Roughly half way through this project, I found it a bit more difficult to keep the practice of sketching every day. Doing more research about artists who sketch regularly and analysing my work and habits for the previous feedback point really helped me to understand why I was struggling and how to carry on with the project.
I am currently reading a book “The Urban Sketcher: Techniques for seeing and drawing on location” (Marc Taro Holmes (2014). The Urban Sketcher. Penguin.). I chose this book because it contains suggestions and exercises that could help me with difficulties I have identified, particularly adding contrast to my drawings and applying colour with watercolour. One of the exercises consists in drawing only dark shadows to create a sketch with sharp contrast. I have tried this technique a few times already. I still overcomplicate the drawings and do not only include dark shadows, but I intend to carry on with this experiment as I can see how I could improve with this exercise.
I have also tried coloured paper (brown and black). At first, I did not really know how to approach a sketch on toned paper, so I did a quick search on Google. Drawing on brown paper is an effective way to concentrate on highlights and shadows while using black paper means that I have to focus on lighter areas. I have enjoyed working with both and will experiment further. In a sense, it has similarities with the exercise I mentioned earlier that consists in drawing dark areas only.
I have had to buy new sketchbooks to use when I commute as I ran out of A6 sketchbooks. There are somehow more pleasant to use (thicker paper) and, as a result, I feel more motivated to draw. I have also started using a different pen. I often used a thick felt pen for the commute that was different from my favourite ones (0.2 or 0.3 thickness). It first happened by accident because this is the pen I had in my bag, and I wanted to stick to it for a while to see what happened. In a sense, a bold pen might help me to focus less on details and be more free but I have realised that I do not enjoy it so much.
Below are a few examples of quick sketches drawn during my commute.
I have sketched on location a few times at weekends. Once I went to the Maritime Museum in Greenwich to draw. It was interesting because, once I was there, I remembered that the Maritime Museum was the subject of a brief when I studied for my first unit “Key Steps in Illustration” (https://catherineillustrationblog.wordpress.com/key-steps-in-illustration/courseworkkeep/part-4/museum-posters/). I could see that I had become much more confident than I used to be. The sketch of the figurehead below took only a few minutes. When I started the degree in Illustration, I would have found it much more challenging.
I created a few sketches at home where I focussed more on contrast and colours.
When I added watercolour to the sketch in the middle, I struggled to add shadows. I decided to repeat the experiment the following day (sketch on the right) after watching again a video about applying watercolour loosely (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71lPMn5MwvU&t=874s). It helped me to understand what I was doing wrong when I applied the shadows. The third drawing did not work so well because I used the wrong kind of paper (it absorbed too much water). However, I felt that my technique was better and will try again with a different sketchbook.
I still do gesture drawing and life drawing using websites such as line-of-action.com. I have not done it often this time because of other experiments I have carried out, but it is always worth doing.
I also sketch scenes of TV programmes (BBC iplayer) sometimes.
I have noticed how I tend to define darker areas with shading and thicker lines more often in my sketches, and this is something I really want to focus on.
I will carry on with the various experiments I have already tried. I am not working much with colours at the moment because it always takes longer to use watercolour and it is not always possible when I do a quick sketch. I have tried other media such as markers or felt pens but so far, it has not really worked. It might help if I selected only a few colours to make it easier to carry and use this as a challenge to work with a limited colour palette.
Catherine Roux Degree in Illustration 