Sketchbookery

I did a little bit of sketching in Paris.  A very little bit.  Okay, maybe just this one sketch of the Hotel Sens, which I drew quickly while on our bike tour (long before I fell off the bike and ended up in Emergency!) and painted later.

I did a couple more drawings when I met up with a few members of Paris Urban Sketching group on my last day there.  Two of the ladies I'd met last fall at a similar meetup, one woman whom I hadn't met before. All 3 are very talented, creating beautiful, accurate, engaging drawings quickly and easily. Which I find intimidating, given my limited sketching skills.  I ended up drawing my Orangina bottle.

I'd like to do more sketching and improve my skills, because I do enjoy it. I find it quite soothing and almost meditative.  I do know that in order to get better at anything, you need to practice. Which is why I signed up for Mary Ann Moss's online class called Sketchbookery, which started on July 4th.  (For those who missed signing up for the current session, fear not, there will be another one beginning on December 26th. Stay tuned to Mary Ann's blog, Dispatch from L.A., for details and treat yourself!)

I hadn't really had a chance to dive fully into the course in July, since I was off on my Paris vacation for two weeks of it, but now that I'm back, I'm jumping right in.  I watched a few of the class videos (with Suzie beside me - she seemed to find them quite interesting and not just when Mary Ann's own cats were making their cameo appearances!) 

and then made myself a sketchbook yesterday, using a pair of book covers I'd picked up for a mere $2.00 somewhere and a pad of Canson 140 lb. watercolour paper. (I thought the title of the book, The Summers Readers, was appropriate for this month of August.)

I then drew myself a title page

and proceeded to make my first sketch in my new book. The subject matter was the pile of washi tape sitting in front of my computer.

My drawing is a bit on the wonky side (in real life, those rolls of tape are perfectly round, of course!) but that's just makes me like it more!

Looking forward to doing lots more sketching this month.  Many thanks to Mary Ann for providing the encouragement and inspiration necessary to get me going!