Sketch of the Day

"Pressure Washer," pen/ink and Marvy marker in a Pentalic sketchbook

My world has been undergoing a major transformation...that is to say, my marriage of twenty-four years has recently broken up and life is going ahead on completely new footing. We're selling our house and I've been packing for weeks! That means that most of my art supplies are packed and my drawing time is limited to occasional sketching. 

This morning my fingers got that itchy feeling and I thought I'd see how rusty my drawing hand actually was. There happened to be a pressure washer temporarily residing on the patio and I thought it'd make a good subject, not too easy and not too hard.

So this sketch is a marker (no pun intended!) - the first one I've done as a newly single person. The fact that it's a pressure washer might very well be symbolic (lol) although I didn't think of that at the time. However, in retrospect...hmmm. *wink*

I do miss my circle templates though... :-P

The drawing without color

"Lepus and the Ship"

“Lepus and the Ship,” pen & ink, 9” x 14”
Copyright Sara Light-Waller, 2015

For several months I’ve been noodling around with a new children’s book idea called A Patchwork Tale. I’ve written a third of the text in drabble format (linked 100 word mini-stories) and have done several art pieces both studies and more finished works. This is the newest piece, which brings the total number of book pieces up to nine — four color and five pen and ink. So I’m well on my way!

I envision A Patchwork Tale as a grand adventure story modeled after the gift books from the Golden Age of Illustration at the turn of the 20th Century. An ambitious project to be sure, but certainly one to be proud of.

P.S. As a note for pen & ink geeks like myself, many, many years ago I was given a large roll of linen-backed paper with a smooth surface perfect for pen & ink/drafting. Needless to say, I've held onto this gift and used it judiciously, well aware that there "'ain't no more" when I run out. I'm fairly certain that paper like this isn't made any more and even if it is, would be outrageously hard to come by. I used it for this piece and was reminded again of what a fabulous surface it is - moderately hard for the pen strokes, completely non-bleeding, and with the linen backing providing both structure and some give for the marks. Absolutely fabulous stuff! :-)

New Glasses

Selfie

I haven’t had an eye test in a long time. It’s been vanity that's kept me away, reading glasses being much easier to hide than everyday wear. But turning is the way of the Tao, good sense triumphs in the end, and when things get too blurry off I go to see the eye doctor. Come to find out that I need a much stronger prescription and I’ll be wearing the darned things all the time now. Skip ahead one week and they arrive, all shiny and new. Take your time getting used to them, they tell me. How much time? I ask. Might be several weeks, I’m told. Can’t I draw? What about writing? Take your time breaking them in, repeats the caring receptionist. It’s all for the best.

So here I am today, looking at my-half done illustration (the rabbit and starship, did I mention?) as well as notes for a new fiction scene I’d plan to write. And I thought…why not try?

I decided to do a practice pen & ink piece to see how the new magnification was going to be for close-work. It turns out to be a great help…my linework’s been suffering lately due to blurriness. But my eyes got tried pretty quickly and are now exhausted.

Illustration by William Heath Robinson

All the same, my freehand copy of this W. Heath Robinson drawing looks pretty good. It gives me high hopes for finishing my WIP illustration when my eyes adjust further to their new vision aid.

After Robinson, Sara Light-Waller, 2015

Oh and the writing? That went well too.