Sunday Sketchblog #5

Ooops - it's been ages since my last post. Again!

But here is a quick peek at what I've been scribbling today... We've been planning how to redecorate our hallway and living room (well, and all of the other downstairs rooms, but those two will do for now!) and I'm trying to sketch out vaguely what it might look like to hekp S understand what I'm getting at when I waffle on about what I'd like to do to the place. So. May I present our (future) living room...! The left page demonstrates that I am still working out how it'll all work even as I scribble!

As ever, dont forget to check out what Emma and Jenna have been sketching this week :)

EDM Challenge # 97 - Draw a present you've received

It's been a while again, hasn't it? Oops - sorry about that! I have still be busily working in my studio whenever I've had the time and energy though, fear not!

It was my birthday last week, and a little before the day itself, a parcel arrived. I opened it, expecting it to be something that I had ordered, but inside I found this little fella

EDM# 97 Draw a present you've received
My new gorgeous wooden puffin - thank you *so* much SF x

It was a wonderful surprise birthday gift from my secret friend*. In fact, it was the first of two gorgeous, and very much 'me' gifts which I received from her. I have a bit of a thing about puffins - I'm not sure why, but I *love* them. They're just so.... stupid looking. But cute. Stupid, but cute. It wins me over Every. Single. Time.

*The Secret friend swap is a something which is run on one of the forums I frequent. Everyone taking part gets someone to send to for a year, and a questionnaire that that person has filled in with their likes/dislikes etc. Then they set about 'stalking' their person (in the nicest possible way ofc!), and send them 3 or more gifts throughout the year. Each person gets a 'secret' person sending to them, and they in turn are someone elses 'secret friend'. It's a lovely swap to be part of :)

Sunday Sketchblog #4

This is the view from my usual spot on the sofa

I didn't get as long to work on this sketch as I would've liked, as Aesa, the most demanding of all kittens spent the entire time I was drawing it bringing me her ball, waiting for me to throw it, running after it, and bringing it back, only to repeat the whole process over and over again. Believe me when I say that whilst cute, it becomes exceedingly boring very fast indeed! I gave up trying to draw in the end, and sacrificed myself on the alter of 'the horrors of the endless tickling stick'. I lost 2 hours to it. And I borked my back. But Aesa was happy for a while, so that's good. :-|

As always, don't  forget to check out what Emma and Jenna have been sketching this week!

EDM # 15

My beloved Samsung Galaxy SIII
I heart it. Yes. I am that sad.

In other, very exciting news...

I received the following email last night, which made me whoop with delight :)

Dear Hayley,

Thanks for sending in your project for SBP 2013! We just wanted to let you know that your project has now been cataloged into the Brooklyn Art Library! It can be found on the shelves with a call number of 201.19-1.
If you've already chosen to get your project digitized, you'll receive another email once it's been scanned into the Digital Library.
Please stay tuned for more details about the project.

Sincerely,
The Art House Crew

Art House Co-op
www.sketchbookproject.com

How cool is that? It got there, and someone has finally opened it and done the 'bip' thing on the barcode. Daft how such little things can make a girl happy really isn't it?

I have paid for it to be digitised (because really, no-one is ever going to know to ask to see it if you don't...) and I am looking forward to seeing if their 'professional book digitiser' (I'm sure they probably spell it with a Z. But I can't bring myself to. Sorry) does any better than me with my trusty flat bed scanner at home!

Sunday Sketchblog #3

Two for you today, you spoiled lot ;)

EDM Challenge # 37. Draw some keys

EDM#37 Draw some keys

 Ok. Maybe it's not strictly 'keys' plural, but this is one of the keyrings that the lovely and very talented Sarah made for me when we moved into this house. We arrived, mere minutes after the call from our solictor to say that we had finally completed the purchase, and walked in to a discover about 30 different sets of keys for all of the various doors and buildings we now owned. Our front door has it's original 1920's letter box, but sadly all it does now it look pretty, and chew post up. It literally shreds anything put through it. So one of the sets of keys was for the external post box on the side of the house - hence the need for a 'post' key! The keyrings which Sarah burns her designs onto are made from beautiful chunky wood, and thus are rather hard to lose - which was exactly what I wanted!

EDM #44 - Draw and animal - a pet, a zoo animal, a stuffed toy...

And another. Because I am spoiling you. This felt froggle is one of my beautiful, and very much missed cat, Skwoo's favourite toys. So, it is an animal twice over. Sort of.

As always, do head over to see what Jenna and Emma have been sketching this week :)

Every Day Matters Challenges

I did all of (well, most of!) the Every Day Matters Challenges a few years ago, but having seen both Emma and Jenna working their way through the list, I figured that starting from scratch wouldn't do me any harm at all, and would be an easy way for me to get back into the habit of daily drawing again.

So, without further ado, here is the first.

EDM #1 - Draw a shoe

A Croc.

Of course, now I'm looking at it on a computer screen, I can see LOADS wrong with it. Bah. Oh well. As I said, it's been a while, and I'll get better the more I do it (I hope!)


