Woo hoo! I am finally finished my Sketchbook Project 2013, and it (along with my kids’ sketchbooks) will be mailed off today, just one day ahead of deadline. Here are the rest of my pages, along with my favorite pages from the kids’ books! To see the rest of my sketchbook, click here or here!
For other Sketchbook Project posts, click here.
The end is so close! I am almost done, and I would love to finish this before Christmas so I don’t even have to think about it in January! The Sketchbook Project is now a more flexible thing to join – you can sign up at anytime, and take your time finishing your book. The deadline only comes in if you sign up for a tour. It must be an easier way for them to organize it, but I have to admit, the grandiose-project feeling is a bit lost now for me. I haven’t decided if I will continue with it, yet. Are you more inclined to try it, now that the pressure is off? I guess I work better with a little bit of pressure!
Here are the next 5 spreads in my book!
Our trip to NYC this year included a stop at the Brooklyn Art Library, just like last year. We wanted to give our sketchbooks some love and check out a few new ones, too.
We looked at some incredible books. First, we checked out books by my pen-pal friend, Jeannine Saylor. Her books have a sweet straight-forward style to them- they are lovely to look at.
Then we looked at a book by an illustrator named Gina Perry. She has such tiny detail in her work – it was so much fun to look at.
My favorite book there was by Lauren Schroer, from Chicago, IL. She used the theme “Sandwich”. I loved poring over that book!!
We also loved this book with cute monsters by Marie O’Riordan, from Toronto, Ontario. 
Finally, one of my favorite pages of the day, by Berry Villegas, from Orlando, FL:
I’m still working at filling up my book for the Sketchbook Project, but some days, when I sit down to draw, I draw (pun intended) a complete blank. It can get a little tiresome to always draw my shoes, or my hands, and even though there is plenty to choose from, I can’t seem to pick. So what to do? Luckily, other folks out there in the land of the internets have come up with some ideas!
Many months ago, I noticed that a tweet that said @AyersMan had the idea of drawing his Twitter followers. I thought this was such a cool idea that I started following him right away. He eventually got around to doing the drawings, and because I was so quick to respond to his Tweet, he decided to draw me first! You can see the result here. I love how he incorporated bits of my artwork into this portrait: rainbows, circles, even my font! Awesome, eh?! I love this idea, and might try doing this as inchies, since the profile pics are so small.
One of my favorite people in the world, Jenny Doh, came up with the cool idea of doing blind-contour drawings of her Instagram photos. There’s endless inspiration right there – I mean after all, if it was good enough to photograph, surely it’s good enough to draw, too, right?!
Finally, Danny Gregory, the master of drawing things from everyday life, has a list of “Everyday Matters Challenges” on his blog, ranging from drawing your bed (#5) to drawing something forbidden (#321). I love the idea of these challenges, and fully intend to try them out soon.
Illustration Friday is another site that posts weekly challenges with one word, and participants can post their drawings.
Well, hopefully that has given you a bit of inspiration. I’m going to go draw now!
Three of my Sketchbook Project books have been digitized! You can see them here:
Sketchbook Project 2011
Sketchbook Project 2012
Sketchbook Project Limited Edition
We are going to visit the sketchbooks at the Brooklyn Art Library again this year. Looking forward to it! I have a list of sketchbooks to check out, and I will take out my own to give them some lovin’ (and make sure the pages aren’t sticking together!).
I’m busy finishing the second half of my Sketchbook Project 2013, which isn’t due until January. Here’s what I have so far:
That pretty much says it.
I’m having a really bad painting day. Or, rather, a really good gremlin day. Want to hear what he is saying about me today?
Your paintings are shit.
Why are you doing this?
Eat sugar.
You have no idea what you are doing, do you?
You can’t even sell paintings.
Your paintings are just sitting around doing nothing.
Eat sugar.
Your paintings suck.
You can’t even get the money for the painting you did sell.
Eat sugar.
Lazy ass.
So, yeah. Fuck.
Drawn From the Fire 