THE HUMBLE PENCIL!

Being a part of a co-op gallery means everyone takes turns being the host or hostess for the day. Today was my turn. We usually get a reminder call the day before. Something went wrong and I didn't receive the call. I failed to check my calendar so it was a surprise when the phone rang asking where I was! OOOOOPS! I grabbed my sketchbook and simple mechanical pencil and rushed off. I had such a good time making these drawings. The first is done in the modified contour style. I find that focusing on the image I am drawing, I still have the drawing in my peripheral vision so it stays fairly accurate without taking my gaze off of the drawn object. I don't know if I was quite so aware of this phenomenon as I was today.

I photographed more of my drawings in this sketchbook which I will be posting in the coming days. Most of them are quite detailed and a finished piece of art in itself. I am thinking I should place them in a mat. One of these days I will get around to taking care of these things. In the meantime, the sketchbook keeps them protected. Heavy application of graphite does smear, so I will spray these drawings to protect them. Right now I have a sheet of tracing paper on top of each drawing. It's important to spray outside with lots of fresh air. The last time I sprayed a drawing, I was in a hurry and did it inside the house. What a mistake that was. I had a headache for two days. Anything with a strong odor is toxic. I need to keep all the brain cells I have!

I read today about a masters in art program where the author had an assignment was to paint the same subject everyday for a month. I thought this was an interesting challenge that could be done with drawing. Let's try it for a week. Pick a simple subject and draw it every day for 7 days. When you have the 7 drawings, send them to me. If I like this one for myself, I will personally extend it to a month. I think it will be the July challenge but there is not time like the present to take action.