The smaller 3.5″x5.5″ Moleskin Journal fits more easily in any of my pockets. I only have one pair of trousers whose back pocket can fit the larger 5″x8″ journal. Therefore, with the new notebook, I can rotate my wardrobe that I wear to work. (Although no one has spoken to me about wearing the same […]
I kept track of my strokes in this drawing. The drawing begins with the letter ‘A’, at the top of the man’s forehead; the pen point proceeded to point ‘B’. I lifted the pen and looked at the sketch as I re-positioned it, and marked it as point ‘C’. I continued in this manner until […]
I only looked at the paper after completing the first contour. I marked the starting and point of the main contour with the letter ‘A’, and the end point with ‘B’.
The unembellished blind-drawn outline of a figure is much like that of a line that describes the contours of forested landscape. The outlines of the figures below were drawn without looking. I added interior details after the outlines were completed. Blind Drawing of Two Ladies at Coffee Pen and Ink Sketch 10″x8″ 111# Moleskin Journal
One of the problems blind drawing presents is the re-placement of the tip of the pen after drawing a contour. It takes a good deal of skill to complete an outline in which the starting point coincides with the end point. Even if one accomplishes this, lifting the pen point from the drawing surface removes […]
I began a series of blind drawings. This is a technique whereby one does not look at the paper when sketching the subject. I try to use my eye to trace the contour of the figure I am drawing whilst moving my pen point across the paper. The hope is to link the eye movement […]
Having spent the better part of this year sketching with pencil, I have some observations about the different techniques needed for pen and ink sketching. With pencil, one can approximate an outline with spurious strokes. They can be blended. I found myself approximating my pen stroke in the air above the paper before committing the […]
Most of my sketches are one-shot deals: I work on one portrait at a time, complete with mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are so dense, it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory drawing. I drew several iterations of a girl in the waiting room, which I present below:
I love this collection of people. Each has his/her own visual charm. I captured the slouch of the far right character (on the second try). I used a soft pencil to sketch this group portrait. This allows my initial marks to be spontaneous as well as visible (without overworking them, as I must do with […]
Sometimes I’m comfortable enough to sketch with a loose hand. Occasionally this happens when I’m rushed or when I’m working with a lot of surface area. Lately my loose lines have been able to convey the shapes that I intend. This technique worked particularly well for the sketch below.
