Sketchy Thoughts | Aug 19, 2026

August 26, 2026

Digital experiments, analog sketch sessions, timed lunch challenges, colorful monsters, and the eternal question: How do you find your artistic style?

Substack: https://monumentsinruin.substack.com

Sketchy Thoughts | Aug 19, 2026
Documenting the week of Aug 12-18

There is a wealth of knowledge out there waiting for us. Open a book, read a blog, listen to a podcast, watch a documentary, it seems there is a format suited for us all. One thing I see a lot is the question of, “How do I find my artistic style?”. This is the one thing that none of the previous options can answer. It is something we find inside ourselves that slowly begins to creep into our work. A subconscious pen stroke, a color choice, a small something that, even when we fail to recognize it, others take notice of. My hope for you is that you are finding your way and enjoying the process. After all, there is no finish line. Another blank page awaits you!

Daily Art | August 12-18

It’s no surprise that we are always talking about artwork. Sometimes you need to stop and enjoy some ice cream. Don’t forget, there are only so many milkshakes we get to enjoy in this lifetime. Make sure to take a moment and treat yourself.

OK, let’s get our move on into the previous week. Continuing our adventure in the digital art realm, the idea behind this was to simply jump in and go for it. Keep in mind that I am trying to adapt to the digital format. No expectations of awesomeness. Time on the clock for learning. That is the only goal, at this moment. The digital format is fun and has a lot of cool options. It’s far removed from analog though.

Sketch and Catch! Not only are we back in action with some artwork in the analog style, but we also brought out the red ball, a water bowl and the new chair. Some freshly cut grass underneath our bellies and paws, a wall that provides enough shade to stay cool and out of the sun and a light breeze that keeps the heat at a tolerable level for playtime.

Back in the digital matrix. Now it’s time to start utilizing some color buckets. Not that I plan to get too crazy but I did want to convert from black-and-white into a color palette to see if I can find something visually appealing. My first goal is to limit myself on the number of colors. After all, I’m still trying to adjust to the digital format. It is very easy to go overboard.

This may not be a ‘sketch and catch’, but it is 100% special delivery. This young lady is always at the front line to help her parents get that letter from the mailbox to the front door. Always ready and willing to assist! What would we do without her?

Now that we’ve safely delivered the mail to Mom let’s get back into this colorway we are experimenting with. This initially appeared in a sketch and catch session a few weeks ago. It was relaxing to revisit the concept and redevelop it with added color. Totally changes the feeling of the work, in my opinion.

This is a fun game that I started last year. It’s a timed sketch challenge. Anytime that I have to go out for a quick lunch break or perhaps place an order for dinner, I will place the order at the restaurant and sit down with the sketch pad. The game typically starts with no direction in mind. Simply go in whatever direction the ink takes me until they hand me my order. Sometimes it works out to be a massive burst of creative energy and possibly find concepts that can be revisited later. Sometimes it’s a little more obscure. There is always something good that happens though. A template or a new thing that is learned. Either way, the time seems to fly by and I often wish for a few more minutes to work on whatever was pouring out of the pen.

Still on digital, but without color. This, like many other pieces started with no initial idea in mind. Scratch, scratch, scratch, until the reflecting table appeared. After that, a touch of perspective was added to balance out the work. It seems that I have had a cityscape thing reoccurring recently.

I really like this piece! Very fun to work on and the final work makes me smile. Not exactly sure what the original idea was but know where pieces were pulled from. This is one of those moments where flying by the seat of your pants works out in the best way. The addition of color really makes this piece work quite a bit.

You’ll notice the horns or extensions that extend from the spheres were originally discovered in my daily sketch challenges. The origin of which you will see below in the Shrek section. Fun stuff and a perfect example of why the daily challenges can benefit not just building skill level, but also an extension of creativity.

Another piece that makes me smile! At first, I was a little bit lost in finding my way and somehow it started coming together. The creepy creature and the vampire-like scaredy-cat combo with the brightly colored background feels really fun. Perhaps monsters and brightly colored backgrounds could be a thing?

Continuing on with fun colors and spooky monsters! Still a bit out there but slowly adapting to the digital format at this point. However, some things seem to be connecting. What a fun adventure! Hoping that you are enjoying the process along with me and thank you for reading this far. Let’s see what happens next week!