December is here! I was going to to say I can't believe at first but to be honest I can. This year has felt like the fastest year yet even though some months felt like they where going in slow motion at times. November was a pretty good month for me. I haven't drawn this much since probably earlier in the year. I don't what came over me. Suddenly I just had a burst of energy and it became really easy. All things good things come to end though as Nelly Furtado would say and I have slowed down a bit. But enough about now and here are my favourites from November and it is the first time in a while where I had to narrow it down!
First up my squirrel pencil sketch! I originally intended for this drawing to be a quick, small sketch and even though it was small it definitely wasn't quick. Turns out drawing tree bark doesn't come as easily to me as facial features but I really like how it turned out. No better feeling than challenging yourself in whatever small way and it paying off. Plus it helps me work on my patience.
My favourite thing about using varying tones of paper is the challenge of figuring out how shade and light works. Even though I haven't mastered coloured pencil on black paper yet (still can't manage to get those colours to pop!), I love the colour palette of my sparkler drawing against the black background. Also I really love my grey paper too especially when I get to use my white charcoal and I got to use plenty of it for this Marlon Brandom portrait. Everything just comes to life when you add a highlight!
This month I also played with my soft and oil pastels some more. I have fullt come to terms that precision is not something I am going to achieve with the soft pastels but as I have mentioned before I really enjoy the difference in style and I'm beginning to appreciate the texture of the paper I get with soft pastels like in my Matilda drawing. Plus the green colours are just really pleasing to me. In regards to my oil pastel piece of Antelope Canyon I love the strong colours and the blend of oranges against the blues and purples. I'm still getting the hang of layering and how far I can layer but I've managed to incorporate quite a bit of colour in this one without creating too many layers.
I decided I wanted to do more portraits but almost didn't do these because I had already drawn the Olsen twins earlier in the year. In the back of my mind I had pressured myself to not repeat ideas too much or at least too close together. But when I found these photographs in a style similar to the ones I had done before I couldn't say no. For some reason Ashley was harder to do than Mary-Kate. It took my three attempts of the outline to get it right. But thankfully I stuck with it.
And my final favourites are my christmas decorations. What I like about painting them is that I get to use my acrylics and since the mdf shapes are smaller than you average canvas, the paintings come together way faster, meaning I can do a lot more.
So December is here. Currently I am working on a commission that cannot be shown in it's entirety until the very end of the year but when that's all finished up and I can start making more ornaments! Hopefully it will get me back in the Christmas sprirt. My problem is I get excited way too early and then run out by December. My aim for this month is to do at least the same amount or more drawings and paintings than November! The next time we will speak will probably be the last #sketchaday 2016 blog unless I do a December Faves and a full year Faves. Haven't decided yet. I guess you will have to wait and see.
To the final stretch!
Hazel, xoxo
