30 Minute Sketching - Still life

30 Minute Art - Sketching
By Alwyn Crawshaw

Further through the book, Crawshaw recommends making quick still-life drawings in order to practice/improving your ability to make fast sketches (Crawshaw 32). He also says to be "bold and positive" avoiding outlines as it will lower the quality of your sketch making it look "weak and lifeless," (Crawshaw 32).

This is my first still life sketch I've made and it came out well, took me a little over half an hour so it wasn't truly 30 minute art but it's probably the fastest I've ever made a drawing in.

The still life was actually pretty fun and relaxing to make, I'll definitely be making more from now on mostly of flowers they are very beautiful to sketch. Now being further in I'd like to know what you've been sketching, specifically into still life's and how have you been enjoying it?

Still Life Sketches

                                                 Still Life Drawing By:Olivia Nguyen

If you look around the room you will find shapes, shapes everywhere. Drawing can be simple and easy when you start each sketch with shapes and then connect them. I decided to pick up my water color pen and my watercolor palette to start drawing again. Since this is my fourth entry I decided to change it up a bit and instead of drawing building I decided I would try still life. I picked some objects only and from the book to replicate or draw. I lost track of time and before I knew it I sketched about a dozen different objects!



In the book Understand Perspective by Stephanie Bower she says "Try sketching rounded lampshades in your home from different eye levels. What part of the ellipses do you see when your eye level is higher than the lampshade?" (Bower 83). I kept this in mind when I was sketching one of the objects, I sketched the teacup from different angles which gave me a good perspective and I learned a lot from the shapes from different angles.

Bower describes ellipses as circles in perspectives as flattened shapes, by understanding these circles making arches and vaulted ceilings are so much easier. We often rarely see true circles (Bower 82). I made many ellipses when I was drawing, I used them to sketch out my first drawings. Starting with a base was helpful to make more in depth drawings. The rough drawing make a good match with the watercolor.

These sketches took me about under an hour. I used a pental aquabrush, paper, and a bic pencil. What i really like about watercolor is the flexibility of colors that are optional for you. What is your favorite media of art? And why?