I was pretty naughty because I lapsed in my blogs

... But I have been drawing just about every day.

I haven't blogged for some time. Must be a month or more. Life just got hectic. I got overwhelmed. I took some time out for R and R but I kept on drawing. Mainly just drawing for me. Not too many Sydney Sketch Club Meetups. No sketching at The AGNSW. But lots of city sketching and sketching where ever I go. I have bought a lovely bag, quite a big one where I can reach in and easily find all the art supplies that I need to execute the sketch.
Be it said, some of the subjects so dear to my sketching life are i/ teapots and ii/ cups and saucers. They spell RELAX and they spell TAKE YOUR TIME. (don't hurry).
TRhis is a Queen Anne cup and saucer which I have drawn before. Mum gave it to me one birthday. Though I don't drink too often from it, looking at it spells SLOW DOWN and ENJOY. Ahhhh! Robur.

page # 41

Ah yes! This began as a still life of the chess set and a vase of neary dead flowers. Then Grace settled on the couch in the background so she became part of the picture.

page 40

This is Friday night relaxing on the couch (actually Grace has torn her quad muscle, and is not so comfortable). I was pleased with how this turned out.

page # 39

Sketch of two children in an egg and spoon race (taken from a photograph in a toy catalogue).

page # 38

Sketch of Laura, when she went to tjhe Commander Christmas party (photo taken)

page # 37

Bryce - serious and contemplative. Sitting on the couch

page # 36

Fine subject matter. Grace's legs overhanging the end of the couch. Grace has a hole in the end of her stocking (under trackpants)

page # 35

This is a sketch from a photograph of a young Thai girl. Took me about 20 minutes to complete and done in 0.28 pen.

page # 34

Sketch of an old man. Taken from a photograph. Done in 0.28 pen. Time taken = 25 minutes

page # 33

I was quite pleased with how this sketch turned out. Once again done with my brown 0.28 pen. I copied the sketch from a photograph in a book. I did it at about 4.15 am. (I couldn't sleep).

page # 32

This was a quick sketch of a brown bear that sits on Laura's bed. I did it more for the accuracy of a life sketch than for anythink else. Is this bear living? Then it's life drawing of a brown bear.

page # 31

Think I've hit a bit of a flat spot

page #30

Not such a great sketch

page #29

This was a really quick life drawing of Bryce... "Keep still!!!' He's such a wriggler!

page # 28

This was a quick sketch of a Japanese lady... done in Blue 0.28 pen on paper.

page # 27

This sketch was done early in the morning. Taken from an old photo of Laura (aged 4) with her beloved Bluey (Blue teddy bear) . As I drew this, I noticed how fresh and plush Bluey was. Compared with the aged Bluey in an earlier sketch (#9). Unlike Laura, who looks as fresh and young at 27 as she did when she was 4. Still got her dimples when she smiles!

page # 26

Self portrait done late at night. Used my 0.28 blue pen for this one.

page # 25

... And another 10 minute sketch of my "can't keep still for 30 seconds" husband. This is Bryce reading. A very "keep still" kind of activity, don't you think?

page #24

This is a quick 10 minute sketch of Bryce. It's about 7 am and here he sits at the stove stirring the porridge. I would have thought that here was an activity that he could keep reasonabely still at... but no!!! Wriggle wriggle wriggle. Very hard for an artist!

page # 23

A very special page (#23) and this sketch consists of Laura's unique jewellery stand (a converted Barbie Doll) which holds all Laura's precious pearl and other jewellery. This sketch took about 25 minutes and was done in 0.28 uni pen.

page # 22

Sketch of a "family room" still life... consisting of a candle in dish in foreground, Grace's Baby ipod (behind) and the basket (lined with a skarf) and filled with remote controls ....(which make our life soooo easy). Sketched with blue 0.28 pen. Sketch took 30 minutes.

page # 21

I was happier with this sketch ... more so than with the last. This is done blue 0.28 pen on white paper. Sketch took about 20 minutes

page # 20

A quick blue 'n' white sketch of a gal from the EZIBUY catalogue. Sketch took about 20 mins.

