shiny happy people (drawing)

 Above is my favourite drawing related photo. Ever. I just love it. It was taken in a Korean restaurant in Manchester. I'd made the sketch, below, of the guys on the next table. They knew I was sketching them and were giggling throughout at the idea of being sketched. When I finished they asked the dreaded question; "can we see it?"

I say dreaded question, because when I speak to people who are just starting out drawing in public, and specifically drawing people, that's the number one question. Has anyone ever asked to see the drawing? And, the second question is WHAT if they don't like what you've drawn?

 And, you know, it's a totally valid question. One that I ask myself when I know I've been clocked drawing somebody. WHAT if they ask to see it? WHAT if they are offended? WHAT if they hate me for it? Because, lets face it, it is in a way a bit of an invasion of their privacy. They didn't ask to be sketched. I am always aware of that. If I wasn't in the illustration game, and somebody had made a sneaky sketch of me, how would I have liked it?

So, that's all the concern, paranoia and anxiety out there. It's real. Those thoughts exist. So how do you get over that? I don't have the answers, I'm afraid. I'm not sure there are answers. There may be times when people aren't exactly chuffed. Lily, below, didn't seem that impressed (but actually, she was just being a great model and sitting amazingly still for me). The guys below her haven't quite made their minds up. In fact, that was really great fun drawing them and even if their views and critiques were brutally honest, it didn't take away from it being too much fun to have missed out on.

 A week or so ago, I went into a café where I'd been drawing quite a lot recently. I'd put one of the drawings, that I'd made there, online. The girl in the drawing was there telling her work colleague about it. As I began a new drawing I was aware that they were talking about me and what I was doing. I spent the whole time being really paranoid. They probably hated the drawing I'd put online. They probably don't want to be in this one. More than likely they were going to come up to me and tell me to stop it or to get out. I spent the whole time a anxious wreck. When I went to pay the girls said "we love your drawings, they're really beautiful". Bugger. And I just spent that time listening to my thoughts and wasted the opportunity to create something else they'd have loved.

Thing is, for most, the reactions to my drawings of people have just been pure delight. The comment I hear most, from those who have been drawn, is "I've never been drawn before". And, "can I take a photo of it?" Oh, and, "is it okay to make it my Facebook profile picture?" These cheeky monkeys below brought all their neighbourhood kids out to get drawn.

Seriously, you'll be surprised how positive the response is. As always, the only way to get more confident about it, is to practice. But, whether people are happy to sit for you, or if they don't even know they're posing for you...

 ...if you don't do it you'll miss out on some of the greatest reactions to your drawings. My advise (not that you've asked for it, and I'm no expert) is that it's worth the risk. Be brave it's worth it. For me, the photos in this post are proof of that. It's the best feeling when you get that person to pose with their drawing. THAT, to me, is the money shot.

 And, I lied when I said the photo at the top was my all time favourite. This is...

girls drawing

Nat drawing in London

So, I've been nominated to do this post-three-drawings-a-day-for-five-days thing that's going around Facebook at the moment. Have you come across it? I'm not sure if it's just on Facebook, perhaps it's doing the rounds on the blogs too? I think it's quite a fitting that at this time, with recent horrific events in Paris, that our screens and social networking are being filled with illustrations and drawings by people who love illustration and drawing.

 Kate drawing in Sheffield

So, I was nominated by Katherine Tyrrell. I'm sure many of you will know her blog Making A Mark. If you don't you really should check it out. It's ridiculously informative, on all sorts of topics for artists and people making their way in the industry. I've learnt so much from it. Katherine also has a new book out and a few of my illustrations feature in it. The book is called 365 Tips for Drawing and Sketching, you can read more about it HERE.

Miriam drawing in Buxton

 Anyway, the three drawings above are my sketches for the first day of the challenge. It seemed apt to start with sketches of people sketching. Plus, I seem to have been doing an awful lot of that recently. This little sketch of Miriam, above, is one of my own personal favourite sketches. I'm particularly pleased that I did it with such few lines, without over working it, as I often do. Plus, I managed a real likeness - which is hard to do. But then, you wouldn't be able to tell that if you don't know Miriam.

But hey, while I'm at it, whilst I'm posting sketches of people sketching, I might as well include these two, below, that I made last weekend. They are from a sketchcrawl I attended, in Stockport, on Saturday. Emily was our youngest sketchcrawler at 7 years old.

 Emily drawing in pink

Here's the thing about sketching with other people; you can learn something new from each and every one. No matter what their ability or level and no matter what their age. From Emily I learnt about the two pencil technique. Or, at least, she helped me remember it. I always did stuff like that when I was a kid. And, now I've been reminded of it, I'll be using it as a big kid too.

Emily drawing in blue

just saying it could even make it happen

Natalie

Here are a couple of portraits that I made at our last Dr Sketchy Sheffield event 'Get Your Tatts Out'. They are both on A3 paper - which is why it's taken a while to upload them. One day I will get myself an A3 scanner and not have to cart them off to print shops to get them scanned. I'm pretty chuffed with both. I did them very quickly (they were 15 min poses) with marker pens. I did add some extra cross hatching, to Natalie, at home later. But most of the shading was done with a marker pen that's running out of ink - which is currently one of my favourite tools. No decent pencil case should be without a marker pen that's running out of ink! I've told you before; I ain't a pen snob. Anything goes.

