Daily Sketch 20260429 | My journey with pen and paper

This week has been a bit hectic with balancing time management. Lots of things in the mix that are generally well maintained went a little off balance. Add the addition of yard work to the equation and time slips away pretty quickly. Still, we prevail. Art will carry us through.

Something I try to make time for, regardless of daily disarray, is a few minutes of sketching directly before bed. It helps cleanse the mind and sends me off with a positive step into the world of dreams.

We’re starting this week‘s blog with a piece for our weekly sketch challenge. The theme was WINGS and I was very excited to dip into this concept. If you are familiar with the band Converge, they did a split album with an Agoraphobic Nosebleed called The Poacher Diaries. This concept is loosely based on that albums art direction.

Probably one of my favorite album covers illustrated by acclaimed artist Derek Hess. If you’re into heavy metal and aggressive music, I highly recommend checking out that album. At least browse the artwork and check out Derek Hess.

Next up is Where’s Waldo! This was also a daily sketch challenge to warm up for the day. I’ve never actually tried to draw this character but doing so was extremely fun. Someone actually someone responded to this image later and said that Waldo looks good and purple.! That made me laugh and I was thankful for the funny comment.

It’s time for another afternoon of sketch and catch! Tried something new with the sketchbook. I acquired a pack of color pencils, and, though I rarely work in color, was excited to give it a shot. After using pen for so long, it was quite an adjustment and felt extremely awkward. I started this journey in pencil and the switch to pen was awkward. Funny that it has now shifted backwards.

In between the catching I worked on this alien mound type thing until the dog was tapped out and wanting to go back in for some water. Before that I decided to work over the edge outline with black pen. I guess all of the time I’ve spent using ink makes me want a bolder and darker outline. The colored pencils provided an extremely light color. Drawing while using my kneecap for a table, I was being cautious not to break the lid and went extremely light on the first few passes.

Time to dip into a fresh page for the week. This was loosely based off of the head featured on the scarecrow figure last week. You’ll find another experiment with that direction at the bottom of this blog. I revised the idea as I started putting it together. It reminded me of a yellow submarine type of artwork and I wanted to roll with that for a short while to see where it went.

With the yellow submarine in mind, I decided to go with some shrubbery. This was already shaping up to be something fun, and found myself looking forward to dipping into it further with more time on my hands.

Another daily task, but this one was Free Draw Friday! For anyone who knows me they know that I’m OK with Halloween 24 seven. Something about the morning vibe made me want to draw a pumpkin and I’m totally glad that I did. This was so much fun.

With a little more time on my hands, I found myself being hesitant to expand on the work and decided to dip into more shading. Tried a different type of shading this week. After all, the process is the reward. This is something that I do not usually do on larger pieces. Typically saved for small things to find my way first and apply later. This is more of an outline shading rather than a hatching style. It was a nice change of pace and I’m really enjoying it. It feels like a vibration. Stuck to this type of shading throughout most of the work moving forward and added some more flowers.

Another daily draw task! The mighty oak. In this case, we have the mighty oak and an extremely angry hooter that that has made it a home. Perhaps it’s camera shy?

Still a bit hesitant to branch out to the other side of the page, but felt like it was time to start building upward in this piece. Was planning to expand right with a couple of different ideas in mind that have not settled yet. Didn’t wanna step on my own toes before I got there. So at this stage, it felt better to work upward and give myself the time to consider what I was going to do moving right.

Note: I liked the delicate hairs and seed/eyes that found there way into the newest area.

Another daily draw. In this case, it was Major Tom. With the David Bowie theme in mind, I was excited to send this astronaut drifting out into space. What a fun concept for a daily task! One I could probably turn into a full scale page one day in the future. I’ve drawn something like this for a mini zine I made last year. Perhaps to revisit it and sketch it in pen. Last year was in pencil.

My first concept for moving to the right of the page was going to create opposites. This yellow submarine style happy artwork on the left and some kind of decaying old darkness on the right. I held onto that for as long as I could until it was time to make the decision. What changed my course was the weekly draw challenge this week. It was INSECTS. That being such a fun concept I wanted to work on it immediately, but not leave the page I was currently working. With the flowers already in the work it was a no-brainer to just add into this piece and double down on two concepts in one that work well together.

This was a fun angle to work on the insect from. More shading and more application to the flower bundle that the June bug is trying to become acquaintance with. One thing I was happy about, was starting to work on more of the shadow towards the bottom of these leaves and plants. I’m trying my best to embrace the darkness! Something my friend Dee told me long ago.

This is the section I submitted for the weekly draw. The simplified side of the page. Considering a second submission after I’ve done more work, but was happy with the way this looked as is, and felt like it completed the task. Fun to keep up with these challenges as they occasionally push me into drawing something that I would not have done on my own. This is a great example.

Another daily draw! In this case, it was ALIEN FISH and this was extremely fun! Luck would have it that I woke up a little earlier and had the extra time to take it slower. Most of the daily sketches are lightning fast for me as I am waking, sketching and then out the door with less than 10 mins to commit to the sketch. It is a great way to start the day, imo. The entire concept immediately came to mind as soon as I read what the task was. It turned out really fun and I plan on revisiting this character another time and fleshing it out a little bit more.

After committing to get the lawn mowed, a quick shower and something to eat it was time to reward myself with a late night dive into completing this work.

As noted above, the eyelets/seeds and fine hairs from the previous side really appealed to me so my choice to capitalize on them was set in motion. A touch of grass and the amplified sunburst sky really kicked in well here. This feels so open and welcoming to me. It was already feeling active by the vibrating look of the new shading style at work. This perspective really captivates me.

So that covers most of the weeks sketches that are worthy of discussion. Post it sketches still continue to warm my heart and I am happy to have a placemat that allows me to share them. Though this week did not provide as much time for them, there were a few moments that really stepped out in an exciting way.

Have a great week and remember, there is no such thing as bad art AND embrace the darkness.

…is this the end?

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~ Bobby / Monuments in Ruin

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