Drew these quick sketches in Bankfield Museum and Art Gallery.  I added the watercolour wash later at home.

Now that I’m briefed by Christeen and Bill as to what gesture drawing is (i.e. fast, loose drawings that focus on the gesture of a person rather than on any details), I thought I’d have a go.

Now that I look at these drawings again, I realise I’ve managed my usual trick of making the figure’s legs too short.  Now, I know this is probably because I have short legs in proportion to the rest of me, but you’d think I’d learn, wouldn’t you?

By the way – I’ve just finished a sketchbook that I started on 2 June last year.  Let’s see if I can fill the next one a bit faster.  🙂

I need to improve my figure drawing, but I’ve done very little life drawing.  When I do get to a life drawing class, I’m hampered by being terribly slow. 

I got the idea for using a Yoga book from Christeen, and am hoping that although these aren’t from life, they will teach me something about the figure that will help when I come to draw from life.

By the way – I’ve now been drawing daily for a whole month.

OK, so this isn’t a fabulous drawing.  But it is my daily drawing practice.  I drew it straight with pen, and just drew again over the lines that didn’t work first time.  I also attempted a simple monochrome wash – I’ll practice this more I think.

Do you ever have those days when you think ‘that’s it, I really can’t draw’. 

That’s how I feel just now – and I plan to keep drawing right through those days, because I know something will happen and I’ll suddenly be out of the other side again.  That’s just what seems to happen.

One of my learning goals for drawing is doing faces.  I am terrified of drawing faces.  Mainly because the person I’m drawing always wants to look, and the excited ‘can I see?’ turns into a confused and disappointed ‘oh!’ when they see the wierd person I’ve drawn.

So – tonight I sketched Rick while he was on his laptop.  I was (believe it or not) quite pleased with it, because although it’s messy and imperfect, there’s an element of ‘Rickness’ about it.  “It looks a bit like you!” I said, turning the page to show him.  Sadly, I’d also been sketching his new pig car arial topper – a gift from his sister.