Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 1 - student project

My favorite sketchbooks are discarded library books. I gesso the pages and use them as sketchbooks and journals and project planners, which explains the sticky note popping out at the top that says, mysteriously, "Laundry." The downside of this type of sketchbook is that certain medium don't work, like almost anything water-bases.

When I filled the pages, I glued fold-out pages for reflection notes or used sticky notes.

#1: Above is from the first doorway, Mediums and Materials. Then thing that got me excited was scissors, which I later realized is a tool and not a medium or material. However, joy of joys, paper and ephemera, which is pretty much guarantied to get my heart pumping, is a material. I made a grid and used Elmer's to glue paper bits with a Christmas theme. My grid is messy and made with acrylic paint that happened to be out. 😁

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 2 - student project

#2: I'm going to call the above Tech Studies, but I think I'm pushing it. I don't like Tech Studies. I think other people's color charts are yummy, but when I try to make them, I end up cutting and weaving oragami paper. The other page has a few finds. I am often surprised by the colors Mother Nature will put together. How does she come up with this stuff? So, using Posca pens and a dry brush I attempted to mimic her color palettes. I enjoy using Posca pens in various ways. But I don't care for the matte finish here. Also, the color choices that I made didn't quite match, and the leaf in particular was frustrating.

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 3 - student project

#'s 3&4: First is Favorite Shape: I chose Heart and Repeating Lines and drew my version of a Live Oak (with the wrong shaped leaf). Opposite page is the Grid that started as quilt blocks. I make grids often. They are definitely a wide-open doorway for me. But I usually fill them with patterns using gel pens. I chose to make a crazy quilt pattern, because those are my favorite quilts. My initial plan was to add pen marks to mimic stitiches and embellish with other stuff to look like patches or embroidery. However, I quickly realized the blocks were too small and the plan would take more time than I wanted to spend. Instead, I turned the blocks into neurographic art blocks that look more like stained glass than quilt blocks. (Neurographic art another wide-open doorway for me)

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 4 - student project

Detail of the Favorite shape

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 5 - student project

#5: Inspiration Visual Notes: Jello Recipe Pamphlet circa 1970: I found the pamphlet at a large, open-air antique market. It is so bizarre that I bought it. I'm not a huge lover of gelatin foods, BUT I am old enough to remember some of this stuff being served and old enough to have eaten much of it. The colors are bright and cheerful, so that's something. And the text is as intrigueing as the food pairings, so I added much text.

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 6 - student project

#6 Inspiration Refined: I used acrylic paint with glaze to make it even shinier, and had the bonus of the feel of satisfying feel of using Posca pens on acrylic with glaze. I wanted to use more Jello foods, like the sketch, but I do like the page.

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 7 - student project

I am so weirded out by the Jello that I made one in Procreate, too.

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 8 - student project

#7: Causes: I didn't think I'd do these, but then I found (confession, I already had these two sketches) these two sketches for causes: One; Protect Your Boundaries Two: Embrace the Impractical. I enjoy very much drawing over-sized outerwear.

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 9 - student project

#8 Prompt Favorite Corner: I can't choose a favorite corner in my house, so I thought I'd be clever and put various favorite things together, but the effect is disjointed and my cat is pitiful. (the one cat represents all three cats) If I did this again, I'd commit to a space and focus on it. Because I choose one specific corner doesn't mean I don't love many. (reminder to self)

Sketch Practice: Comment, Please - image 10 - student project

Very much enjoyed this class and a new way of looking at sketchbooks.

Diana

Diana Bourdier

Home is Where the Art Is

3

13