October 2015 Sketches

Birthday Pear
21 October 2015
Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
20.3cm x 14.0cm (8.0" x 5.5")

Month 10 of the challenge to draw on every day in 2015. Sketching seemed easy in the summer, but it’s required more effort in October. The main challenge has been finding time. It's been a busy month and as a result some drawings have felt hurried and unfinished.

But it hasn't just been one long rush - the pear at the top of the post was in our fruit bowl when we took a short break at Ragdale Hall to celebrate Elaine's birthday.

View from Joan's Kitchen
10 October2015
Ink
Winsor & Newton A6 Heavy Weight Sketch Book
14.8cm x 10.5cm (5.9" x 4.1")

The view from Joan’s kitchen window is the most ambitious sketch I've tried without a pencil under drawing. For a change, I started with the tree and drew outwards instead of first defining the boundaries of the scene and sketching in the major shapes.

Apple
14 October 2015
Graphite Pencil
Winsor & Newton A5 Heavy Weight Sketch Book
21.0cm x 14.8cm (8.25" x 5.78")

I drew the apple with a 0.7mm propelling pencil with a B lead. It is good practice, but it’s a challenge to build up tones with a relatively small lead. In November, I am going to treat myself and use a 3mm 6B lead for some drawings - woo hoo.

Do These Go In The Dishwasher?
29 October 2015
Ink and Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
20.3cm x 14.0cm (8.0" x 5.5")

The salad server fork is missing a tine - probably because it wasn't meant to go in the dishwasher.

One Of These Acorns
4 October 2015
Ink and Watercolour
Stillman & Birn Alpha Series Sketchbook
14.0cm x 20.3cm (5.5" x 8.0")

Pine cones are amongst my favourite subjects, but for some mysterious reason I've started calling them acorns. I asked Elaine to look out for acorns and couldn't work out why she kept pointing at acorns. “You say pine cones. I say acorns”.