Day 22 January 30 x 30 2017

I think I did this sketch the same evening as #21. It also has a feeling of Morocco, at least for me. 

Drawn with a charcoal pencil and conte stick. Seems I always come back to the same type of amorpheos shapes and vertical and horizontal scratchy lines. 

25 x 25 cm

Charcoal Pencil + Conte Stick

White Bristol

Day 21 January 30 x 30 2017

Day 21, 3 weeks into the challenge, has passed by in a flicker of an eye.  This months challenge is one of a journey to new places and new ideas, and not about producing a perfect sketch or painting, so the stress is off and a new calm has taken its place. If there is some stress it's about choosing the works to photograph and write a post.

This small sketch was almost put aside. The next day looking at it I felt a small ping, a remembrance of my trip to Morroco. All during that trip, I was bombarded with images, colors, cultures, and shapes that I wanted to capture somehow. I hardly had time to digest each day and moment. Have to paint this, have to sketch that. I did do some works on the Morocco theme, but really not enough, and suddenly this sketch came up. There are some links to photographs I took, Sadly I didn't continue, maybe someday!

Moroccan Memories

25 x 25 cm

Charcoal and conte stick

White Bristol 

September 30 x 30 Collage

This month flew by. Time to show off with the collage and tell a little about the experience and what I have gained. First I have gained a whole month of productivity.  This summer has been a difficult time for various medical problems, nothing serious, but still restrictive. This creativity greatly improved my mood and confidence in myself.

I chose to focus the challenge using a small gray-papered sketchbook using charcoal and pastels in monochromatic sketches.  My references were my own photos taken in a small wooded area near my home. I used PS to edit the images into B&W. I also used topaz filters.

Click to Enlarge

One more very important thing that I learned during this challenge was to use my smartphone more efficiently. I use the app "opencamera", which allowed me to take the photo, crop, resize, rename and paste it into a blog post. This took about 5 minutes. In the computer, I added text,tags etc. My photos are automatically backed up in google photos so I could then download them to my computer. Now how COOL is that!!!

September 30 x 30 Day 30

Final day of the challenge. This month has really flown by. I really enjoyed my exploration of using charcoal and pastels in a fairly dark gray sketch book. This is another sketch of the wall with all its light patterns and foliage behind. Foliage and shadows mixing in together. At first it eluded me and luckily with a rag wiped down to an almost clean slate, but in the end I am fairly happy with the result. 

Click to enlarge

Charcoal and pastels

6 x 8"

Gray-paper

September 30 x 30 Day 22

Bench with Palm, view to the street, This was a real quickie, Thought I would have time later to sketch at least 2 sketches. Always like to be ahead of the game. Life seems to get in the way sometimes. Dentist,physiotherapy, workshop, babysitting etc. Cropped the photo reference and used some topaz filters. Liked the way the curved palm contrast with the blocks of the area of the tree, bench, and background. Lots of light playing on the ground and bench.

Click to enlarge

Charcoal and pastels

6 x 8 "

Gray-paper

September 30 x 30 Day 21

Instead of shadows on the wall, this time elongated shadows on the ground. Think I could have made them a bit softer.

Click to enlarge

6 x 8 "

Charcoal and pastels

Grey-paper

September 30 x 30 Day 19

I am definitely inspired by the varying patterns of light cast on a long concrete wall. I have taken many shots and each one different. Here the pattern looks like a passing cloud. I shot the original image trying the panning effect. A method that I still have to improve The shot did have that grass movement that I mimicked.

Click to enlarge

Charcoal and Pastels

6 x 8 " 

Gray-paper

September 30 x 30 Day 14

This afternoon the trees were making shadows on the wall. 

Tree Shadows

6 x 8 "

Charcoal and Pastels

Gray Paper

September 30 x 30 Day 20

This Hooded Crow has already started to molt. He was difficult to capture but he's kinda cute! Lots of pickings on the floor of the Horsha, dates and pecans. 

Click to enlarge

Charcoal and Pastels

6 x 8"

Gray Paper

September 30 x 30 Day 13

Close up of the palm tree.

Palm Tree

6 x 8 "

Charcoal and Pastels

gray paper

September 30 x 30 Day 12

Light patterns on the ground. Every time I go to make some more shots of the "horsha" I am amazed at the varying patterns of light as they play on the ground beneath the trees, I usually go there late afternoon because that's Lilly's favorite space, and that's when the light plays.  Sometimes she meets with one of the other neighborhood dogs, Creambo or Snow.  I always, most always, bring my regular camera to get some more shots. I will be putting up most of the references on my Flickr account, probably after the challenge. I shoot in RAW and love to fiddle around in photoshop finding new effects, especially with the Topaz filters. With this challenge my photography and sketching meet. 

Floor Patterns

6 x 8"

Gray Paper 

September 30 x 30 Day 8

This greatly overworked. Tried some different effects which didn't turn out the way I wanted,  Part of the learning process. Have to keep these very simple because the paper is so smooth for charcoal and pastels. 

6 x 8"

Charcoal and pastels 

Gray paper 

September 30 x 30 Day 6

Black and white tonal sketch with a touch of red conte stick

Charcoal and pastels

6 x 8 "

Gray paper

30 in 30 Day 30

At Peace

Day 30 I wanted something special.  Something that would sort of sum up the month of the challenge and the theme I chose... hands.  Some were conceptual and some more to the realistic... all showed hands in some form or another.  For the final sketch, I feel they are all sketches, I looked at the hands of one the most famous paintings. Most recognize the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa but her hands show such elegance and restfulness they are at peace....we all want and need peace.... within ourselves and within our world.

This is far from perfect.... rubbed down first attempt and started a new..

Charcoal and conte on grey pressed cardboard

8 x 8