(or what ever other creative process) can do something with that word as a "prompt". There really are no rules, you do it when you can and how you can - just kind of gives me a push to sketch and I obviously need the practice - lol! and Jaye is very supportive - (thank you Jaye)
So I found this pnoto on the internet that caught my eye
and here's my sketch - looks nothing like the photo, but at least the photo gave me something to look at and go by - Somehow Lionel Richie on steriods somehow magically appeared!
LOL!
Hi! First, thanks so much for the nice comment on my blog with regards to my 3D assemblage, "The Nature of Memory". Now ... about sketching! This is just my personal opinion. Please take it with a handful of salt! LOL! But, sketching doesn't have to be part of an artist's normal process. It is just a tool. There are plenty of other tools that one might use, refine, and assist in the making of art. Like you, I've taken on the challenge of sketching from time to time. I've even had one of my sketch books accepted into a national juried exhibition at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, but I'm not about to say that the ability to sketch is at all important. I'm no better at it than you. Sketching certainly doesn't impact the way I work at all. I rarely sketch ... but I "think" a lot ... plan out a course of action. I also write about what I hope to achieve and communicate through art making. Of course, I also don't have a fine arts background. My last art class with in junior high school. Yet, I am a professional artist ... and, if you decide to claim the title of "artist" ... you can be one too! Being an artist is a lifestyle, state of mind, and an obsession. It can be a vocation ... with or without money being involved. That said, here's a suggestion. When facing the challenge to sketch, don't select a 2D image/object. One of the main purposes of sketching is to train the eye TO SEE ... to translate something onto a flat surface. By picking a photo from the Internet, you are trying to render 2D to 2D. You can already SEE the flat picture and then end up a little disappointed that you didn't as accurately and proportionally translate it to paper. Select a houseplant, a still life of objects on your kitchen counter, the items on a bathroom shelf or a view out the window. Then LOOK ... no matter what the result is, you will be really translating a vision into a sketch and you won't have a 2D image to which to compare your results. Several years ago my family was to travel to Italy. I wanted to keep a sketch book. At first, it was a HORRIBLE experience. The truth is, I wanted my sketch book to look like someone with real draftsmanship talent had made it. I wanted it to look like my mentor's sketchbooks. My mentor's name is Stephen Chesley. He's been a self-supporting landscape oil painter for over twenty-five years and his sketch books bring tears to my eyes. I asked him about sketching before I went. He said, "Only you, Susan, can make a Susan Lenz sketch. Sketch the way YOU SEE IT". Of course, I didn't start out that way. I started trying to make my images look like his ... and I hated it. I was conscious of people looking at me, embarrassed, and the results were awful. Finally, in frustration, I grabbed a micron pen from my purse. I brought it for journaling ... which never did happen. I thought to myself, "I'll just doodle the ornate patterns I see". Viola! I can sketch ... MY WAY. I filled the sketchbook in no time, never noticed people looking over my shoulder, and loved everything I drew ... and this is the sketchbook that ended up in a show in Chicago. So ... my advise ... forget everything you think you want to do and just doodle what really appeals. It might not have anything to do with a prompt word at all and it might never be part of your normal approach to making art ... but you might end up liking the results!
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Lionel looks good! No matter what, that is so much better than I could ever do.
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