Is it Spring yet?

Daffodils, colored pencil, Dorothy DePaulo

No, but it is a Drawing A Day Artarama! Yes, I know the excitement is bubbling all over our region, as we are about to start our ode to Spring, our group drawing project, our first steps to great new art! Here's the premise:
Drawing daily integrates art into your life. It helps you know what you know or don't know. It leads you to new solutions, to new explorations, to new growth. Just like Spring! Here are the guidelines:
     Draw every day, at least six days a week.
     Draw at least ten minutes a day, more if you want.
     Draw any subject.
     Use whatever materials you want to, and take this time to try some new ones!

And here are my suggestions:
     Gather your materials, sketch book and inspirations in one easy-to-maintain spot.

I'm going to be using Brush and Micron Pigma pens, 4 hardnesses of graphite pencil, and a couple sets of landscape color and assorted grey pens, and will keep them in a separate holder. I'm using pens as my primary tool because  haven't gotten to work in inks and dyes for a long time, and it will be novel and hopefully inspiring to get back together with an old favorite.

     Get your drawings done early, before the realities of the day take over.
     Don't bother to erase. The Italian term pentimento means repentance. The habit of leaving  lines that don't quite work is called pentimento - but really translates in this sense as NO repentance! Why not erase? If you don't bother to erase, you leave the earlier lines as a base to build the right lines on. You won't repeat a bad stroke. Not depending on an eraser to save you, you'll develop stronger, more limber, more competent, more flowing, more fun work! You focus on the positive.
     Inspire yourself with books, images, objects or plants that matter to you.

Two books about sketchbooks that have a variety of inspirations for methods and materials

     Or, use a guide to help you figure out what to draw to lead you in new paths. The book below is one that I am using. It has some good ideas, and it has some I'm not so interested in.





I'm also using this little book, that has 642 ideas of things to draw, and a place to draw them! Nice planning!

     In addition to this 642 journal, I'll also be using a variety of sketch books...

So beautiful! And because I'm using this beautiful to look at and beautifully executed sketch book, it makes me feel like my work matters even more, because it resides in such a lovely collection! And I'll use a wirebound black 8x8" sketch book, because it travels so well.

My final suggestion? Have fun! Let this exercise rock your day, start it with a bang, end it with a sigh of pleasure...whatever works for you. And send me the results. I'll publish an image a day, with credit for the artist, materials, and any words about method you want to share. In that vein, here's an early entry I sketched up today in about 5 minutes.



Devil's Claw, 3B Tombow graphite pencil on paper. I have about 15 of these devilish seed pods, collected at the ASBA conference in Phoenix. I imagine I'll draw them a lot!

Let's get started. Send your images (150 dpi .jpgs)  to rmsbartists@gmail.com, and I'll post them to inspire us all.

All the best,

Libby, your BlogMeister!