Monday 4 January 2010

Starting new, looking at the old!

As part of the new year, like many of us, I've been having a tidy up and a clear out. Mainly looking for work for my new year sale. Under my bed (yes, as cliche as that sounds!) I found a very old portfolio of sketches and drawings. It's always fun to look back at what you did before and this portfolio is specifically a selection of works for me to keep - a sort of archive of different time periods and styles.

And in it I found two sample books of pastel paper with sketches in, one was figure drawings but the other was sketches I did in a local park. I used to go out (it was a block behind the studio) and do sketches of the flowers, shrubs, or the pond. So these were a few studies of the water surface and reflections and ripples. (These are about 6-7" square each.)





What I love is how well pastel can be used to do studies like these. They let you imitate the short patches of light and colour, rather like the impressionists did with paint. But at the same time you can be quick and sketchy and try to capture directions and line of the way the water is moving, or where the light is coming from.

For 2010 I've joined a Flickr group for sketching (75 Ways to Draw More), these found sketches remind me to go out with the pastels as much as I use a pencil or marker too! And with the studio next to the river I could really have fun with more water drawings like this. Continually going back to basics should be a firm studio practice. In 2010 I just need to follow my own advice!

My other resolution is to get back to posting on Watermarks more often!


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7 comments:

AnaGF said...

Good thing you found that old portfolio - I do like these pieces. I've always wanted to try my hand with pastels, for I like how they look, but I've never had the courage - they seem so difficult to control.

vivien said...

lovely studies and you really should break out the pastels more often. You use them well.

My resolution is to get out more as well.

Africantapestry and Myfrenchkitchen said...

Great old pieces Tina...
Ronelle

Kelly M. said...

Your pastel sketches have such an energy to them -- very cool! You're right about going back to basics, too. We should all keep that in mind, especially when losing track of our goals, etc. Good Luck!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Its good to look back and see what you have done. Its often inspiration for the future.

These pastels show a lot of movement and I especially like the first one.

Yes, do more. It would be interesting to see what your current pastel sketches would look like. Pastel is something I should work on too.

Laura Frankstone said...

I like the energy in these, Tina--and your watery palette is lovely. Happy new year to you!

Sarah said...

I love looking at old work, like reading old diaries, it seems to be by someone else. Very good colours, yes, lets all post more and sketch more, good plans!