page # 19

This was an afternoon of sketching at the Strand Arcade
in Sydney. We sat up on the second level outside Alannah
Hill Boutique (which was a work of art in itself). The Strand
is a beautiful old arcade... less busy that the QVB. It has a
lot of quaint designer shops on this level particularly.
We all found something which fascinated us. All our
sketches can be found on the Sydney Sketch Club
webpage. It was a really fun drawing day.

page # 18

This was a sketch on glass by Wayne Pearson, in the annual Ranamok Prize which is a prestigious prize in the glassworks world.
I was really fascinated by the great painting on glass. There was no doubt a

very intricate process to achieve the end result - I was struck with the great

Portraiture and decided to "copy" it.

page # 17

Wendy and Annie sat listening to a lecture being delivered by Catherine, a glass making expert artist.

page # 16

Catherine was an artist talking about creating beautiful works of glass art. Very expressive hands. Loved her hair. It was a great short style. She was "passionate" about her craft.

page # 15

I loved this filligree glass work of art of a birdcage adorned with colourful glass flowers and leaves. The bird was infact a nude lady swinging gleefully. But I'm not drawing that. I will leave it to your imagination.

page #14

I got into the city early. My bus arrived at Menzies Hotel (Wynyard Station) at about 9.15 so I had time to wander to my destination slowly. I took a back laneway down Ash Street and Angel Place. Such gorgeous buildings dwell here. I took a few photographs and I sat down on my portable stool and began to sketch some of the buildings. As Degas says - "perspective is not easy". My building have a bit of a lean to them.

page #13

Some days are diamonds. Everything comes easily. Other days are less so. But no matter... there are many more pages to do in the book and I can only get better. This was not a life drawing but was taken from a photograph. I actually find life drawing easier. Photographs are too one dimensional. There is more room for error. I think with life drawing you are able to often capture the soul more. This was done with my 0.28 pen. The sketch took about 20 minutes to do. Yeah... this drawing is quite wrong. But hey, I'll learn from my mistakes :)

page # 12

I drew this picture this morning (29/9/10) after breakfast. I'm actually quite pleased with how it turned out. It does resemble me a bit I think. I did it with my 0.28 pen and the entire sketch took about 25 minutes. That's Laura's bedhead in the background

page # 11

This is my Modigliani inspired sketch. I always love M's art since I was about 16 years old. Something so stylish and yet raw about this art. I haven't really caught it here... when you're drawing in pen you only have one chance to get it right. I wished I could have done it again. The face more than anything is not right. BUT, I forgive myself. Plenty more sketching days to go.

page #10

This was a quick 10 minute sketch of Julianne Anderson who works with me. She's a quiet and very thoughtful type of person. You can see the "caring" in her eyes. I caught her and told her to keep still a moment. Do you think she could? She was a real wriggler, always changing position. So quite challenging for this 10 minute sketch. As you can see, we are in double figures now!

page # 9

Bryce says I'm getting better at my art. I think just doing this everyday makes me do as honest a replica of what I am seeing, as is possible. Laura's gone to Japan, without Bluey! Bluey is older than Laura is. He is actually as old as Danielle is (which is 29 yrs).
Bluey was given to Danielle when she was born. Gail gave"her" to Laura when she was born as Dani had too many toys. Bluey was so much loved... I'm surprised that she has any fur left at all. I made Bluey this dress when Laura was only 4 years old, so that makes this dress 23 years old. This was when I was being the perfect home spun mother. Everything was cottagey, Laura Ashley inspired, and definitely hand made. We cooked Pritikin recipes and were religiously healthy. We cooked from Julie Stafford "Taste of Life". I once played indoor cricket, to cover for Ros, and met some guy there called "Dave". (They're happily married now! Ros and Dave tied the knot on 27th March 1994). But back to 1987...And I was probably pregnant with Gemma. Laura was a preschooler at St. Johns preschool in Croydon. Miss Angela Peppercamp was her lovely teacher. Bryce worked at Premier C.U and I nursed at Croydon Hospital as well as Dandenong Valley Private Hospital. Wow... a trip down memory lane. Thanks Bluey for conjuring up these memories. As for the sketch, it took me about 20 minutes to do and of course was done with my faithful 0.28 pen. Ah... memories of another time, another place. Pre- Sydney. It was a good era.

