Flying Pigs, Enhanced Reality & Sketchbook Skool

Wow!! I had no idea what went on in my studio after I went to bed. But thanks to Mattias Adolfsson from Sketchbook Skool,  I found out about the secret lives of my studio inhabitants. 

I wasn't able to sleep, thinking about the homework assignment. So I got up and shuffled in half asleep to my studio. Lo and behold... my Flying Pig collection was having a party!! The Flying Pigs were being rowdy, the Blue Birds of Happiness were singing, and Mr Skull was grumpy about being kept awake.

I grabbed pen and paper, crouched low and drew while trying not to giggle. Here, then, is my homework from Week 3, drawing Enhanced Reality:

(Can click any pics to enlarge)

"Flying Pig Party"

9 x 12 sketchbook

Micron pens, watercolor pencils,

waterbrush, colored pencils,

and white gelly pen

And some close-ups for you:

Happy sketching,

Retta

Sketchbook Skool: Unleash Your Imagination!

This 3rd week at Sketchbook Skool our teacher was Mattias Adolfsson. His "specialty" is drawing from imagination. His 1st homework assignment for us, after his excellent teaching videos, was to sketch a memory from our 1st day of school.

Say what?? That was in 1956!! 

But, I did come up with a memory. It was my Mom having to push me from behind, with me digging my heels in to resist. School was not a "fun" memory for me, but as a family we've laughed at this incident over the years.

So... here is my memory. Not of the actual event, but rather the feelings of a little girl, self-conscious in orthopedic shoes, with no friends, starting this strange new place called School.

And for those who aren't familiar with Vincent Van Gogh... he was known for the black crows he painted in the sky of his last painting, right before his suicide. Yeah... this memory was a day of "drama" for that little 5 year old. 

 

First, the inked line drawing (can click any to enlarge):

Next, the shading, done with Inktense 

watercolor pencil and waterbrush:

And lastly, the finished drawing:

"No! No! No! No!"

9 x 12 sketchbook

Sakura Micron pens, watercolors, 

waterbrush, watercolor pencils, 

and colored pencils

Here are a couple of close ups:

This weeks homework was a challenge, but I thoroughly enjoyed the teaching from Mattias about making drawings from our imagination. Highly recommended!

Happy sketching,

Retta

Week 2 of Sketchbook Skool - What Was I Thinking?!

Yikes! This 2nd week of Sketchbook Skool took me far outside my comfort zone. The homework assignment was to sketch moving people in ink. Go to the park or somewhere similar and go for it, loosey goosey. No pencil, no eraser, just let the ink fly! The instructor, Melanie Reim, is a professional who travels around the world and also teaches art. She calls this style "Reportage".

That sure isn't my style, but I tried to have a go at it. I know I'd like to loosen up some, but had no way to get out of the house and go to the park this week. So... into the "park" of my backyard I went!

Joey (my girl Mini-Schnauzer) gets ecstatic when her Hero gets home from work. After the quite vocal demand for immediate pets, she tells him "Come on, let's go outside!!" He puts his stuff down, and then she leads the way to the backyard, impatiently looking over her shoulder to make sure he's coming. It's dark by now, illuminated by a yard light. 

So I drafted them as my subjects. Some of it I had to finish later, like the color and waterbrushed shadows. And the top right face of Joey was made the next day, too.

I appreciate that each of the 6 week lessons are taught by a different instructor, and we experiment with different styles, mediums and assignments. I've learned a lot already! I know I need work on drawing people, so this got me started.

Here is the link to Sketchbook Skool, should anyone be interested. It's a 6 week course, with sessions starting and re-starting at varying intervals. And there is a huge online supportive community of artists of all degrees of skill, full of enthusiasm, who will make you feel welcome.

(can click pic to enlarge)

"Daddy's Home"

9 x 12 sketchbook

Kuretake Sumi brush pen,

waterbrush, watercolor pencils

I mean really... what was I thinking, trying to sketch an excited Mini-schnauzer while she streaked around the backyard at night, ecstatic cuz Daddy was home??! But it was a lot of fun and challenging, too.

Happy sketching,

Retta

Sketchbook Skool Homework #2 - This Really Happened to Me!

Whoa, this week went by too fast! 

I'm officially 19 minutes late getting my second homework assignment posted to Sketchbook Skool. Good thing they are a loosey goosey bunch. :-D

This weeks 2nd lesson from teacher Koosje Koene was to make An Illustrated Manual. 

So here it be, my "manual", based on something that really did happen to me.

(Can click pic to enlarge)

"How to Decorate Your Bedspread"

9 x 12 sketchbook

ink, watercolors, wc pencils,

colored pencils, acrylics, gouache

By the way, for anyone who doesn't know... India Ink is the darkest, blackest, WATERPROOF ink imaginable. Good luck getting it out of ANYthing. :-D  I sure learned my lesson about leaving the jar open!

Thanks for looking and happy painting!

Retta

Joey Wants Beef Stew & Sketchbook Skool Homework #1

I am so excited!

Last week I joined an online 6 week course called Sketchbook Skool. This is the third semester, but the semesters don't need to be taken sequentially.

I joined this one because the subject of the session really spoke to me: Storytelling.

So I thought I'd post my homework assignments here as I go along. After we watched the teaching videos and saw the examples, our first assignment was to sketch "An Illustrated Recipe". Any way we choose, any theme we choose.

Here is my version of Crockpot Beef Stew. As you can see, Joey was VERY interested in what I was doing. She kept her eyes on me the whole time!

(can click pic to enlarge)

9 x 12 sketchbook

ink, watercolors

watercolor pencils 

colored pencils, acrylics

Anyone interested in Sketchbook Skool can check it out HERE.

Thanks for visiting. And try the beef stew, it's actually quite good!


Happy painting,

Retta

PS: yep, I know how to spell School. But they are a quirky bunch at Sketchbook Skool. Anything having a "k" sound gets spelled that way! Such as skool, klass, kourse, etc. They're a fun bunch!