Sunday, July 12, 2009

Not so perfect, but it's something


I didn't participate in the 23rd Sketchcrawl yesterday. I wanted to, but things came up unexpectedly. So I ended up spending quite a bit of time trying to post to the new EDM Superblog2. Thus far I've been unsuccessful. While taking a break away from that frustration, I went to my backyard and sketched. This is fountain pen on notebook paper. And I wasn't trying to be so perfect. You'll notice the car on the right...I started to draw the part that showed on the left of the tree, then got interrupted before starting the part on the right. I wasn't really back into it when I drew that side, and it shows. Oh, and the wheelbarrow ended up floating somehow, so I put a box looking thing under it. Things like this happen to me a lot because I rarely look down at my paper until I add shading or texture.

By the way, I pretty much ruined the drawing of my husband at Starbucks. Maybe I'll try to fix it later.

12 comments:

  1. I really like the hatching you did on this one. I don't think art is ever about precision or accuracy, but it's more like self-expression, and showing how you see things through pencil strokes and lines... :) So to me,this is art, this is perfection in its very own way

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  2. Perfection is boring!!! This is a beautiful sketch - one to be proud of. I once gave a speech to a group (in Toastmasters, if you know about it) and told the group that I'd accidently put on one blue and one black sock - good for a laugh, but my evaluator that evening told me (and I have never forgotten) - don't ever tell your audience about flaws they might never notice. And I can tell you I never would have noticed anything wrong with either the wheelbarrow or the car. In fact, I love the drawing - the line work and the composition. Finally, re the drawing of your husband - this is the kind of week I've been having. I don't like a single life sketch I've made - seems my hand isn't listening to my eyes this week. Maybe it's the heat. :)

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  3. I love this sketch. You've got a great way with line. Lately, I've discovered that I am most happy with my work when I can just be free and not try for perfection; although, there is definitely a benefit to aiming for realism every once in a while -- it allows you to make the decision to not be precise. In that decision is where art lies.

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  4. Too hard on yourself! I love the sketch - it is interesting and complicated and I wish I could do something like that!

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  5. It looks so neat! I really love your style!

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  6. This sketch is a charming perspective, revealing your very good eye. Put this in your art folio, bring it back out later - you'll wonder why you were so hard on yourself. I also suggest you choose a type of coffee you do NOT like and give its name to your Inner Critic ( I don't care for either Latte or Cappucino ). That way, you send him for coffee every time he abuses you -

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  7. Here what's funny - after my speech, above, I have just moaned a bit in my own post and highlighted a mistake! Serves me right for being so sanctimonious. I guess for me, trying for a little humor in my blog trumps everything else.

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  8. I think it's a wonderful sketch, flaws and all! It's harder to sketch with a pen, definitely, but I love how yours turned out!

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  9. agree with Dan and marancat, you're being too hard on yourself! the quality of your line work is really good, it has character. a perfectly accurate sketch with no character is boring. i believe the path to grow your skills as a sketcher is to focus on how to improve things but not to beat oneself up over too much

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  10. This is a fantastic image. Great line work. I wouldn't have noticed all those "hiccups" if you didn't mention them.

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  11. You know, I had to reread my post. Sorry, I didn't realize that I sounded so down on myself. I actually like this sketch! I was just surprised that it turned out because I was frustrated when I sat down. I do tend to make a lot of mistakes when I do this type of drawing because I'm not looking at the paper very often, and if I lose concentration it quickly shows. I do accept that, knowing full well that if I looked more, or had an eraser there would be less mistakes. But then, this type of drawing is very therapeutic for me.

    Thank you all for your kind words. I'll try not to sound so negative in the future!

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