Visual Journals: My Sketchbooks

2015 brought a lot of surprises, but one of the biggest is that I found out I liked drawing. 

Until recently, I'd equated art with math--it was something other people were good at, but unlike math, it was something I could easily appreciate. I love going to art museums and fawning over the art. I've always wished I could do that. 

My art training was mostly art classes in school, grades K-8, which became progressively more challenging, but we didn't really learn anything about art--concepts or theories or really how to draw. It was, here's the project, do it. And I wasn't very good at it. Art seemed to elude me. I could paint ceramics decently (There was a once-a-month class at a local studio), but that was it. My art was going to have to be music and writing.

Proustian tea break!

But one day last spring, while reading Melissa Wiley's blog, I discovered Sketchbook Skool. Melissa said they could turn even serious non artists into artists. It wasn't formal. It wasn't graded. But all sorts of different artists taught students various ways of drawing, of creating art. 

So I enrolled. I learned to play with colored pencils and watercolors, how to mix colors and blend colored pencils together. I grew more comfortable using pen that couldn't be erased. (Although sometimes it still makes me nervous!) I started carrying around a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook and drawing--sugar packets, fountains, whatever. 

And I found that I liked it, even when my drawings were wonky or not very good, or not what I imagined. 

the bunkbeds at my grandma's house. I'm glad I drew this because the beds have since been dismantled. 

I've noticed that my drawings are getting better--meaning they meet my expectations. I am really happy when I manage to blend just the right color of a madeleine with my pencils, or get the shadows right in a watercolor. 

Last week, I finished my first Moleskine sketch journal. I didn't think I'd do that, when I first bought it. I thought that maybe I would really hate art and just leave it to sit in a corner somewhere, with really bad pencil marks marring a few pages. 

But it didn't. All the pages are filled. 

Now I have three more sketchbooks in progress--it's gone mad, I know. :) One is another Moleskine watercolor sketchbook, for my Sketchbook Skool classes--I like having the thick watercolor paper for that, and the larger size. The second is my Moleskine Art journal that I use when I travel. I really liked having it with me when I was in Boston and it's definitely coming to LA with me. 

from the Boston sketch pages. 

Lastly is a red Moleskine art journal that's for home. By "home", I mean drawing things around here--what I eat at Starbucks during my sketch days, drawings of my house, my parents' house, buildings around my town, etc. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. 

I'm in no way going to be a professional artist. But drawing taps into my creativity in a different way than writing. I like to think it complements it. I'll never stop keeping my written journals, but I don't think I'll stop sketching now, either. Maybe I just need to buy stock in Moleskine, since I use their journals for both writing and drawing!

impressions of my Christmas tree. 

In 2016, I'm hoping to take two more Sketchbool Skool classes, at least--Stretching and Storytelling--and continue filling the pages of my art journals. 

What new skills did you pick up in 2015? 

Daybook No. 109

Outside my window::

Cloudy and potentially rainy. I wouldn't mind that. Stay inside with books and tea and fireplace on? Excellent idea. 

Wearing::

An asymmetrical hem skirt, a blue v-neck top (Eddie Bauer), a scarf a friend made me, and my watch. I'll put on my boots for the firs time this autumn when I go out. 

Reading::

A Wind In The Door (I'm re-reading Madeline L'Engle's books, and the Time Quintet is the last one in my re-read. I realize I sort of went about this out of order. I did the Austins, then Polly's books, and now Meg), Crossing the Threshold of Hope, and The Comedy of Errors for an audition on Saturday. I've never read the play before, and it's funny, but it's also got some good reflections on the nature of marriage in it. 

Creativity/NaNo::

NaNo starts on Sunday and I've begun to think about the novel's structure and make notes about it in my notebook devoted to this. I need to have a dedicated notebook to scribble down all the names, places, and ideas I have for each piece. 

I'm also still in my "seeing" class at Sketchbook Skool. 