Page # 8

This is a quick life drawing of young Gracie, who has been glued to the TV on Saturday 25th Sept to watch the AFL Grand Final. It is just the end and everyone is stunned... another draw. Neither the Magpies nor the Saints won! Grace and Bryce had planned for a big celebration when the Saints won. Well, we shall have to watch next week as the game will play out again. The sketch took about 15 minutes to execute. 0.28 pen on page #8 of my 365 Book. I am quite pleased with the result.

page # 7

My favourite cup and saucer. Queen Anne ... English Roses. Tea always tastes better when "sipped" from my beautiful cup and saucer. Fairly pleased with how this drawing turned out. Perspective is "always a challenge" as per Edgar Degas. My favourite teas are... i/ Green Tea ii/ Earl Grey Tea iii/ Lady Grey
iv/ Lemon and Ginger v/ Licorice vi/ English Breakfast. And yes, I do prefer tea to coffee. It is usually very refreshing, and comforting. Which, of
course, as a sensitive female member of the human race, I need. Well, here endeth my first week of sketching 1/day. They say to truely imprint a habit, you need to do it 21 times.

page #6

My pictures are a little bit blurry. I'm taking a photo of my sketch and then uploading it. Sometimes the dimensions get a little distorted. However, hopefully I will improve over the 365 days/pages. This is a sketch of a model in an EZIBUY mag. I actually like what she's wearing. For this price, I may even buy. But I was quite happy with my sketch. She is a little like Madonna (minus the stylish gap in her front teeth). Sketch took about 20 minutes to complete. You guessed it, done with my trusty 0.28 pen.

PAGE #5

This is from a photograph from the ORGANIC magazine of (obviously) an organic rooster. See how much more elegant he is than most backyard roosters. This sketch took roughly 30 mins to complete. I used my trusty Uniball 0.28 black pen.

page #4

This is just a quick sketch which took about 20 minutes to execute. It's my
Rooibos Tea in my black and white
mug... a perfect start to the day. It's only when you study everyday objects that you see that you can't draw what you "think" you see, you have to draw it as it really is. It's been liberating to throw away old drawing habits and develop new ones. a BRAVE NEW WORLD.

Page #3

Up at 10 to 5 this morning. It's getting lighter in the mornings so it's not too hard , now. All the housy tasks aside, my first commitment is to execute # 3 of 365. It felt right to do a portrait today. This pic was taken from a photo in a Japanese magasine called flower design (a beautiful mag). It's done with my trusty 0.28 Mitsubishi pen. Total time taken = 40 minutes. If I could read Japanese, I could tell you more about the portrait sitter. Alas, that will not happen in the next 365 days :(

Page #2

Today's sketch is in pen (my trusty .28) and the subject matter is a still life of a camellia in a dish on a shiny topped coffee table. A chess set is in the background and I have shown the reflection of the pieces. The sketch took about 1/2 an hour to complete, and it was done at about 7.30 am.

Page #1

To get good at anything, you have to do it over and over and over. To forge a habit you must do it 21 times. OK - I'm not travelling the world and documenting my travels through art as others before me have done, but I am documenting my life right here, right now. This morning I walked into the family room to find Grace's dirty Dunlop Volleys lying on the ground. I decided to sketch one of them. I used my Mitsubishi 0.28 pen (I love it!). Grace hates shopping, she says. Yet she has a wardrobe full of clothes, and shoes. Despite the vast array of these, she is a girl who loves comfort above anything else. She loves these sports shoes. Recently she joined a women's soccer team. The practices on a damp oval have rendered her volleys "no longer white".