Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 1. Circles

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1 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 1 Circles In this lesson we are going to begin with circles. Circles are universal, geometric, symbolic, Activity 1: Making Circles Watch the video first, then make pages and pages of circles using as many techniques as you can think of. Use your cheap paper sketchbook for those techniques that don t require heavy wet media; use your watercolor book for those that do. Do not limit yourself to those I demonstrate in the video, but invent your own methods as well. Group circles in various configurations, such as grids, all-over patterns, lines of circles, circles of circles, and so forth. Pay attention to how the circles relate to one another individually as well. They can overlap, touch at the edge, you can have a circle within a circle, or they can totally ignore one another.

2 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 2 My pages from the video demonstrations are shown above. Do as many of these as you like. Remember that these are not compositions, but explorations. Activity 2: Circles in Layers - Materials Explorations Now that you ve made pages of circle explorations, let s take it a little further. Make a page of circles using one material, then layer more circles on top, or further develop the page in some way using different materials. Pay attention to the expressive qualities of the materials, and try some contrasts: thick, juicy marks with delicate lines, for example. I want to leave this open-ended by not giving you specific directions, but I will show you examples: In the example below I first made circles with black and white acrylic paint, letting the paint mix on the page, creating a nice range of grays. When the paint was dry I applied oil pastel: black, white, ochre, bright red, olive green. I scribbled with the oil pastels like you see in the opening section of the Sketchbook Video, mixing the colors.

3 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 3 Another version of the same process: Here is another page on which I painted circles using acrylics. Some are watered down like watercolors. For some of the circles I first wet the paper, then applied watered down acrylic, letting it bleed wet-in-wet.

4 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 4 After the paint was dry I applied white acrylic mixed with medium to make it more transparent, and scratched into it with a knitting needle. This is called sgraffito. Detail of Sgraffito technique Doodle Detail After this layer dried, I just started scribbling and doodling with a pen. A detail is shown at left, where you can see the watered-down acrylic layered over the white paint sgraffito. Below is the whole page.

5 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 5

6 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 6 Here is another page of circles I started with acrylics, as in that last example. I added oil pastels and then some lines in pen. And one final example below: I made circles in colored India ink using the eye-dropper that comes in the lid. I blew out the ink using a straw, as demonstrated in the video. Then I applied washes of acrylic paint (acrylic mixed with water). You can see how the ink resists the acrylic wash, such that the colors remain nicely true.

7 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 7 Activity 3: Circles - A Compositional Approach In this activity we are exploring composition using circles (and ovals). We are focusing on placement and relationship of elements, not on color or technique, so keep it simple. Choose one or two materials for this exercise, and make pages of circles in varying arrangements. Here are some things to try in addition to what you will come up with on your own: A dense, claustrophobic group of circles A spare, airy arrangement of circles A combination of the above Circles that overlap in some places A combination of circles and ovals that implies direction A combination of circles and ovals that implies rhythm A combination of circles and ovals that implies narrative If it works better for you to just play with arrangements of circles, without a particular intention, please feel free to do so. Then look at your arrangements and see what kind of mood or feeling they express. Claustrophobic Narrative Spare

8 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 8 Activity 4: One Liners You will be relieved that this activity does not necessarily involve circles. This is your drawingfrom-seeing activity, and it is quick and easy. And fun. One-liners, as you may know, are drawings done without letting the pencil or pen leave the page. Carla Sonheim has an exercise in one-liners in her book, Drawing Lab, which is on my recommended reading list (on the supply list).

9 Sketchbook Practice: Lesson 2 9 For these one-liners I want you to look at your subject as you draw, and only glance at the paper occasionally if you have time. Your subject - if you can manage it - is a moving object, preferably a pet or a small child, or a person who is unaware that they are being drawn. Draw quickly. Don t spend more than about 30 seconds on each one. Do as many as you like - at least half a dozen. And do several of each subject. You will not be shocked to see that I used my chickens as a subject. I scattered treats on the ground and drew them as they pecked at the grain. I also have cats. They move, but a little more slowly than the chickens. That s it! We ll play with the one-liners again next week, so hang onto them. Have fun!