Tidying Up:: 

Still in the throws of the "komono" category, but I'm making progress there. I want to finish it by the end of the month so I just have the rest of this week to do it. This is a hard category because it's not so much about things that "spark joy" as much as things I use or don't use, need or don't need. But looseleaf paper? Where can I put that? In a folder? In a binder? And then hope I don't forget about it? I can probably put it in a file folder in my office, because I'll remember it's there. 

After the Komono category there's only--praise Jesus!--two things left--sentimental items and photographs. 

Around the house::

Other than Tidying Up, there's the general cleaning things. I did wash a few of the windows last week when we had lovely weather, so that they can be cleaner before winter gets here and they get all messy again. Since I'm a small person, I can't reach the top of the outside of the windows, but that's OK. 

Cooking::

Fall is a great time to cook because you don't have to worry about the house getting too hot! I've got a stew on the menu this week (yes, another try at a new recipe) and a tomato bisque. I'm also making one of Rachael Ray's leek-y chicken recipes, because I've got leftover leeks from the last stew recipe, and I want to use them. 

Plans for the rest of the week::

An audition on Saturday, as I talked about earlier, and CCD on Sunday--the kids are doing saint "report" this week. Basically they find a few facts about a saint we assigned them, and they come up and tell the class about it. I have an eye doctor appointment today and then dinner with my parents after that. I'm actually home this weekend--yay! Next weekend, though, I'll been in Pittsburgh for my cousin's confirmation, but that's never a bad thing. 

Daybook 108

Outside my window::

It's really gorgeous; that perfect fall blue of the sky, a little breeze, and sun. The trees are all at peak color, or will be, shortly, so driving around is a visual feast, especially on days like this, when the sky provides such a nice backdrop.

Wearing::

Jeans, a v-neck royal blue top, and navy flats (or at least, I had the flats on when I was running errands. Now I'm barefoot.)

Reading::

Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay; Fire Within, about St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, and Daring Greatly. 

In the CD player::

The 25th anniversary cast of hantom of the Opera.

Creativity::

NaNo starts in just under two weeks, so I'm thinking about what I want to write. I think I'm going to stick with my original idea, which is a re-telling of Carousel--sort of moving it into the 21st century, and possibly with dual narrators, although that might not work. We'll see. I've done a dually-narrated novel before, and it worked well for that piece, but I don't think it works for everything. 

I'm still taking Sketchbook Skool classes. I'm two weeks into their Seeing course, and if you're looking for a place to learn to draw/create art, I highly recommend SBS. 

Two of my latests sketches/painting/drawings. 

For the top one, I used pencil, pen, and watercolors; the duck is just a Uni-ball pen. (In case you want to know.)

From the Kitchen::

I've got one new recipe up this week that I'm making tonight: Fish tacos from Outlander Kitchen. Tomorrow and Thursday I'm having dinner with my mom, and Wednesday night I'm making a really quick Italian chicken recipe. I'm all for quick chicken recipes--well, quick anything recipes, right? 

Tidying Up:

Still in the komono category. I want to finish this by the end of the month, but we'll see if that happens. This is the category with all the little things in it, so it's not as straightforward as "clothes", "Books", etc. But I'm making progress. Some of the categories, like "electronics and appliances", don't really pertain to me, because I don't have any appliances I can get rid of. I rent. :) Electronics work, or they don't. If they don't work, they got thrown out a long time ago. Everything that's here, and that's electronic (my computer, my phone, my iPad, my CD player [yes, I still have a CD player], TV, etc.), is earning its keep. Also things like "Household supplies": I have what I need, and that's it. I don't have room for ten bottles of countertop cleaner, or 8 boxes of Swiffer dusting pads. 

round the house, otherwise::

Still working on the office, which was tossed about so much pre-exterminator visit, that I decided to do some deep cleaning while it was a mess, anyway. So today I vacuumed the floor, and began to put things back, like the magazine boxes that are stored next to the book shelves. I have to decide what to do with a few random books that have been stored there--do I want to keep them, or are they donate-worthy? 

