One of the things I find increasingly difficult to do is sketch. But since I'm at home, sick in bed with a little extra time, I thought I post up some of the pages from my sketchbook / binder to show you guys what I like to do when I'm not seriously working away at a finished piece. :)
I make a lot of messes in my book.. I draw, paint swatches, and sometimes document the progression of my paintings (usually to figure out why they're giving me problems). I also like to print out paintings and artists that I enjoy and then write a little mini-review about them; why the work catches my eye, and what I want to take away from it.
In this one, the left page, I took one of my favorite Bouguereau paintings "A Young Girl Defending Herself Against Eros" and thought about it from a feministic standpoint.. she was fending off Love's arrows, and thus, fending off everything else that comes with it (marriage, babies, etc). A couple of days later, I was watching a movie with a female action star, and I thought about how both the painting and the movie had something similar happening; I felt like both women were defying some kind of convention. So I printed some screen shots from the movie and pasted them in to note the comparison. Maybe I'll eventually use it, and maybe not.
I also still like to doodle for fun. :) Brush pens are especially awesome because I get to experiment with brush strokes.
I'm also still doing blind contour drawings. I originally got the idea from Paul Madonna when he lectured for one of my classes. Though I'd known about the exercise for years, I never really thought about it until he had mentioned how it helped him to loosen up and focus. It's a really simple thing to do, but it helps me, especially when I'm rusty.
This last one is just to give you an idea (I don't actually expect you to be able to read the tiny print). I have just as much notebook paper in the back of my sketchbook as I do sketchbook paper. I write down journal entries (something I saw, or felt, or thought about, earlier in the day), definitions, phrases, to marketing ideas and projects I'd like to pursue at a later time. There are days where I won't draw anything but I'll have six notebook pages filled with stuff.
So that's it for now. There's some other things I want to show, but it'll have to wait for a later time. :)
We were used to living in studio apartments already (single room), so moving into a one bedroom we split up the space; one room for living/sleeping, and the other exclusively for work. (We just recently moved this desk in and set up my office.. At some point I plan to get a cork board for over the desk)
While I don't work with oils very often any more, I wanted the option available. I also needed an area to make a mess and cut mattes, not to mention photograph my finished artwork.
All in all, it's nothing fancy, but it's exactly what I need at this time. My primary objective was to examine my work habits, and set up something where I would have no excuse to slack off (good light, plenty of space, no commute, no additional costs, and no need to be home for dinner). It's exceptionally easy to squeeze in a final two or three hours of rendering into my day. Now I just need to find time to organize my studio's closet space. :P
