Sunday 23 October 2011

Sketchbook rubbish and lots of seamonsters.



All done in pen, acrylic ink, gouache, acrylic paint, emulsion paint and watercolours. Woo!

It's been a while... I've been back at uni for the last 4 weeks or so, and am really getting into the habit of drawing daily. These last few days, I've reclaimed an old moleskine of mine that I'd started, trashed then abandoned in a fit of rage (I have a habit of doing that). I've decided I'm going to aim to do at least an hour of drawing a day every day, and to actually fill a sketchbook right to the end, instead of moving on halfway to a new one. I have always liked how a full sketchbook felt, but somehow, I've never been able to achieve it myself very often. But I want to try and change that. These are just a few pages in my moleskine that I've filled up since yesterday- I've got a bit of a thing for sea monsters at the moment. I drew an A2 squidmonster thing in ink and pen last week whilst visiting the boyfriend (a question I keep asking myself is why on earth my boyfriend inspires me to draw squids or seamonsters, as this isn't the first time I've drawn them at his, and he hates fish and seafood... interesting.), and since then I've kinda been on a roll with it. I'm currently considering painting the first image on the second page onto a board of mdf (did I mention that I've gotten a lot of mdf and have been painting on it? No, probably not... well I have. It's fun, I like it.)

Anyway, another thing I'm vowing to do is mix more media- I use ink too much, so it's time to crack on with learning to cope with paint a bit better I think. Anyone who knows me well enough knows I hate paint, but a fair few of you might not, so I'm telling you now: I hate paint. I hate it so much, I can't stand it. I mean, I'm ok with watercolour because it behaves more like ink, but give me oil or acrylic or gouache and I quickly find myself wanting to stab my eyes out with the wooden end of my paintbrush. So yes, I've been using lots of paint these last few days, and I'm actually enjoying it for the first time in several years. I've been mixing it with ink, pen and pencil, and I'm quite satisfied I'm getting better at it. So yes. 
Things on my list to try: pyrography, and screen printing.

Here's an A2 seamonster-squid thing in ink.

Also, say hello to my feet in my lovely new socks.