Plans for the week::

An out-of-state wedding, so I have to pack for that. My month of travel continues. Fortunately, I get the following weekend "off", and then we're going to Pittsburgh for my cousin's Confirmation, which really isn't travel, in a sense. It's the easiest trip of the entire bunch! And I always love seeing my family. 

Seven Quick Takes No. 82

I. 

I am super excited to share my first giveaway with you! You can read all about it here. Enter often. (Well, as often as you can....)

II. 

The weather is going to be perfect this weekend and I don't know what to do with it. Do I go to the Irish Festival in Dublin (OH, not Ireland. :-P)? The Violet festival? Do I just hang out at the pool? So many options, so little time. And the State Fair started this week, so there's always that. Seeing a butter cow is a fun thing, let me tell you. 

III. 

I am almost done with the washcloth, which means you might--might!-- have something new to read about in the Yarn Along this week. I know that excites you so much! I'm still reading Middlemarch, though, and I have to read Emma this weekend since it's the next in the Jane Austen Re-Read. That post will be up on Thursday. 

IV. 

I have bought my first Christmas present--a book for my grandma. Given that my mom started shopping in May, I am behind. She is the Queen of Christmas. 

V. 

I know you've seen the Planned Parenthood videos on the news and on the web. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. But I dearly hope that those who are so misguided as to think that these aren't babies that are being killed, by the millions, every year in America, that they will finally see what is really happening in these places. It's not healthcare. It's death on demand. 

Every single life matters, from the moment it's conceived, to the moment of natural death. But we have to start protecting it when its most fragile. 

VI. 

I'm going to a Dominican Rite Mass on Sunday in honor of the feast of St. Dominic, which is August 8. I went for the first time last year and was a bit discombobulated. Let's hope I do better this year--I'll report back. 

VII. 

I'm making progress in my art classes. The assignment this week? To draw part of a piece of toast. Not kidding. So I'm working on that today. 

'To be very accomplished': Learning to draw

'It is amazing to me,' said Bingley, 'how young ladies can have the patience to be so very accomplished, as they all are.'

--Pride and Prejudice

I often joke that I was born in the wrong century. Not medically--in any other century I'd be dead--but socially. A lot of my skills are in the old-school definition of 'accomplishment', as Bingley talks about in Pride and Prejudice (and which we will be talking about on Thursday in the Jane Re-Read!). I can cook, knit, sew (cross-stitch and mend), play the piano, sing, etc.

'A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half deserved.'

'All this she must posses,' added Darcy, 'and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.'

--Pride and Prejudice

I certainly have the extensive reading down, but I've never been able to draw. Really. My brother could do it, and my grandfather, but not me. Art class in school was never a subject at which I excelled. As I got older, I thought I'd never be able to learn it.

But then Melissa turned me on to Sketchbook Skool. This is an online art school, taught by professional artists and teachers. It's video-based, and each class lasts six weeks. I enrolled in "beginnings," and I'm in my last week of the course.   I have definitely learned to draw!

(I don't know why the second one is wonky...sorry guys!)

Anyway, yes, I am really happy with the progress I'm making. The classes have been so informative and I love the teachers. I'm enrolling in another class next week, because in 'beginnings' we haven't covered everything. We've done watercolors, pen, pencil, colored pencil, and we've learned a bit about technique, but I really need to work on perspective and depth in my drawings.

There are times when it's really frustrating--don't get me wrong. Some of my drawings are much better than others. But I see something good in every piece I do, so that's definitely a step forward.

SBS is a great example of how the Internet can be awesome. I never would've tried to do this if I hadn't gotten the recommendation from Melissa, and I never would've found these great teachers. I can move through the classes at my own pace, right tin my house. It's not something I have to leave my house to do, which is nice.

Summer is a great time for experimentation and learning new things--are you doing anything this summer like this? Or can you draw much better than I can? :)