Alexis

And, the blog title? Well, to those with discerning taste, you'll know that's a Kate Bush lyric. I've just found out that I'll be going to see her in concert in September! Eeeek, eeek and more eeek. I never believed this would happen; a) she'd ever play live again and b) I'd get tickets.

i heard it in the wind last night

Recently I've been getting out and about drawing in my local area. Not just sketchcrawling or urban sketching but drawing local people doing their thing. If you love drawing there's no end of subject matter out there. No end of people filling their evenings or spare time with whatever floats their boats - whether that be knitting or skateboarding or singing. I love this kind of drawing and, I find, it's always a bonus when there's music involved.

 

Here's just a couple of the many sketches I made at the High Peak Orchestra rehearsals.

jive talking

So, here's the last few drawings, I'll post, of the jiving (thanks, Elaine!) from the day I spent at the1950s event at Crich Tramway Village. This was a really great excercise in drawing people. You have to work quick - especially when the music was as fast and furious as this. Emmercing yourself in the whole atmosphere and getting caught up in the pace, and the beat, comes through in the drawing. I hope. I couldn't get enough of this whole scene; from them rockin on the dance floor to them watching from the sideline, waiting to be asked to dance.

whole lot of shakin' goin' on

Yesterday I went to a 1950s weekend at Crich Tramway Museum. It was great. I went there with all intentions of drawing those stunning big ol' 50s cars (cars, and vehicles in general, have always been one of those subjects that scares me so I've decided to tackle them just because they scare me). However, I came across the marquee where all the dancing was taking place and lost about three or four hours in there. What is this dance style called? Can anybody tell me?

If anyone had told me I'd be out in public drawing people dancing a year a go I'd have thought they were nuts. But once I'd sat down and got over my initial self consciousness I couldn't stop. I came home with over 30 drawings. Most of which are little sketches, like the ones below, but also a few more 'finished' pieces. A lot of them seemed to feature the couple above, Elaine and Paul, who not only looked really great but also danced for the entire afternoon.

And, AND, I did manage to draw some cars. In fact, unebeknownst to me at the time, I drew the car that belonged to the couple above. Who I really wasn't stalking. Honestly!

Anyway, those drawings of cars to come soon.

just love

Quite frankly, there won't be much drawing going on around here over the Easter weekend. There will be lots of eating and drinking and laughing but not not much drawing. So I dug out this little portrait I made from a picture in a newspaper. It's one of those upside down portraits and although it looks nothing like the lady it was meant to be (Wallace Simpson!) I kind of like it.

Anyways, have a good weekend whatever you are doing and I'll be back with lots of drawingness next week. Tra!

saying how do you do

In these times of austerity it's sometimes hard to see any positives, but I, for one, have learnt to be less wasteful. Which can only be a good thing. Take these little Moleskine Volant diaries, and for that matter the Staedtler pens, they have been sat on my bookshelf, and in my pencil case, for a couple of years. They would still be there had I not imposed a new 'no more buying sketchbooks or pens until I've used up some of the stuff that I already have' rule (I'm sure there's a catchier title for that rule but, as yet, I've not found it).

As, I said in a previous post I was never quite sure what to do with them. In my opinion, they are impractical as diaries. Anyway, I've come up with the answer; TV drawing.

Judge Judy

When I'm not doing my usual highly laboured drawings I like to teach myself new things. When it comes to drawing I want to learn learn learn.

The funny thing is, when I was a kid I only ever drew people. Every time I doodled it would be people I'd doodle. Somewhere along the way I stopped doing that. Then when I took up drawing again, a few years back, I focused on objects and the everyday thing that we surround ourselves with.

Mastermind

So, I've been getting back into drawing people by doing these very quick sketches whilst watching TV. Sometimes I get totally carried away with it. Sketching every face that pops up on screen. I think I've filled about ten of the little Volant books so far.

I think I've learnt a lot by sketching in this way. It's almost the opposite to the way I normally draw. You never know how long that person has on screen so you have to work fast.

Oldschool Judge Judy

It's also good for those of us who might not yet be confident about sketching 'real life people'. Nobody is going to say "I don't look like THAT"!

Obviously, there are some programme's that are better than others. Some of my favourites include Mastermind (each contestant/model sits for two rounds, and you get two different camera angles), BBC News 24 (for the news reader and people they interview), Judge Judy (the camera focuses on both the plaintiff and defendant for a good length of time plus you feel less guilty about watching it if you have a reason like drawing), Question Time and I actually believe that I must be one of the only people in the country (I've never met another one yet) who watches the Parliament Channel.

Parliament Channel

There is the odd occasion when I do pluck up the courage to draw a 'real life human being' but it does help if they are asleep!

The train to Sheffield

I've uploaded a whole bunch of these people sketches (portraits, even!) to Flickr. You can see them HERE.