Category Archives: Domestic Sketching

Piglet Gets Some Attention

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When people think of Winnie the Pooh stories they think of sad-sack Eeyore, bouncy Tigger and, of course Pooh himself.  Almost forgotten is a fourth member of their tribe, Piglet.  He doesn’t have as many lines as the others but he’s still an integral part of the Winnie the Pooh mythos.

In spite of his being Pooh’s best friend, he was omitted from the first Disney rendition of Winnie the Pooh and it took A.A. Milne’s (Pooh author) protestations to get him included in subsequent films.  Piglet should get more respect than that because he tries so hard to be brave in spite of his small size.

I’m continuing to draw my daughter’s collection of stuffed animals and I really enjoy it.  I’m not sure whether this is because they’re stuffed animals (very different subject for me) or because its studio work, something I am dis-inclined to do, though I should.  In either case, drawing Piglet was a joy.  Piglet, you’re the star today.

My Daughter’s First Teddy Bear

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Every collection must begin with a first and this teddy bear was the first of what would become a huge collection of stuffed animals that my daughter acquired (cuz her dad liked to buy them so much).  There’s nothing special about this teddy bear except that it was her first.  I guess that’s enough.

My Pepper Plant Sketch

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In my last post I mentioned that I had to cancel a local sketching adventure because my knees weren’t cooperating and I suggested that I might sketch a pepper plant that I’d bought. That’s exactly what I did.

The weather was wonderful and I sat on our deck, got some sun, and communed with my pepper plant.  I find drawing plants to be a challenge as it’s easy to get lost in the overlapping contours of the leaves.  As I draw them they become abstracts; I’m no longer drawing a plant, but rather a whole bunch of curves relative to one another.  There’s considerable cross-checking between the curve I’m drawing and those I’ve already drawn, locating my position by comparing angles and distances constantly.

When I finish with the ink contour a decision must be made.  Do I add a bunch of cross-hatching or do I add watercolor.  Sometimes I consider the third option of leaving it just as it is – a contour drawing.  At this point I almost always choose one of the two ‘shading’ options but when I’m done I often wish I’d left the sketch as the contour.  This may be because I love pen lines so much.  Maybe it’s because I’m too impatient to do a good job with watercolor.  Here are both stages of my pepper plant sketch.  What do you think?  Which do you prefer?

DeAtramentis Document brn/blk, Fabriano Artistico CP

A Look Back Through Sketching

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I’m an old man and part of being an old man is that my daughter is now a grown, confident woman who is off beating law school into submission.  I’m extremely proud of her and because of her age and maturity we now have conversations to solve the world’s problems and maybe a few of our own.  That’s pretty neat.

But there is a part of being an old man that causes me to miss the days when she would giggle as I’d bounce her on my knee or carry her on my shoulders.  Back then drawing meant scribbling with crayons and she was far better at it than me.  That was also a time when we shared a common interest in stuffed animals.  She was my excuse to buy them and she loved every one.  The result is that we now have a literal mountain of them, each with memories attached to them.

I’ve started drawing some of them because, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it rains here all the time so I need stuff to draw indoors and I’m tired of tomatoes.  But what really drives me with this project is that as I draw these puddles of fluff and fur, memories of those early days fill me with joy.  Here’s one I did of a little poupée (doll), one of many in the collection.  For some reason she lacks a nose or mouth and I saw no reason to add them.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), DeAtramentis Document brown/black

Is It Spring Or Is It Summer?

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Yesterday was Memorial Day in the US and all day I heard the US press saying that this day, unofficially, marks the beginning of summer.  Here in Quebec City we had a frost advisory and the trees are just now deciding that they might as well put out their leaves.  It’s sunny today and feels very much like spring.  So, is it summer or spring?  Weather this year has been hard to take for many parts of North America.  I’m hoping we have a really long summer, or is it still spring?

In any case, the squirrels are out and about and I even saw a bumble bee this morning.  In honor of this change of weather, I drew a squirrel with a smile on his face. Like me, he’s happy that things are warming up.

Stillman & Birn Alpha (4×6), DeAtramentis Document Brn/blk