Hi my loves.
Welcome back to my sketchbook.
As always we're just trying to keep up that regular drawing habit by seeing what we can
do in our sketchbooks with an hour or less.
So first off let me just say, I did my best to correct the lighting in this video in editing,
but it was a really stormy day and the light is in and out so I apologise for that.
As I said last week, I'm not planning on sharing all of my inktober process this year, but
I thought I could at least share some of the other stuff I've been up to.
I probably will do one or two more inktober videos and there will- of course- be a sketchbook
tour at the end.
Also- have I talked about this already???- people have been asking about whether or not
I plan on making a zine out of the finished drawings like I did with my haunted houses
two years ago, and I would love to, but I'm going to play it by ear for now, and not have
that as the end goal, just so I can give myself room to create without the pressure of making
a finished, polished product.
So back to what I'm up to today...
I decided I needed a little injection of paint and colour and less control.
My inktober pieces are much more planned, much more refined- which is something I wanted
to work on this month, putting the time into really establishing a concept and doing initial
sketches and trying to really come up with something that's well-rounded and well-thought-out.
And this sketchbook spread was the opposite of that.
It was a break from that.
Time for me to just play, which is what this sketchbook is for.
So I had a couple of references up of sea scenes, overhead shots of the sea, and I'll
have the references I used linked below.
But as with my recent cloud painting, I really just wanted to work loosely from that, looking
at what colours are in there and where they are, but not necessarily sticking to painting
things as things.
So the rocks don't have to be rocks, the same way my clouds weren't the most convincing
clouds...
The goal here was to be a bit more expressive with my mark-making.
I really enjoyed using this chunky brush from PanArt, It is a Round-Pointed Premium Mop
in a 12.
And the smaller details were done with a Number 6 Round Brush, also from PanArt.
I even whipped out the palette knife at one point, just because.
I wanted to add some texture, and this felt like the perfect opportunity to experiment
with a tool that I don't normally use in my paintings.
I do tend to go for a more controlled approach with my more 'abstract' pieces, just because
I find it hard to really just paint with no plan or direction.
So if you're the same, I'd recommend trying what I do and have a picture up to give you
some sense of direction but also only use it as a starting point and follow wherever
the actual painting process takes you.
If anything, it's a good excuse to play with colour, like if you've got a new load of paints
and you want to see how they work together without investing time into a piece that is
reliant on things turning out a certain way, you can really test the relationship between
different colours and how they mix.
I am using Arteza gouache here, in my moleskine sketchbook as usual.
It isn't a watercolour sketchbook, it's just the regular moleskine, so yeah, the pages
warp a little bit when they're wet but I'm not bothered by that because this is just
sketchbook stuff.
I'm, also using washi tape for my borders.
And I'm pretty sure this one was sent to me by one of you guys so thanks for that!
But back to why I like doing these kinds of paintings every once in a while, it also forces
you to look at balance in a piece.
Whether that's in tonal areas, creating contrast, or even areas with more or less detail.
To have things all jumbled and muddied would give the eyes nowhere to rest, so even if
it looks like things are all over the place, you should constantly be stepping back and
looking at the piece as a whole, and really getting a sense of how it's presenting itself.
Is it chaotic and directionless?
Do you need to create a focal point?
If you do, how?
Do you need more contrast in areas of light and dark?
Is there too much detail, too much noise?
Anyone that says 'anyone could do that' about abstract art, probably hasn't tried it themselves.
Or at least, not successfully.
There's something extra-intentional about paintings like these, because you can't just
rely on what people already know, what people can automatically accept as visually appealing.
Like a well-balanced landscape or a nicely-lit portrait or a flower.
You're creating visual appeal in different ways- which takes more thought I think.
Anyway, that should be enough for one day.
I'd love to know how everyone's inktober is going, and if you've found time to do anything
else.
This took me about half an hour, so if you want to loosen up a bit this month, I'd definitely
recommend doing something similar.
As I said, the references I used will be btelow if you want to have a go yourself.
But otherwise, thanks so much or joining me and I'll see you soon for he next video.
Bye!