A Sketchbook filled with Little Somethings

Do you ever have the experience of a project (or many of them) that seem to come up and distract you from your habit or intention of art-making?

That has been the last month for me. Rather than give up because of a lack of time and focus, I've shaken things up. My interim way of working has been to do at least three blind contour drawings (5 minutes each) daily to the extent possible.

I now have one full sketchbook with 100 blind contour drawings and I've just started a second. What I like most about doing them is the freedom to be imperfect. For example, the eyes may be outside the face shape, or the face is too thin or too squat. Even as these kinds of things happen, my interest is whether the sketch captures an essence of the source image. When looking at the sketches, I make notes about what I like and dislike. Yes, there are those I don't like. That said, knowing and being able to describe both my likes and dislikes is good information.

Doing blind contours over the last month has also provided me with the opportunity to audition different pen types of varying nib sizes, change my grip of the pens, and to work with my non-dominant hand on some.

Meet selections from 'The Class of Sketchbook 5'.

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Cay Denise

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