This page of sketch/doodles was inspired by fellow illustrator, Russ Cox. Russ has committed to doing a sort of stream of consciousness type of doodling/sketching on a regular basis and has seen some changes in his work as a result. You can see some of his wonderful sketchbook pages and read about how it's been working for him here. Be sure to click on the images for a larger view. Russ credits Gerald Kelley and Hazel Mitchell for "kickstarting" him to do more of this type of work. You can see Gerald Kelley's very beautiful work here. Be sure to scroll down and see his warm ups. Super! And, have a look at Hazel Mitchell's blog here and her fantastic sketchbook slide show here. What a great way to share her lovely work! Very inspiring. I love when artists pay it forward!
Something interesting I found while doing this: By drawing them all on one page, the process turned into it's own form of idea generation. I didn't do them separately and then scan and combine them. So, I was pretty conscious of how they were working together - or not. This may have made me think about it more than I should have. But, the plus side was that it sometimes forced me to come up with things to fill a space - things I may not have come up with otherwise. One example is the little guy on top towards the center. The shape of his face and hat fit the space. So, that's how he came about. Not a bad way to get a little nudge for a new idea. I don't think I'll be doing it this way every time, but it was a fun little exercise with an unexpected benefit.
My other stream of consciousness type of drawing is what I've called "After Hours Drawing." You can see them by clicking that phrase under labels to the left. It's absolutely the most intuitive type of drawing that I do and I love it! Here's one from the past:
It all started with his nose. The rest, honestly, felt like it drew itself. Someday this piece WILL be done in color! It will! It will! In the meantime........
My "After Hours" character made his color debut for the Illustration Friday prompt: Acrobat. This was quite awhile ago. But, from time to time, I've tried to come up with a storyline for him. And, just yesterday, I think I finally came up with one that might work! So, you never know what a doodle, a sketch or an "After Hours Drawing" might lead to! There's still a long way to go, but it's a start that I wouldn't have had without the spark of a sketch, a doodle or an "After Hours Drawing."
4 comments:
So, so cool, Marion! I LOVE your sketches, and your post is really inspiring. I carry a sketchbook around all the time, but rarely feel motivated to 'doodle.' Now I'm fired up! This totally makes me want to wake up my imagination by putting pencil to paper. Thank you for sharing your art, ideas and inspiration. You rock!
Wow! Thank YOU, Rebecca! I've never been good about regular sketching either. But these were done a little at a time, late at night, when I hit the recliner to read. Usually watch a little TV first, so great time for drawing! Might cut into my reading time a bit, but could be as little as 15 minutes a night and it adds up. Thanks SO much for such a lovely comment! I'm THRILLED if you feel fired up! Can be contagious!
love your sketch doodles Marion! I should really do this. I never doodle any more.
Thank you, Karen! I'm having a good time with it. Also, will be trying out some variations, like a page o' pigs, etc. It's so nice to just have a free flowing time though - even if only for a few minutes a day. Thanks for stopping by!
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