Sketching people

Sketching people is often something I avoid. Recently I have been making a conscious effort to remedy this omission. 

In Pensive mood

Ink & Derwent watersolouble sketching pencil in a Strathmore Mixed Media 500 sketchbook

Here are some quick sketches. 

I took my granddaughter to have her hair trimmed. I skipped the gossip mags and sketched the hairdresser instead. She was too quick. No sooner had I got into the groove than she was finished.

At the Hairdresser - ink

At the Hairdresser - ink - Hero 812 calligraphy pen

This one was done in a café while having a cup of coffee. I decided that instead of reading the newspaper - the news is really depressing anyway - I would try to draw people.. Since people move (a lot) of necessity many are unfinished. I think that's part of the charm, a rapid impression, trying to capture a gesture.

I have been working with pen - and using a Hero 812 calligraphy pen which has a bent nib. Used in the conventional way the line is thick and chunky, flip it upside down and the line is thin and delicate. It does take a while to change one’s hold on the pen for the different lines - good exercise for one’s fingers! 

Some drawings are with my usual Lamy Safari EF nib 

Line and Colour - drawing Demo at Art Shed Brisbane

Experimentation is both energising and inspirational. For the past couple of months I have been playing with various drawing mediums and in particular, the range of water soluble Derwent mediums - Derwent Sketching pencils, Graphitint Pencils, Tinted Charcoal, Inktense Pencils as well as the new ArtBars - the water soluble wax bar.

Salt Marshes - Artbars - Carol Lee Beckx

I will be demonstrating some of these next Saturday from 2 pm at Art Shed Brisbane Montague Road, West End.

 Salt Marshes - Langebaan - Inktense Pencils - Carol Lee Beckx 

I have used the Derwent Water soluble Sketching pencils for a number of years. I enjoy the fact that they are soft to draw with, come in three values: HB light wash; 4B medium wash; and 8B dark wash making them ideal for quick easy sketching.
There will be more about all of these in my next post when I’ll also post images of drawings using the different pencils.