the way. Both absorbed in their phones (hers was hidden behind her bobble hat). I'm pretty sure they spotted me. But they didn't say anything.

People waiting for the next tour timeslot.

And then, one final one in the bar of the Hilton hotel across the way.

Before I added the text, and in reverse order of execution (an appropriate term, since we were at Kilmainham Gaol, where a lot of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed).