In the world today, we seem to be tossed about by a lot of ‘how to do things, and why’, and then the other view, ‘find your own answers within’. I think we need to pay attention to arriving at a good balance between the two.
Living consciously, being aware, is a condition we can develop by doing art. For this Sketchbook Challenge, we’re going to look at Shapes in Nature, and dig deep within ourselves for visual answers.
A Little Project in Finding Your Own Answers
As usual, there are no right or wrong ways to do art. Just Your Way. Take a large sketchbook page or print paper sheet, and divide it up into sections, a grid. Mine turned out to be 8 across the longest side, and 4 across the shorter. This would give you 32 boxes.
Just for fun, take a deep breath, relax into this, and allow inspiration to flow through you. I approached this as a meditation, with soft music playing in the background. Take a form from Nature, I’m going for Trees, but any subject or medium works. The idea is to draw 32 different shaped trees. It may sound like a lot at first, but you will be amazed as to how many different ways of doing things live deep within your imagination. Actually, your wellspring of ideas inside is endless. You just have to tap into it for any situation you’re in.
Sketching gives you all different kinds of marks depending on how you hold your pencil, marker, or color stick, as well as what tool you use. I tried a few. Find one you like that just flows. Use the side for wide strokes, the tip for finer lines. Experiment and share your shapes with us. It’s all a fun experiment. Try drawing 12, 32, or 100 of anything, just to see where it takes you. I used Neocolors, markers, and pencils on the right, then a green Pitt brush marker on the left.