I have a love hate relationship with my crocs. Love because they're so easy to wear, they stay on without needing to be tied/strapped up, don't make me fall over just by being on my feet (happens with flats a LOT more than you'd think with me!) and because they appear to be indestructible. They don't care if they get muddy when I am gardening, or covered in paint when I am painting - and more importantly, nor do I. After all, how can you get precious about a pair of crocs? And yet I do. Get precious that is. In a way. I would hate if someone told me that I could never wear them again. I might even cry. Even though I hate them too. I remember the first time I laid eyes on a pair, announcing that they were the ugliest shoes ever. (and they were. This particular pair belonged to my very good friend Miffa (aka Emma), and were the most lurid, bright lime green you can imagine!) When I eventually got my own pair last spring - a good 6/7 years after seeing the green monstrosities (I was bored of having to put my wellies on to potter in the garden when it was dry and sunny. Because it was for a while last year believe it or not!), I swore I would never wear them out. And yet I bought another pair on holiday in Italy later in the year when my trusty converse had turned my feet into 2 ginormous blisters that just Would. Not. Heal. And they not only didn't aggravate the blisters, they allowed them to start healing at last. And ofc, I swore I would only wear *those* in the house as well. But I've sat here today drawing this one, and it just dawned on me that I've also worn them to pottery, and to the co-op down the road, and and and... I've probably even worn them to Waitrose *shockhorror*.
But I'm not ashamed. I wear them out in public. What of it?  I love my crocs.
Even if they are fugly ;)

I'm (im)patiently waiting for a delivery of canvasses to arrive from www.Greatart.co.uk at the moment, which will get me back painting again, although I won't be able to blog about what I'm doing until after two certain people decide to make an appearance, and have been given their very first piece of original art. Because their soon-to-be-mums might see it, and that'd ruin the surprise! So I'll try to keep you going with drawings for a bit instead ;)

Sunday Sketchblog #2

Sunday again already? Wowsers that week went quickly!

I must confess that after the relief/excitement of sending my Sketchbook Project book in, I didn't get a huge amount done this week. But, I have been ill, so maybe that excuses it? I also didn't make it to the London thinger yesterday, but that was 100% down to the snow that started falling on Friday morning! 

I spent most of yesterday attempting to draw my 2 Norwegian Forest Cat kittens, Aesa and Skadi. I was wholly unsucessful, since even when they're asleep, they move *constantly* This was the best of a very many bad attempts! Aesa, on her beloved cat tree, doing a move which I believe is called an 'upside down in a half-drainpipe scratch' :)

Check out what Emma and Jenna have been sketching this week :)

Sketchbook Project 2013 - thoughts and musings

 Now that you've seen all of the pages of my 2013 sketchbook project book, what do you think? Feel free to leave comments - good or bad - in the little box.

I really enjoyed the process of following the very loose brief, and I liked that I could do as many, or as few, pages as I wanted. I would definitely take part again, except that they appear to have changed the format for the 2014 project, and I am not currently particularly taken by any of the topics either :-/

It remains to be seen how my book will go down either with the organisers (I still fear that oils are banned somewhere in some rule document that I haven't seen... *wibble*), or the viewing public of America, or the world once it has been digitised, but that's not really why I did it. I took part, simply because I thought it would be a good way of me getting back into painting after such a long time away from it. It's worked brilliantly for that - it's got me back into the swing of it, proved to me that my brand spanking new studio (of which, more later ;)) works, and reignited my love of oils. I am eternally grateful for all of those things. I have rediscovered my love of painting, and the joy that it brings to me. Will someone *please* smack me upside the head if I forget again?

I've also learnt how to bind books (sort of lol)

What was YOUR favourite page?

Sketchbook Project 2013 - the finished article

The Finished Article :D
"Creatures", by me

Sketchbook Project 2013 - did I say that was the last set?! I lied!

Pelican
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Team GB
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Nelli
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Good job I thought to count them up to check really!

Sketchbook Project 2013 - Last set, honest!

Where is Chas?!
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Snakey
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

One Giant Leap for Canine Kind
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Sketchbook Project 2013 - Breakfast is ready!

Peck
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Rise and Shine
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Sunday Sketchblog #1

When Emma who-lives-in-my-computer asked me when I was going to resurrect my blog, one of the things she used to tempt me back into it was joining in with the Sunday Sketchblog which she and Jenna (of Timballoo fame) do every week. I eventually said yes, and so here we go, with #1 of what will hopefully become many.

My Sketchbook Project 2013, all done and ready to post!

It's really not amazing, but given how long it's been since I did any sketching without the safeguard of knowing that I'll be painting all over my scribbles that I think I forgive myself. I really must get back into drawing for the sake of drawing, rather than just for painting. (but I should do some more of that too!)

Do go over to Emma's and Jenna's blogs to see what they've been sketching this week.

Speaking of which, I am contemplating joining the meetup group Drawing London on Location who meet up in London every week, to go out and sketch. The next one is on the 19th, meeting at Tate Modern. I shall see if I am brave enough ;)

Sketchbook Project 2013 - There's no rush to get to the end, surely?

Snails Pace
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches

Coming to get you... very slowly
Oil on paper, approx 7x5 inches