Dr Sketchy's Brisbane - August 2011

The lovely Coppelia Jane...

Tuesday night I stayed around to mingle with a few fellow artists, and I had the privilege to flip through a few sketchbooks. I get such a thrill from seeing other peoples work up close, especially the unbridled scribblings of an artist's sketchbook. One such talented artist was Shelsey Birch, check out her work here: http://www.shelseybirch.com/mysketchbook.html Amazing!

Dr Sketchy's Brisbane - July 2011

Before long ago I'd never heard of Dr Sketchy's. I only stumbled across it by accident on Facebook, but it sounded like an intriguing idea — On the first Tuesday of every month, artists - professional and amateur - get together and sketch models of different sorts, mostly of the Burlesque variety. Before now I hadn't done any serious life-drawing since I was doing animation at TAFE, that was back in the mid to late 90s, so needless to say my skills in that area were rusty at best.

I won't even bother uploading any of my sketches from the first week I went to Dr Sketchy's, they were really bad! Which is a shame because the model was a nice 50s pinup-style beauty. Unfortunately, I'm  no Gil Elvgren so my sketches didn't do her any justice.

The second time I went was early this month. After my first poor effort I wasn't expecting much, but I surprised myself. I didn't think these were too bad...

(2-5 mins)

(10 mins)

(10 mins)

(15 mins)

These were done with a black pen on paper. Clearly I'm intimidated by realistic faces, particularly women's. I didn't even attempt these. There's a fine technique to drawing a pretty face, and I'm out of practice. If I was drawing grostesque crones I'd have no trouble!

Nonsense...

Teeth & Gums Part II

As I mentioned in my first post I like drawing teeth and gums, evidently. But at the same time I find them unsettling, and even terrifying. I have recurring nightmares about my teeth falling out, and chewing on them, sometimes choking on them. The thought of losing a tooth in real life disturbs me deeply, so I'm a fanatical brusher and flosser (and picker).

 Classy.

Bedtime Doodles

I often like to sketch while watching TV, or before putting the light out at night, or generally whilst waiting for the wife to get her war-paint on. It keeps me in practice with my technique. And drawing this way helps with my confidence to draw directly and spontaneously without roughing out first...

IN THE DRIVERS SEAT

Making use of time

I take a sketch book most places I go, and if there's a chance I'll be sitting around for an indefinite period of time I'll doodle completely at random...

A prime example of waiting experiences are doctor's clinics, etc. The following sketch I did whilst spending three hours in a waiting room once...

Then when I get home I scan the image and add a bit of colour. Sometimes worthwhile ideas are born from doing this, other times I've just got a pretty (or ugly) picture to show for my time, which otherwise would've felt wasted.