On the River Bank

A River Bank(pencil)

This is another sketch from Lake Lestijärvi. It wasn't too cold so I decided to go sketching outside. I had a plastic carpet with me that I placed on top of the snow and sat down to. I was right on the edge of the river bank. Here's where the lake ends and the river Lestijoki begins.

The scenery here was beautiful, all the trees had a reflection on the water. I even saw two swans flying above me. I think I drew for about an hour before it got too cold. I took some pictures so I could continue working inside, but I was satisfied with this sketch so I let it be.

All Ears

All Ears(pencil, watercolor, water mister)

This is my second lesson on my way to drawing different faces. I started with noses and now it's time for ears. I had to draw the first ones from a model, because the shape of an ear is actually based on some basic rules. When you know these basics, you can make all kinds of variations. I also drew few ears from different perspective because it's important to me to learn to draw people from different viewpoints.

My next lesson will be eyes or lips. I haven't decided yet, but I'll be posting.

Gone Fishing

Ice Fishing(pencil, watercolor on the next page)

At Easter holiday in Lestijärvi, we decided to go ice fishing. When ever we go to the lake, I usually fish too, but this time I decided to do some sketching instead. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining and the wind was mild. I had three jackets and three trousers on me and that way I was able to sit still and draw.

All the sketches were made of the same person. I had about 20 minutes at a time and then he changed his position. He had only one fish and it was so small he threw it back to the water. Maybe you can see his frustration on these sketches, or then I just imagined it.

Getting Nosy

One day I decided I have to start practicing more. I have always wanted to learn how to draw different faces and all the interesting details on them. Of course this is only one area I have to improve, but you got to start somewhere. Or continue somewhere, because I've been practicing over seven months now.

So I started my practicing with noses, just because I like them. Noses can be very distinctive and they are fun to draw. I did the first few from a model, but then I started to design my own noses. Few of these look pretty unnatural, but I don't mind, as long as they can be recognized as noses.

The background I made earlier with a water mister so the white page wouldn't be so intimidating.

Noses(water mister, pencil)

A Sick Looking Chick

A Chick(watercolor, black, non-permanent ballpoint pen, feathers, white ink, pencil)

I wanted to draw something for Easter. I chose a green ballpoint pen and when I added some watercolor I realized the pen was not permanent. The green color spread and it didn't look very nice. I tried to fix it with white ink, but it didn't help very much. The background was made earlier at the same time as the next page with a frog on it(The Frog Prince, posted 29.1.2015).

If I could start this page again from scratch, I wouldn't use a green pen because it makes the chick look a bit sick. Obviously I wouldn't use a non-permanent pen either. I would like to use happier and brighter colors. Maybe next Easter.

The Whole Spread(watercolor, black, non-permanent ballpoint pen, feathers, white ink, pencil)

You Should See My Kitchen

What a Mess(pencil, watercolor)

Sometimes you just have to make a mess. And I really did. It was fun and the end result looks quite bad. When I realized I have to show this to people I went pale at first, but now I'm just happy of the brilliant mess I made. What a good way to wind down and then teach myself another good lesson about courage by posting this here. You should all give it a try!

Important Things to Learn

Dried out Tulips in a Lazy Vase(ballpoint pen)

It has been a while since I've drawn something with a ballpoint pen. Perhaps the watercolors have taken all my attention. I love watercolors and usually I'm the most inspired while using them, but I think it's important to use different techniques. When I keep changing my way of working I have to stay alert and challenge myself all the time.

This time I happened to have some dried out tulips on a vase. I had been too lazy to throw them out and actually I kind of like the way tulips look when they get old. Originally, I was meant to paint a colorful picture of the fresh tulips, but this sketch was a good variation for me.

I still need to practice my thinking while drawing. With this one I didn't bother to draw all the reflections on the vase and now it doesn't look very convincing. It's almost impossible for me to draw something and leave it unfinished so that I could continue working later. I'd rather finish a work quickly than let it wait for me to get my inspiration back. That's actually a big problem for me, because when working tired and uninspired, I usually do something stupid. Like get lazy and leave something out. I think I'm going to add this thing to my list of Important Things to Learn(That I just made up). Point one: Don't force it, it's ok to continue later.